‘Young Mr. Lincoln’: A Lawyer Liberates the Law

Henry Fonda’s portrayal of Abraham Lincoln shows the president’s wisdom before he stood on the national stage.
‘Young Mr. Lincoln’: A Lawyer Liberates the Law
Henry Fonda stars as Abraham Lincoln, in the "Young Mr. Lincoln." 20th Century Fox
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NR | 1h 40m | Drama | 1939

Henry Fonda first balked at playing Abraham Lincoln. Later, he humorously recalled director John Ford reassuring him: Fonda needn’t feel intimidated, he’d be playing the great man before he became great.

In 1830s’ Illinois, when Lincoln’s first love Ann Rutledge (Pauline Moore) dies, he follows her advice: a sensible, self-educated man like him ought to set out and make a name for himself. He leaves New Salem for Springfield to set up a law practice. There, following Independence Day festivities, he lands his first client, Abigail Clay (Alice Brady), who was about to lose her adult sons, Matt (Richard Cromwell) and Adam (Eddie Quillan) to the gallows.

As a young man, Lincoln was inspired by his first love, Ann Rutledge, in "Young Mr. Lincoln." (20th Century Fox)
As a young man, Lincoln was inspired by his first love, Ann Rutledge, in "Young Mr. Lincoln." 20th Century Fox

Scoundrel Scrub White has succumbed to a stabbing in a scuffle. White’s buddy, Palmer Cass (Ward Bond) stirs a mob against Mrs. Clay’s sons. Having already befriended the Clays, Lincoln suspects they’re innocent. He silences, then scatters the mob that’s itching for a hanging. It isn’t enough. The prosecution lawyer argues against the now-arrested brothers, but only two witnesses seem credible. Cass says Matt’s the killer, and Mrs. Clay won’t say which son wielded the knife. Lincoln must find another way to prove they’re innocent, or they’ll hang.

(L–R) Carrie Sue Clay (Doris Bowdon), Adam Clay (Eddie Quillan), Abigail Clay (Alice Brady), Sarah Clay (Arleen Whelan) and Matt Clay (Richard Cromwell), in “Young Mr. Lincoln.” (20th Century Fox)
(L–R) Carrie Sue Clay (Doris Bowdon), Adam Clay (Eddie Quillan), Abigail Clay (Alice Brady), Sarah Clay (Arleen Whelan) and Matt Clay (Richard Cromwell), in “Young Mr. Lincoln.” 20th Century Fox

Two inches shorter than the 6-foot-4-inch-tall historical Lincoln, Fonda’s lanky frame and high hat-top elevate his onscreen persona even higher. Cinematographer Bert Glennon’s lighting makes it look like the clean-shaven Lincoln bears a beard. He even accentuates the sunken look of his eyes.

In the young man, you see the sage who is to come. Fonda’s calming voice works in every scene, tender or taut. His unhurried gait prefigures that simmering wisdom that would become a Lincoln hallmark. Shut the volume while watching; it’s as if Fonda’s in slow-motion, and everyone else is in real time.

Lamar Trotti’s screenplay secured an Oscar nomination. To him, Lincoln’s wisdom overrides the street smarts of his peers just as King Solomon’s wisdom superseded the knowledge of his peers. Lincoln may have started out as a lawyer but, like Solomon, he was destined to be a judge, not just of the law but of men and matters.

Palmer Cass (Ward Bond, L) is interrogated by Lincoln (Henry Fonda), in "Young Mr. Lincoln." (20th Century Fox)
Palmer Cass (Ward Bond, L) is interrogated by Lincoln (Henry Fonda), in "Young Mr. Lincoln." 20th Century Fox
The Biblical Solomon decides the fate of one son claimed by two women. Trotti inverts that as a dramatic device. Lincoln must decide the fate of two sons of one woman. Of course, Trotti improvises, first with a playful teaser: Lincoln must pick the better of two pies at a pie-judging contest.
Lincoln must judge a pie contest, in "Young Mr. Lincoln." (20th Century Fox)
Lincoln must judge a pie contest, in "Young Mr. Lincoln." 20th Century Fox

Wisdom Above Knowledge

Solomon prayed for the ability to discern between right and wrong, so he could govern with justice. Lincoln’s extensive reading of the law boiled down to his simple dictum about right and wrong. He scolds the prosecution lawyer, “I may not know much of law … but I know what’s right … what’s wrong.”

Lincoln is involved, invariably in the thick of things. But he’s also a spectator, seeing what others can’t, or won’t. Friend Mary Todd—silently—watches him when they’re on a balcony together, first from nearby, then from a distance. He’s the perpetual outsider, dispassionate, but at no time any less an empathetic insider. It’s why his humor is so disarming. For, what is humor, but the ability to see differently?

To Trotti, lawyers, jurors. and judges must be sufficiently knowledgeable about the law, but adequately distanced from it, to acknowledge the human side to events and experiences. Lincoln’s saying, if the law’s drafted by imperfect humans, it can’t but be imperfect. It must be upheld with a lightness of touch, with humility, not hubris.

Lincoln (Henry Fonda) disperses a mob, in "Young Mr. Lincoln." (20th Century Fox)
Lincoln (Henry Fonda) disperses a mob, in "Young Mr. Lincoln." 20th Century Fox

Lincoln is Trotti’s Christlike figure, hinting at the arbitrariness of man’s law and defending those deserving a higher justice. Instead of a mob bent on stoning by the law of Moses, here’s a mob bent on hanging by the law of the State of Illinois. They sheepishly disperse when Lincoln addresses their conscience, God’s law imprinted in their hearts and minds: “We do things together that we’d be mighty ashamed to do by ourselves.” He frees them from a narrow reading of the law. It must serve them, not the other way around. After all, the Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath.

The Lincoln Memorial depicts Lincoln’s dualistic interiority; one giant palm is open, as if at peace with the facts, but another’s clenched, as if shunning anything short of the truth. One foot’s ahead, as if conjuring a freer future that doesn’t yet exist, another foot’s behind, as if treasuring the shade of a righteously restrained past. Nearly a century ago, Fonda’s beanpole-like legs walked the screen depicting that same dualistic interiority.

You can watch “Young Mr. Lincoln” on Roku, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
‘Young Mr. Lincoln’ Director: John Ford Starring: Henry Fonda Not Rated Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes Release Date: June 9, 1939 Rated: 4 stars out of 5
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Rudolph Lambert Fernandez
Rudolph Lambert Fernandez
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Rudolph Lambert Fernandez is an independent writer who writes on pop culture.