“Young Mr. Lincoln” Fabulous Friday Flicks

I am a historian. And I am a movie fanatic. So you would think that I would love all history movies. Not so! But Young Mr. Lincoln is absolutely one of my favorites. I hope you will give it a try!

Despite my unabashed love of history, I am not one of those nit-picky fanatics who gets bent out of shape if a Civil War film shows a unit wearing the wrong regimental buttons. My problem with history movies is that many tend to fall into one of several categories that make them hard for me to enjoy.

Category One: There are some history movies where the film is well made, but the history is abominable. (Examples: “Mississippi Burning,” “Pearl Harbor,” “The Patriot,” “Braveheart,” “JFK”) 

Category Two: Some history movies are related fairly accurately, but the film is just dull as dishwater. (“Amistad”)

Category Three: And then there are those gems that seem to be both generally historically accurate and very entertaining. I love those movies! (“The Queen,” “Glory”)

If you are wondering how accurate the Spielberg film Lincoln is, click here!

Young Mr. Lincoln

Today’s “Fabulous Friday Flick” created a new category: a masterpiece about the moments when myth and reality intersect when the fog lifts and obscure historical events suddenly become profound.

“Young Mr. Lincoln” is, first and foremost, a fabulous movie. Every aspect of the production, acting, direction, and writing are memorable and moving.

The film does not attempt to be a literal retelling of Abraham Lincoln’s life before he entered politics, but rather an attempt to explain something more profound, more nuanced, and infinitely richer. “Young Mr. Lincoln” attempts to explain the origins of the myth of Lincoln. Henry Fonda’s performance is mesmerizing because he does not try to re-create the Lincoln we expect. This is a young man, albeit one of emerging gifts, but still coming into his own. It is not the Lincoln of Mount Rushmore or the Lincoln Memorial. The assassination is far in the future. It is a man creating himself against the backdrop of an emerging frontier community and in an America learning to accept the rule of law.

Although we know what Lincoln will become, the characters – most notably Lincoln himself – do not. We can see the signposts that indicate the greatness that will emerge, but to the characters, it is just another few months in their lives, albeit capped by a riveting trial.

While most of the events in Young Mr. Lincoln are at least somewhat inspired by actual events in Lincoln’s life, neither director John Ford nor screenwriter Lamar Trotti makes the pretense of a documentary. Instead, they create a masterful portrait of a hero in waiting, a leader yet to have a following, a great man who is still a bashful, backward hick town lawyer.

Fonda would have other significant roles, of course. Still, he is never better, perhaps because, as a man, he combined the reticence, intelligence, wit, and self-effacing nature of Lincoln himself.

Of course, Ford would make other great movies, but never is his sheer storytelling ability shown to better effect. There are scenes in Young Mr. Lincoln, such as Lincoln walking by a river, which on the surface appear to be quite simple and somewhat sentimental. But when you look closely at the scene’s composition, you realize that Ford is showing us something more subtle and more complex than what it appears to be.

This same contradiction is seen in Fonda’s portrayal. The surface of Young Mr. Lincoln is only part of the story. The deeper truths are unfolding in a seemingly routine way.

 The Sneaky, Delightful Structure Of Young Mr. Lincoln

Part of the joy of watching “Young Mr. Lincoln” is that we continuously measure the character’s seemingly ordinary actions against what we already know about Lincoln. We can see the deceptively simple screenplay is actually creating a profoundly memorable portrait of an extraordinary man who would change history.

The Spielberg “Lincoln” movie is more literal but less enjoyable.  Young Mr. Lincoln actually brings us closer to the man.

Do you have a favorite history movie?  Leave a comment!

Here is a link to an article on the Lincoln movie.

And My Darling Clementine is definitely one of my favorites.