I'm having trouble finding a current counterpart for Henry Fonda. He is utterly believable no matter what part he plays, whether it's the young Abe Lincoln in this film, a juror trying to convince others of his point-of-view (in 12 Angry Men) or an old, crotchety coot (in On Golden Pond). No, I've never seen Grapes of Wrath, but it goes on my list today, you betcha. Young Mr. Lincoln isn't a tale of Lincoln as president, but of his life before he became president. It's entirely fictional -- based on a true story that the screenwriter witnessed, but not true to Lincoln's past. That isn't relevant though because John Ford uses this fictional past to showcase Lincoln's greatness ... although he gives it an unusual twist. He shows us the makings of a great man, but gives him an attitude that borders on arrogant. Watch how Lincoln interacts with the people on the steps of the jail and especially in the courtroom. You may think he's shy and humble, but he's also cajoling and threatening. I think Ford was trying to make Lincoln human, to take this mythological figure and make him one of us. While I enjoyed the film, I wouldn't say that the ending is anything new in this day and age (I saw it coming a mile away), which is why I didn't give the film a particularly high rating.
year: 1939
length: 100 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032155/combined
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
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1 comment:
This movie sounds interesting. I'll try to see it, if only to see a kind of national myth/propagandizing rarely seen in art lately. Maybe the Great Railroad Lobbyists' anger in the scene you mentioned was an echo of Jesus and the money-changers?
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