Young Mr. Lincoln

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Young Mr. Lincoln

1939,

1h 40m,

History/

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

100%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

In this dramatized account of his early law career in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln (Henry Fonda) is born into a modest log cabin, where he is encouraged by his first love, Ann Rutledge (Pauline Moore), to pursue law. Following her tragic death, Lincoln establishes a law practice in Springfield, where he meets a young Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver). Lincoln's law skills are put to the test when he takes on the difficult task of defending two brothers who have been accused of murder.

Critics Consensus

Young Mr. Lincoln smartly sidesteps the grandeur of the 16th president's historical significance and instead hones in on his modest decency, powerfully embodied by Henry Fonda.

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Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

This first product of the Ford-Fonda partnership -- reputedly a favourite not only of Ford but of Eisenstein too -- today commands classic status.

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

Feb 12, 2006

B+

Rangy, folksy, slow-spoken and self-deprecating, Fonda embodies the young Honest Abe persona as comfortably and naturally as the frontier clothes he wears.

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Emanuel Levy

Variety

Jan 26, 2006

A

One of the decade's most significant works, the film was admired by Soveit director Sergei Eisenstein for its embodiment of the era's spirit and by the French critics of Cahiers du Cinema for its convergence of ideology and style.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Sep 18, 2021

3.5/4

John Ford, as responsible as any filmmaker in shaping our view of US history, here elects to offer a peek at an icon before national events dictated his destiny and sealed his lofty reputation.

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

Jan 17, 2021

5/5

We are never as far from the past as we like to think.

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Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Jun 3, 2019

4/4

As Eisenstein pointed out, Ford would go on to make grander, greater films. But none were quite so discreetly powerful as Young Mr. Lincoln .

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Draco P

Jan 28, 2019

Released in 1939, Young Mr. Lincoln has never received the same level of attention as a number of other films of that year. Yet in its own quiet way Young Mr. Lincoln is as great a masterpiece as The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Wuthering Heights, or Stagecoach. With Henry Fonda in the title role, the film is a character study of a young man who opts to learn the law and work within its limits to make a better world.

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Draco W

Dec 7, 2018

Fonda's a legend but the movie is just okay.

Albus W

Nov 6, 2017

Led by a charming and commanding performance by Henry Fonda, this John Ford legal drama may get a little sentimental, but it's surely a must-see in the long history of American figure biopics.

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Hagrid S

May 20, 2017

Patriotic hash, and I love it!

George S

Aug 21, 2016

A study of a young man's conscience, but not just any young man, John Ford's biographical portrait of Abraham Lincoln's life before the presidency is a tender affair.

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Abraham L

Aug 10, 2013

Amazing performance by Fonda.

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John Ford

Director

Henry Fonda

Abraham Lincoln

Alice Brady

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Marjorie Weaver

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Synopsis

In this dramatized account of his early law career in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln (Henry Fonda) is born into a modest log cabin, where he is encouraged by his first love, Ann Rutledge (Pauline Moore), to pursue law. Following her tragic death, Lincoln establishes a law practice in Springfield, where he meets a young Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver). Lincoln's law skills are put to the test when he takes on the difficult task of defending two brothers who have been accused of murder.

Director: John Ford
Producer: Darryl F Zanuck
Screenwriter: Lamar Trotti
Distributor: Key Video, 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox, Cosmopolitan Productions
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 9, 1939, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2015
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Mono

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