I watched John Ford’s “Young Mr. Lincoln” starring Henry Fonda. The movie carries that distinctive stamp of John Ford’s genius. Young Mr. Lincoln is the story of Abraham Lincoln in his young years practicing as an advocate in a Country Court.
Ford achieves the aura and the mood of those days when life was more relaxed but people were irascible and justice tended to be instant and communal rather than lawful. The care, compassion and concern that mark the character of this great personality may have evolved in his upbringing in this small time Illinois town and also in his association with the simple, loving people of his town. Ford achieves the elevation of a mystique in Abe Lincoln’s character when a fellow citizen observes “Mr. Lincoln you sure look at that river a lot. As much as a man looks at a woman.” Such scenes are a lead into the moorings of Abraham Lincoln’s character, his love of Nature, his love for the land, his love for his people but also his sense of the just and the unjust. Fonda portrays Lincoln effortlessly, on screen of course. And what a lot of effort must have gone into this portrayal.
John Ford’s prototypes of an absent minded Judge, a boorish and vicious mob, an impersonal and unrelenting State lawyer persist in this movie too. Lincoln is characterized as more of an intellectual person. Although he is clumsy in his dancing, his acuity and perspicacity shine through in his conversation as well as his character. I would say a spirit of freedom, justice, liberalism and compassion permeates the movie which John Ford subtly achieves in the scenes and the dialogue. Lincoln’s concern for the American women who dot the country side and only know to work hard and give, when he talks about Mrs. Abigail in the court demonstrates his understanding of his people – a characteristic which would shape his future trajectory to the Presidency. On the whole, a sweet, sentimental film but also exuding an innate lyricism and poise very much reminiscent of values like humaneness and dignity that adorn the films of John Ford.
This is another film of John Ford that I have watched. I keep reminding myself that I have watched a John Ford movie. Before this film I had seen “How Green was my valley, Stage coach, My Darling Clementine, The Sun shines bright, Iron Horse, Tobacco Road, Fort Apache and the Searchers. Watching a John Ford movie is a kind of education. It is a part of the collective experience that millions before me had access to in theaters and movie goers ought to be thankful to John Ford not only for giving us immense enjoyment but also for the moments of magic that his cinema has created. The magical journey of discovering the grandeur and beauty of John Ford’s cinema will be a part of the artistic heritage of humanity.
Although his films are not classified as artistic but were generally made for the American moviegoers, John Ford’s movies have achieved a state of mythical grandeur and lyrical simplicity, two aspects which one equates with great works of art. The great Akira Kurosawa also was influenced by John Ford. The use of wind, fire, rain, and horses are prevalent in both Directors’ films. It is said that when Ford met Kurosawa he observed: “You like rain a lot don’t you?”
They understood each other because they were perfectionists who couldn’t stand mediocrity. The cinematic craft that John Ford brought to his films has remained unsurpassed, but what overwhelms me when I watch a John Ford movie is a feeling of being connected, that it relates to me deep down somewhere as a human being. Some of the scenes will remain to be celebrated and cherished forever: the scene in Iron Horse when the Eastern and Western railway workers meet to unify the great American Railroad, the scene in How Green was my valley where the young Huw Morgan comes back home beaten black and blue by the school master , the little Morgan going across the church to buy his favorite sweet, the chase sequence in Stage coach and many more.
If one were to start watching movies now for the first time , what a delightful time they would have watching the movies of the great John Ford.