This is a 1939 biopic of the eponymous president made by John Ford, who you may remember from such John Wayne movies as “The Searchers” and that one where they kill all the Indians (also true of “The Searchers”).
The wisdom or lack thereof in making a biopic about easily the most iconographically fetishized president in American history did not apparently concern Mr. Ford and company. Yes, I know this movie is critically-acclaimed and famous, also possibly pre-dates the rise of omnipresent hilarious Lincoln iconography with which we are currently familiar. So, caveat emptor (???). I first watched it in the context of a prestigious seminar led by a famous scholar, and no one in the class but me was laughing. So maybe it’s my problem. I can accept that. But still.
Perhaps in 1939 the ubiquitous Lincoln jokes with which we modern humans are so thankfully familiar had not yet come into being, which is hard to imagine. It is nearly impossible to empathize with a people who did not yet find Abraham Lincoln incredibly funny in all possible circumstances. “Why is he so funny?” the old man asked, during a rare break in the tumultuous, side-splitting mirth that accompanied nearly every moment of our film-watching experience. Even to those of us who “have a healthy admiration for the actual man,” such as myself, Lincoln is still a go-to guy for weird jokes.
There are those who come close to his level of widespread comedic weirdness. Benjamin Franklin is probably the closest second (see: that episode of the Office; the New Yorker’s recent review of Poor Richard’s Almanac; our long-standing joke about how Benjamin Franklin invented all things (including but not limited to “the witty remark”) and had seven wives, all of them named Jennifer, among whom he put a mark on the forehead of “every third Jennifer” so he could tell them apart), but with the exception of these two Great Men, I am hard pressed to think of anyone else who has even come close to infiltrating the comedic iconography of our Great Nation on this level. Even FDR–in spite of Chris Elliot’s best efforts and that unfortunate aspect of “Annie”–doesn’t, which seems strange given his appearance (top hat; cigarette in long holder), his accent (hilarious) and his historical period (old-timey wheelchair!!!).
Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln is ALWAYS FUNNY. The innumerable Mr. Show skits in which he appears bear testament to this fact. Lincoln is a figure we are obsessed with seeing under all possible circumstances. Lincoln riding a bicycle. Lincoln at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln flying in a hot air balloon. Lincoln trick-or-treating. Lincoln skateboarding. Lincoln yelling at his kids. Lincoln saying “Don’t diss my homies!” Lincoln in a commercial for “mustardayonnaise” in which he “frees” people who are “enslaved” to using two separate jars of mustard and mayonnaise. “Ape”raham Lincoln at the end of “Planet of the Apes”!!!!!
Like jokes about pizza, Abraham Lincoln as an iconographic figure of affectionate fun is one of the things that I feel holds my generation together.
Thus you can imagine the extremes of joy that were caused by “Young Mr. Lincoln,” in which Honest Abe lurches, zombie-like, through a hilarious variety of scenes and circumstances. See him judging a pie contest! See him cheating in a game of tug-of-war! See him defending the accused murderers who are innocent! See him stalk creepily out onto a balcony with Mary Todd and then just stand there, staring, while she looks at him like he is a simple-minded cousin of hers!
Why do we, as a nation, have this very concrete image of Abraham Lincoln in which he is 9 feet tall, walks like a zombie, and is so damn folksy and humble that he becomes almost unable to care for himself or inhabit the world? Like it would be a physical impossibility for him to do a single thing that wasn’t the absolutely most morally-upstanding possible thing? See him tame the lynch mob with humorous anecdotes and then shame them with Bible verses! He is the repository of all our guilt and all our pride and all our confusion, apparently.
It is very strange to imagine that this film was made with no comedic intentions whatsoever, because it was a veritable parade of clichés so appalling it was difficult to imagine them flying even in 1939.
Take, for example, one of the earliest scenes. A poor family comes by in a covered wagon, and Good Ol’ Abe comes amblin’ out to pass the time with them. They need flannels for the baby, but….they are ashamed to say they have no money. That’s okay, because Honest Abe gives away all the stuff in his store (??) for free! In gratitude, the mother says, “there’s some stuff in the wagon you can have if you want it–a jug half-full, some coffee beans….some books….”
“BOOKS???” Lincoln replies, then looks wonderingly down at his feet. Long pause, then, “….books!”
GET IT? Remember the log cabin with the candlelight and how he taught himself law after doing all the farm work or whatever? Sure you do! But wait, there’s more. Going to the back of the wagon, he’s handed a stack of books by one of the boys. “Blackstone’s Commentaries,” he says, then “…..that’s LAW!”
“Law?” “Law?” the other characters say in awe. I have never seen something intended to be so reverent come so close in actuality to “Red, White and Blaine.”
“Law!” he says, raising his eyes to the camera!
See Abe teach himself law sittin’ under the good ol’ maple tree with his big ol’ gangly legs stickin’ up in the air! He thumbs through the pages dramatically. “There’s RIGHT…..and there’s WRONG! Well by gosh there’s nothing more to it!” Congratulations–you’re an attorney!
Gary kept doing a joke in which a scene would fade out and Abe would say “and THAT’S how I got the idea for the emancipation proclamation!” or “and THAT’S how I got my idea to get my face on the five dollar bill!”
French film theorists are interested in this movie for the things it can tell them about the weird fucked-up psychology of America. They have pointed out how literally everything Lincoln does in the film is a metaphor in some way. He can’t decide between the two pies he’s supposed to be judging! He keeps two brothers from being torn apart in a trial! He wins a log-splitting contest! Get it?!? There is even a scene in which he is riding a donkey, playing a Jew’s harp (I am not joking), and he starts playing “Dixie.” Ah, the foreshadowing! Dixie hadn’t even been written yet!!!!! THE HORRORS OF WAR
We decided the only thing that would make this movie more awesome would be if it took place entirely in flashback–opening during the Gettysburg Address and then flashing back for the duration of the film. “Four score and seven years ago….” (harp sounds)
Which I then pointed out would put the film back into the Revolutionary Era. So then it could be like Thomas Jefferson talking to George Washington (and Ben Franklin of course), and one of them could say, “Damn this institution of slavery, it’s just plain wrong!” and then another one could say, “Well, Benjamin, perhaps ONE DAY this country will have a President who will find the moral fortitude to END this inhuman institution!” Like reading the abolishment of slavery into the original intent of the Founding Fathers! But they just weren’t brave/strong/smart enough to do it! Yes!
Another thing the movie seemed to unintentionally impart was that Abe Lincoln was a really shitty lawyer. “Mr. Lincoln! Aren’t you gonna prepare for your case? Those two boys’ LIVES DEPEND ON IT!” “No sir, I’m gonna sit here and whittle this stick”
I really can not recommend this movie highly enough. I probably haven’t laughed so hard since the first time I saw “Wet Hot American Summer.” Henry Fonda plays Lincoln! And the final lines in the entire film are:
“You comin’, Abe?”
“No, I think I’ll go on a piece…………….maybe to the top of that hill!”
WHAT?
to quote Joe Blow’s Movie Emporium, “just a good time at movies!”
I want so badly for this to be the only review of Young Mr. Lincoln in history in which the reviewer believes the film to be a comedy. PLEASE LET ME DREAM OF A BRIGHTER TOMORROW