Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)

Humble Abraham Lincoln gains the respect of his Illinois neighbors, growing in stature and respect until he is elected President in 1860 and departs for Washington.

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Robert E. Sherwood (by), Robert E. Sherwood (screen play)

Stars:

Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Raymond Massey	...	Abe Lincoln
Gene Lockhart	...	Stephen Douglas
Ruth Gordon	...	Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Howard	...	Ann Rutledge
Minor Watson	...	Joshua Speed
Alan Baxter	...	Billy Herndon
Harvey Stephens	...	Ninian Edwards
Howard Da Silva	...	Jack Armstrong (as Howard da Silva)
Dorothy Tree	...	Elizabeth Edwards
Aldrich Bowker	...	Judge Bowling Green
Maurice Murphy	...	John McNeil
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Mentor Graham
Clem Bevans	...	Ben Mattling
Harlan Briggs	...	Denton Offut
Herbert Rudley	...	Seth Gale

Storyline

Biopic of Abe Lincoln, 16th President of he United States, from his early days in backwoods Kentucky to his election as President. After a time running livestock to New Orleans, he settles in New Salem where he meets and falls in love with Ann Rutledge who is already engaged to someone. Abe makes a home for himself in New Salem, eventually running a store and becoming the postmaster. He's popular with the locals and is eventually elected to the State legislature but afterward established himself in the practice of law. He eventually meets Mary Todd who would become his wife and and is sent to Washington as a Congressman before he is elected president.

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Plot Keywords:

abraham lincoln character | ann rutledge character | mary todd lincoln character | stephen a. douglas character | washington d.c. | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Raymond Massey received an Oscar nomination for playing the title role in this film. 72 years later, Daniel Day-Lewis was nominated, and won, for playing the part in Lincoln (2012). While they were not the first pair of actors to receive Oscar nominations for playing the same role, 72 years does mark the longest difference in time between such nominations. To date, the only actors to win Oscars for the same role are Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro.

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Goofs

The Lincolns arrive at the Springfield Depot while a band is playing "The Battle Cry of Freedom". The song was written in 1862, a year after Lincoln was inaugurated as president.

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Quotes

Ninian Edwards: [after he withdraws from politics] What'll yuh do, Abe?
Abraham Lincoln: Judge Stuart's offered me a chance to work in his law office in Springfield. Course I don't know much about the law, but there's one thing I've learned here in politics... that ignorance is no obstacle to advancement. In fact, in some cases it's quite an advantage.

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Connections

Referenced in James Dean (2001)

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Soundtracks

The Men of the West
(uncredited)
Traitional Irish marching song
Lyrics latter written by Willianm Rooney in 1900.
Melody with different lyrics heard at campaign rall

User Reviews

The Lincoln Standard

Besides Raymond Massey, a whole flock of actors have been known for playing America's sixteenth president, Henry Fonda, Walter Huston, Sam Waterston, Hal Holbrook, Dennis Weaver, Gregory Peck, John Carradine. Character actor Frank McGlyn practically made a career of playing The Great Emancipator whenever Honest Abe was a character in a film. But the standard has been set by Raymond Massey who did Lincoln in Robert Sherwood's play for 472 performances on Broadway during the 1938-1939 season and he repeats the title role in Abe Lincoln in Illinois for this film version.

I've no doubt that Sherwood used as source material for his play a lot of information based on Carl Sandburg's biography, Lincoln the Prarie Years. At that time Sandburg was considered the unofficial custodian of the Lincoln legend and mythology. Of course he based a lot of his work on the biography of Lincoln written by his law partner William Herndon played here by Alan Baxter. Herndon's well known antipathy for Mary Todd Lincoln as the shrewish wife of his good friend comes through her in Ruth Gordon's portrayal. It should be said that Mary Lincoln regarded Herndon as an opportunist drunk and he certainly did have a substance abuse problem.

Gene Lockhart as Lincoln's rival Stephen A. Douglas is well done also, though Lockhart was a bit tall for the part. Had Douglas ever been elected president he would have been our shortest president, he was barely over five feet tall. The rivalry between these two was kind of like the Yankees and Red Sox with the Yankees always coming out on top until recent years. Lincoln is still our tallest president at 6'4" so the contrast on the speaking platform at the Lincoln-Douglas debates was really something to see.

The only other actor to recreate his stage role besides Massey was Howard DaSilva who played Jack Armstrong. Not the All American hero, but the leader of the local gang of roughnecks who Lincoln beat in a wrestling match and who becomes his lifelong friend. All part of the Lincoln legend carefully preserved by Sandburg and Sherwood. It was one of DaSilva's earliest screen roles.

Raymond Massey got an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1940 and he was up against a strong field that included Henry Fonda for The Grapes of Wrath, Charles Chaplin for The Great Dictator, and Laurence Olivier in Rebecca. The winner however was a long-shot, James Stewart for The Philadelphia Story. There was a lot of sentiment that year that Stewart should have received the Oscar the year before for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. So the good Academy voters made up for it this year. It goes that way with Oscar every so often.

Abe Lincoln in Illinois still holds up very well although today's historical Lincoln specialists might have different interpretations placed on some of the events you see.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Filming Locations:

Eugene, Oregon, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Max Gordon Plays & Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1