''Young Mr. Lincoln'' is a 1939 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film about the early life of President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

and starring

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

. Ford and producer

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

fought for control of the film, to the point where Ford destroyed unwanted takes for fear the studio would use them in the film. Screenwriter Lamar Trotti was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Writing/Original Story. In 2003, ''Young Mr. Lincoln'' was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

In 1832, a family traveling through New Salem,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

in its wagon need groceries from Lincoln's (

) store, and the only thing of value that they have to trade is a barrel of old books including a law book, '' Blackstone's Commentaries''. After thoroughly reading the book, Lincoln opts for the law after receiving encouragement from his early, ill-fated love, Ann Rutledge ( Pauline Moore), who soon dies. Too poor to own even a horse, he arrives in Springfield, Illinois, on a mule and soon establishes a law practice in 1837 with his friend John Stuart ( Edwin Maxwell). After a raucous, day-long Independence Day celebration, a man, Skrub White, is killed after he pulled a gun in a fight. The accused are two brothers, Matt and Adam Clay (

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's deat ...

and

Eddie Quillan Edward Quillan (March 31, 1907 – July 19, 1990) was an American film actor and singer whose career began as a child on the vaudeville stages and silent film and continued through the age of television in the 1980s. Vaudeville and silent fi ...

). Lincoln prevents the lynching of the accused at the jail by shaming the angry, drunken mob. He also convinces it that he really needs the clients for his first real case. Admiring his courage,

Mary Todd Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also cal ...

( Marjorie Weaver) invites Lincoln to her sister's soiree. Despite being aggressively courted by the very polished

Stephen Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

( Milburn Stone), Mary is interested in Lincoln. She faithfully attends the trial of the Clay boys, sits in the front row, and listens closely. The boys' mother, Abigail Clay (

Alice Brady Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in ...

), who witnessed the end of the fight, and Lincoln are pressured by the prosecutor ( Donald Meek) to save one of the brothers at the expense of the other's conviction. However, the key witness to the crime, J. Palmer Cass ( Ward Bond), is a friend of the victim who claims to have seen the murder at a distance of about 100 yards under the light of the moon: "It was moon bright." However, Lincoln persists and is able, by using an almanac, to demonstrate that on the night in question, the moon had set before the time of death. He then drives Cass to confess that he had actually stabbed his friend.

Cast

as Abigail Clay (final film role) * Marjorie Weaver as

Arleen Whelan Arleen Whelan (September 1, 1916 – April 7, 1993) was an American film actress. Early years Whelan was a native of Salt Lake City, Utah. Before she became an actress, she worked in Southern California as a manicurist, contributing her ea ...

as Sarah Clay * Eddie Collins as Efe Turner * Pauline Moore as Ann Rutledge *

as Matt Clay * Donald Meek as Prosecutor John Felder * Dorris Bowdon as Carrie Sue (Judith Dickens, who was obviously replaced by Bowden, is falsely credited) *

as Adam Clay *

Spencer Charters Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles. Biography Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until ...

as Judge Herbert A. Bell * Ward Bond as John Palmer Cass * Milburn Stone as Stephen A. Douglas * Cliff Clark as Sheriff Gil Billing * Fred Kohler Jr. as Skrub White (uncredited)

Background

The film has as its basis the murder case against William "Duff" Armstrong, which took place in 1858 at the courthouse in

Beardstown, Illinois Beardstown is a city in Cass County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,951 at the 2020 census. The public schools are in Beardstown Community Unit School District 15. Geography Beardstown is located at (40.012189, -90.428711) on ...

, the only courthouse in which Lincoln practiced law that is still in use. It is referred to as the "Almanac Trial" on Armstrong's grave, and Lincoln proved the witness against the accused was lying about being able to see by the light of the moon, using an almanac. Armstrong was acquitted.

Adaptations

''Young Mr. Lincoln'' was adapted as a radio play on the July 10, 1946 episode of Academy Award Theater.Academy Award Theater archives at the Internet Archive
/ref> The

Village Theatre Village Theatre is a major regional theatre located in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. The theatre was founded in Issaquah, Washington, in 1979 and built a second lo ...

of Everett and

Issaquah, Washington Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah Al ...

has commissioned a new musical based on the film titled '' Lincoln in Love'', book and lyrics by Peter S. Kellogg and music by David Friedman.

References

External links

* * * * *
''Young Mr. Lincoln: Hero in Waiting''
an essay by

Geoffrey O'Brien Geoffrey O'Brien (born 1948 New York City, New York) is an American poet, editor, book and film critic, translator, and cultural historian. In 1992, he joined the staff of the Library of America as executive editor, becoming editor-in-chief in 19 ...