Directed by:
John FordComposer:
Alfred NewmanCast:
Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Arleen Whelan, Eddie Collins, Pauline Moore, Richard Cromwell, Donald Meek, Eddie Quillan, Spencer Charters (more)Plots(1)
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. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Sam Ash](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/789/159789781_d8507f.jpg)
Sam Ash
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Citizen Kane (1941)
![Robert Homans](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/480/159480886_ec12f7.jpg)
Robert Homans
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
It Started with Eve (1941)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
![Charles Halton](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/426/158426750_1f558b.jpg)
Charles Halton
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
![Charles Tannen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/874/159874797_6103c6.jpg)
Charles Tannen
USA
Best movies:
Love Is News (1937)
Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
The Proud Ones (1956)
![Cliff Clark](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/892/159892122_dee53e.gif)
Cliff Clark
USA
Best movies:
The Stratton Story (1949)
It's a Wonderful World (1939)
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
![Harry Tyler](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/906/159906984_bada71.jpg)
Harry Tyler
USA
Best movies:
After the Thin Man (1936)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
![Jack Pennick](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/929/159929178_5a25b1.jpg)
Jack Pennick
USA
Best movies:
City Girl (1930)
Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
Stagecoach (1939)
![Virginia Brissac](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/333/158333193_284adb.jpg)
Virginia Brissac
USA
Best movies:
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Strike Up the Band (1940)
The Little Foxes (1941)
![Dorothy Vaughan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/893/159893450_70195d.jpg)
Dorothy Vaughan
USA
Best movies:
After the Thin Man (1936)
Gentleman Jim (1942)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)
![Kay Linaker](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/435/160435307_1b97ae.jpg)
Kay Linaker
USA
Best movies:
Laura (1944)
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
The More the Merrier (1943)
![Harold Goodwin](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/219/161219224_18de09.jpg)
Harold Goodwin
USA
Best movies:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
The Cameraman (1928)
You'll Never Get Rich (1941)
Tiny Jones
UK
Best movies:
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
The Invisible Man (1933)
![Edwin Maxwell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/995/160995623_fe923a.jpg)
Edwin Maxwell
Ireland
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
![Clarence Wilson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/518/160518463_23aa16.jpg)
Clarence Wilson
USA
Best movies:
Sunrise (1927)
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
The Front Page (1931)
Louis Mason
USA
Best movies:
Adam's Rib (1949)
Stagecoach (1939)
A Stolen Life (1946)
![Frank Orth](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/462/161462958_6a50f4.png)
Frank Orth
USA
Best movies:
The Lost Weekend (1945)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Tales of Manhattan (1942)
Dickie Jones
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Pinocchio (1940)
Robert Milasch
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Herbert Heywood
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Scarlet Street (1945)
Delmar Watson
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
A Christmas Carol (1938)
His Girl Friday (1940)