JohnHowardReid At the beginning of April 1940, Frank S. Nugent resigned as chief film critic of The New York Times in order to pursue a career as a Hollywood screenwriter. (His last review, Rebecca, was published on 29 March.) His deputy, B.R. Crisler, took over for less than a month before Bosley Crowther, the paper's Hollywood correspondent, began his long reign in New York. This wrecked Abe Lincoln in Illinois's certainty of a place in the Times Ten Best. While agreeing that the film was "the best Lincoln picture the screen has ever had", Crowther felt it did not elevate screen biography to new heights, although it was certainly "fine and interesting". These comments fall a long way short of Nugent's endorsement which declared: "Although the Pulitzer committee may smile skeptically, we have no hesitation in calling the film the play's superior, in calling Raymond Massey's screen Lincoln better than his play's Lincoln, in finding it not only a more complete record of the man and his times, but a far more dramatic and a far more significant biography than the Pulitzer committee saw."Other critics across the nation were equally enthusiastic: With 221 votes, the film placed 6th in the annual Film Daily poll.COMMENT: One of the best films ever made, this movie features a brilliant performance from Raymond Massey in the title role. It's unbelievable that Massey missed out on Hollywood's most prestigious award. His Lincoln (repeated from the Broadway stage) is easily the most moving portrait of his entire screen career. It's true, as a few over-finicky critics have complained, his acting tends to be stagey and that the director occasionally seems to be forcing him to pose in carefully-wrought tableaux, but Massey brilliantly, forcefully overcomes all obstacles to make his Lincoln totally sincere, totally convincing (he may be too old for the early scenes, but no matter) and overwhelmingly sympathetic.If you're in a fault-finding mood and you want to pick at a mannered performance, go no further than Ruth Gordon. Odd, quixotic, stagey she certainly is, but she's always an interesting player — and I like her!More conventional but equally fascinating portrayals are etched by Gene Lockhart (an ever-reliable actor) and Roger Imhoff (a player who is not usually cast in such prominent roles — more's the pity). Also to be warmly commended are Aldrich Bowker, Mary Howard, Harlan Briggs and the unlisted actor (actually director Cromwell himself) who plays John Brown. All told, it's a grand cast, with many capable faces filling in the background.Abe Lincoln has been most lavishly produced. It's anything but a photographed stage play. Grover Jones opened out the action of the play so that it's truly a colorful movie, and then Sherwood came back and filled in the dialogue. A perfect combination of writing talent which has resulted in a screenplay that is both full of incident and excitement, yet has dialogue effectively fired with humor, drama, even poetry and romance.The make-up and costumes look incredibly realistic, while the sets and their appointments have a sparse, unHollywood lack of glamour and ornamentation which seems totally authentic. Not that the film looks bare — it is often crowded with people and is always appealingly and most attractively lit by James Wong Howe.Cromwell's direction is most assured. It also has been criticized for being too stagey and too static, but a recent viewing of the film makes nonsense of these claims. True, Cromwell does effectively employ stage compositions — even tableaux — at times. But not only are these moving and dramatic in themselves (who could forget the picture's final scenes, or indeed the final shot of all as the train pulls out, carrying Lincoln to Washington? This is real emotion), but they are skillfully contrasted with scenes of vigorous action in which both camera and players move with a speed that is only possible in the cinema.Roy Webb has provided a rousingly familiar, nonetheless stirring music score. Other technical credits are as proficient as unbounded Hollywood largess can make them.Abe Lincoln in Illinois is not the dry bones of history, but a living, moving portrait that is as vital and relevantly dramatic in 2015 as it was 75 years ago. Sherwood has not penned a museum piece, but a convincing, fascinating, well-rounded and, above all, deeply sympathetic picture that will live for all time. In fact, the more times I see the movie, the more I enjoy it. After viewing the superb Warner Brothers DVD, I regard it as one of the best movies Hollywood ever made. Certainly Raymond Massey rendered one of the all-time great performances of the cinema. Despite its great entertainment qualities and the plaudits of most critics, the film was not overly popular on first release. RKO's initial domestic loss was nearly $750,000 and it seemed the film would in no way duplicate the success of the play which opened on Broadway on 15 October 1938 for a highly profitable run of no less than 472 performances. Oddly enough, the picture proved more popular overseas, playing with great success in England and Australia. For example, it was aired at least 30 times on Oz television, making it one of the most frequently-seen RKO releases of the 1940's.

pylei I enjoyed this movie a lot, and comparing it to Young Mr. Lincoln, it was the better of the two, in my mind, for the sake of the character Lincoln. However, the characterization of Lincoln was still a bit too different from the actual man. Lincoln had a high pitched voice and in his younger years was a bit more fiery. Even more different were little details that one notices that either never happened, or happened in a different sense. For instance the first meeting of Anne Rutledge and such. Either way, I give it a nine, because of course this is a movie. Even if Cromwell and Jones wanted an exact representation of Lincoln which I doubt, they still made a great piece of entertainment and a movie that I could watch more than once.

