In Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Henry Fonda played Abraham Lincoln as a young lawyer in Illinois, before he became president. Directed by John Ford, the film follows Lincoln’s early cases, his courtship of Ann Rutledge and his first great trial, in which he defends two brothers accused of murder.
Fonda’s Lincoln is quiet, humorous and principled, and he played the future president without the heavy solemnity that often weighs down such roles. His tall, lean figure and calm voice made the portrayal feel natural, and the film became a defining early success for him.
Young Mr. Lincoln is a beloved American film, and Fonda’s performance is a key reason it endures — a portrait of a young man whose decency and common sense would later guide a nation.