Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

Memorable, crazy movie

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Young Mr. Lincoln(1939) directed by John ford has become one of my favorite movies. This film was super enjoyable from start to finish. Henry Fonda shines in this film as he is tasked with recreating one of the United States most iconic president. Fonda just nails the role and really makes this movie special. The atmosphere of the movie is extremely well done, this is thanks to exquisite direction of John Ford. From the scenes at the Springfield fair with the whole town coming out and having fun to the crazy atmosphere of the courtroom during the case. Ford does an extremely good job of exemplifying how entertaining the court case is to the regular people. This film takes place in a time without TV or any sort of entertainment, so it is understandable that a murder court case would be like watching the super bowl back then. This film does struggle a bit in the beginning as it has a bit of a slow start, but i was still very engaged throughout. The beginning provides some background on the personality of Lincoln which i think is necessary and makes all the scenes of him at the fair more enjoyable. Also one of my favorite moments throughout the whole film is the scene where the crowd goes to the jail to lynch the two boys who were accused of murder, but Lincoln saves the day. Lincoln manages to stop a mob of people simply by his incredible oratorical skill and logic. This simply a great film and would highly recommend for anyone interested in film.

This is a film that I don't have strong feelings one way or the other. Nothing stood out to make me think it was a terrific film, and it wasn't such a terrible movie where I dreaded every minute of it. There was some good camera work throughout, such as the tracking shot of Lincoln along the river, or some pan shots. I liked the high-key lighting, as this wasn't a film that needed any added suspense, so it was better to see everything and to not leave anything to the imagination. The plot itself was interesting enough, but I was not a fan of the use of sound. There always seemed to be non-diegetic music playing, which is common. I just think that the choice of music wasn't ideal, and that this was the type of film that could use more music during scenes with less dialogue, and less music when scenes were filled with dialogue. I liked that the characters were dressed very appropriately, and while the acting wasn't anything special, Henry Fonda did a good job in looking the part. The editing was fluid, and there was a large amount of dissolve cuts which were standard.

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), John Ford is the fictionalized tale of Abraham Lincoln as he pursues a career in Law in Springfield. As an older black and white movie I found it to hold up quite well due to its well put together mise-en-scene, while the shots in the movie are nothing to write home about artistically they are composed well enough to keep the viewer engaged in the visuals. The writing is also quite good, achieving a nice balance between serious and light hearted. The pacing of the movie is quite nice with the first half setting up the characters and location and the second half focusing on Lincoln handling the court case the movie eventually focuses on. The acting is quite good, with Henry Fonda playing a easy to like Lincoln and the actors in the supporting cast are no slouches either. Overall I found Young Mr. Lincoln quite and enjoyable watch and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in courtroom settings or historical fiction.

Part of the "Golden-era" of the Hollywood Young Mr. Lincoln is a classic film capturing the early life of Abraham Lincoln. The film does an excellent job with it's lighting especially during the courtroom scene. The shadows playing off the walls from the outside lighting had a very real feel to it. The courtroom scene also must have inspired other cross examination scenes in future movies. I couldn't help but compare the witty exchanges to that of A Few Good Men years and years later. John Ford continued to use his strong male leads in this movie