technicallyhere92 I absolutely loved this movie! maybe it is because I am a history buff but I thought it was wonderful!. I am currently doing a project on Abraham Lincoln where my friends and I on working on a student directed film about Abraham Lincoln and you can not imagine how much this movie has helped me. This movie tells the tale of one of the greatest man in history and how he evolved along the way to become even greater. I can only hope that this movie will help someone see the wonders of his life as it helped me and as Honest Abe helped so many other people. I loved it when they showed his debate with Stephen Douglas. That was really the highlight of the movie because it showed him giving his real opinion and it caught my attention. His speech was amazing!! 10 thumbs up!!!! :D

nelliebell-1 I think it be a foolhardy endeavor to look to this motion picture for an answer about Abraham Lincoln and the life thereof.This film does not provide an answer but more or less an idea about the times which immediately preceded Abraham Lincoln into office.It is nonetheless a very fine film about a truly great man in Abraham Lincoln.I think if there is one thing about these Hollywood films they due tend to mix things up a bit and this particular film is no exception,however that being said,Raymond Massey was as close to the real thing as I have ever seen.A truly remarkable rendition is made by the casting of Raymond Massey as Abraham Lincoln.In so far as his performance,it is equal to his likeness to Abraham Lincoln,unmistakable.The attempt to place certain events as having occurred in Abraham Lincolns life is not without peril because there is next to no information about Ann Rutledge.This seems to be very much the way that these films like to mix things up,I don't think there was such and historically there is no real evidence of any such relation.However it is not unattractive and it is more to the credit of this medium than to Abraham Lincoln.The addition of these false attributes are of another sort and provide only a glance at an underlying problem associated with Hollywood and its film making proclivities,however it is well maintained that this is a top rate motion picture.Perhaps one of the most stirring moments in this picture was the depiction of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and here it,this film and its star,Raymond Massey as Abraham Lincoln shine as the star in the sky.It is perhaps one of the defining moments in this film and indeed it drew much attention in its time as well.Abraham Lincoln did provide for a dramatic farewell however the placing of the Battle Hymm of the Republic was poorly timed,however some of the speeches were stirring then and even now,perhaps Abraham Lincoln does walk at midnight.Mary Todd Lincoln was played by Ruth Gordon and though it can be difficult to judge what life can provide for in the proposal and the subsequent life that Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln had,here we have almost an ill suited pairing that provide for a wealth of humor and pathos in both the performances by Ruth Gordon and Raymond Massey.There is such a genuine appeal of this backwoodsman in Abraham Lincoln that pleasure in his life and times proceed beyond our ability to judge.It is a film that has the uncanny ability to keep your attention through character development rather than special effects.The performance of Ruth Gordon as Mary Todd Lincoln is as well worthy of the man and his times.It is very dutiful and devoted though no less engaging to watch these two bare three children as time passes.Abe and Mary were to lose there youngest while Abraham Lincoln was in office.The loss had a devastating effect on both parents with special mention in particular to Mary Todd.However,this film does not start here but ends up here and perhaps some mention about the earlier time in the film is worth consideration.It seems that Abraham Lincoln was very much self taught and possessed a desire to know more through his efforts and others efforts in his behalf.It is a little bit confusing as to why they would wish to suggest that Abraham Lincoln did'nt know Shakespeare from one of his plays or sonnets for that matter.I think that is Hollywood and such are there proclivities to a particular kind of thinking.This illusion may in fact suggest something of a racial nature which is not necessarily black but does court influence.The influence here like then was of an arrogant nature and it promised only ridicule and a unreasoning demand.This is one of the sorrows that this film hides in its colloquial attempt to include all in its nature.It is worthy of note that there was cause as to the Civil War and indeed this film showed some of that.The highlighting as to the flint of the fire being the story of John Brown is only the beginning and even more so this film was not so much an attempt to know the causes as to the conflict but was an attempt more so to present the life leading up to that point in time of Abraham Lincoln.This time in history has that about it,it is a flint by which the fires of everlasting virtue are brought upon the life of our greatest president.This film provides in its own right a category which I refer to as Americana.Though indeed we are looking at a motion picture and further we may suggest that there is nothing like the real thing it remains a film as popular and as worth enjoying as any the likes that have come from Hollywood,USA.It has been graded a 10 because it rates great Americana story telling.The only suggestion that I wish to conclude this comment with is that when I saw this film as coincidence would have it,I was in a class entitled "Civil War History" in an institution of higher learning and it made this all the more enjoyable.If you wish to know more about this very dramatic time you might be well served to purchase,"The Civil War,A film by Ken Burns"or maybe become a historian like Bruce Catton because there is more drama in this time period then Hollywood can produce.This comment is being submitted in honor of Presidents Day-Feb.21,2005.