Abe Lincoln In Illinois

In adapting Robert E. Sherwood's popular play about the early years of Abraham Lincoln, the filmmakers wisely chose Raymond Massey, who played the title role on stage, to reprise his portrayal in the film. Massey heads an impressive cast in a picture spanning thirty years of Lincoln's life, following his career from his beginnings as a woodsman and shopkeeper to his entry into law and politics and culminating with his election as the 16th president of the United States. The film includes some memorable scenes of Lincoln's debates with his longtime political rival, Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart), and offers a vivid account of 19th-century life in the Midwest, with ...