Young Mr. Lincoln

Snubbed: Henry Fonda 

Dir. John Ford. 1939, U.S. 100 mins. DCP. With Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Arleen Wheelan, Pauline Moore, Ward Bond. Among Oscar’s most inexplicable historical omissions is Fonda’s legendary performance as Abraham Lincoln as an early-career lawyer trying a crucial murder case in 1830s Illinois in Ford’s exquisitely rendered work of American mythmaking. Made the same storied movie year as Stagecoach (which earned Thomas Mitchell a supporting Oscar), Ford’s film is the gentler piece of art, a work of classical precision and control that trades Great Man clichés for a rich, complex portrayal of America’s promise and potential, while acknowledging the dark clouds on the horizon. Working in glorious tandem with Ford’s tonal and technical brilliance, Fonda exudes decency without simplicity, eschewing larger-than-life grandiosity in order to embody the difficulty of living morally in a dark world. 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.