RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Young Mr. Lincoln
Young Mr. Lincoln

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Young Mr. Lincoln (1940)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:19

Fresh:19

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.5/10

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: John Ford's film on the early career of Abraham Lincoln, which centers on an apocryphal murder trial, impressed even the great Sergei Eisenstein. It stars Henry Fonda as the title character, who... John Ford's film on the early career of Abraham Lincoln, which centers on an apocryphal murder trial, impressed even the great Sergei Eisenstein. It stars Henry Fonda as the title character, who opts for the law after receiving encouragement from his early, ill-fated love, Anne Rutledge (Pauline Moore). Too poor to own even a horse, he arrives in Springfield on a mule and soon establishes a law practice with friend John Stuart (Edwin Maxwell). At a July 4th celebration, a man is murdered in a brawl, and the accused are Matt and Adam Clay (Richard Cromwell and Eddie Quillan), two brothers of a family that Lincoln knows. After saving the two men from a lynch mob, Lincoln becomes their defending attorney, a difficult task since each man claims guilt to spare the other. Admiring his courage, Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver) invites him to her sister's soiree and expresses an intense interest in his future. More pressing is his meeting with Abigail Clay (Alice Brady), who understandably refuses to tell Lincoln which of her sons is the killer. Although entirely fictional, Ford's fable conveys the essence of the great man's character: honesty, humor, wisdom, and a shrewdness that knew how to take a back road to reach the high road. A triumph of acting, writing, and direction, YOUNG MR. LINCOLN features one of Fonda's greatest screen performances. [More]

Starring: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Donald Meek

Starring: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Donald Meek, Pauline Moore, Arleen Whelan, Richard Cromwell, Ward Bond, Charles Halton

Director: John Ford

Director: John Ford
Screenwriter: Lamar Trotti
Producer: Kenneth MacGowan, Darryl F. Zanuck
Composer: Alfred Newman

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jan 10, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Young Mr. Lincoln

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

John Ford produced greater films, but perhaps not a single one that was more perfect or more Fordian... [there's] a confidence of purpose and a unity across all the elements of its creation.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
06/29/09
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

A superb motion picture, and one in which Ford's obsession with Americana and the forces and emotions that made this country what it is are plainly in view.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/17/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

This just might be Fonda's most spellbinding performance.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
05/21/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

One of John Ford's most perfectly realized works, an effortless jelling of his bawdy sense of humor, his patriotism, his mythical sense of history and his gorgeous, cinematic poetry.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/02/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Fonda's physical presence throughout the film is a thing of magic, as he seems to glide from one position to the next, never looking awkward even when he is bent in three places to fit within the frame.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
03/08/06
Douglas Pratt
Douglas Pratt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
02/12/06
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

interesting from a historical perspective, if it's not quite the masterpiece some adherents have made it out to be

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
02/02/06
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

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.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/26/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Ford-Fonda team delivers another classic.

comment Comment
07/22/05
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
06/06/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
04/28/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
02/07/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Heroic depiction, a la John Ford, of Abe Lincoln.

comment Comment
10/16/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment Comment
06/12/04
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

A beautiful and surprisingly humane biopic.

comment Comment
11/21/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

Apesar da bela atuação de Henry Fonda (quase irreconhecível graças à ótima maquiagem), o filme exagera ao retratar o bom-mocismo de Lincoln e nada revela de importante sobre sua juventude, optando por transformar-se em um drama de tribunal.

comment Comment
05/25/03
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

The subject matter lends the film extra resonance but you don't need background knowledge to appreciate Fonda's funny, moving and expertly nuanced performance.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film

Henry Fonda's characterization is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon things: a crossroads meeting of nature, art and a smart casting director.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Frank S. Nugent
Frank S. Nugent
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

A masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Total Recall

Total Recall

John Travolta's top reviewed movies

Disney Countdown

Disney Countdown

Look back on Disney's best animated movies!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin

Learn to train like a ninja in this clip!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
32
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
116
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
175
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
70
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
58
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
19
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
18
  • WB offers DVD to Blu-ray Trade-In Program
15
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
12
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
9
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
20
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Young Mr. Lincoln at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox
Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.