Abe Lincoln In Illinois [DVD]

"Abraham Lincoln has been portrayed in the cinema several times with mixed results. Perhaps the most notable examples are those of Walter Huston in the DWGriffith film of the same name and that of a thirty-something Henry Fonda interpreting the young years of the then lawyer in the young Lincoln. The Canadian Raymond Massey plays President Lincoln in Illinois in a film directed by John Cromwell and both critics and the public praised it as the best film ever made about the most outstanding president of the United States. Lincoln talks about the period in the one in which "Honest Abe" lived in Springfield, Illinois, working as a lawyer and fighting against the social injustices of his time until he ended up facing off in the famous political debates with his opponent Stephen Douglas. At the same time, Cromwell does not forget to emphasize his most personal stage, that of an Abe Lincoln sad and afflicted by the death of Ann Rutledge, his first love and later his controversial and complicated history with Mary Ann Todd, whom he would finally marry. Raymond Massey would get an Oscar nomination for his brilliant performance and the film is still recommended today as a masterclass in history."