BEFORE: Speaking of honest politicians, here's one about "Honest Abe". We're starting the ramp-up to the 2012 election season, so it makes perfect sense to focus on some presidents. Linking's kind of tough tonight, but Broderick Crawford from "All the King's Men" was in a film called "Not as a Stranger" with Harry Morgan (aka Col. Potter from M*A*S*H), who was also in "How the West Was Won" with Raymond Massey, who plays Lincoln tonight.
THE PLOT: Covers the period from Lincoln's early years as a Kentucky woodsman until his election to the Presidency in 1860.
AFTER: We learn that young Mr. Lincoln failed at a number of professions, including store owner, soldier and boat captain, while attempting to avoid politics, viewing it as a last refuge for people with no useful skills. Bear in mind, the circus hadn't been invented yet, so clowning wasn't an option... So, really, he failed upwards, and it's shocking to realize he never owned an oil company or a baseball team - but maybe I'm confusing him with someone else.
It's a rather dry accounting of Abe's career, hearing him conjugate Latin verbs doesn't really entertain, but the film does slightly better when it comes to his romances, and I use the word very loosely, with Ann Rutledge and later, Mary Todd. Was Abe really holding a pig when he met Ann? Does it really matter? It helps spice things up a little - did Anne Boleyn really play sexual mind games with King Henry VIII? No one knows for sure, but it makes for a more interesting movie if we see that. Abe's simple down-home "aw, shucks" demeanor was apparently catnip to the ladies on the social scene in Illinois.
Still, there's not much action in the film - a little rassling, but that's about it. What the film really needed was some vampires! (Don't worry, Hollywood's apparently working on it.) Instead, we get the verbal sparring with Stephen Douglas, which dated back far earlier than their famous debates, they even went at it at parties (Sheesh, would you two just get a room already?)
It's kind of ballsy to portray the future president by using phrases like "lack of ambition", but eventually it's the desire for human rights and equality for all men (not women, apparently, America wasn't ready) that pulls him back into politics. Inspiration is where you find it, I guess. It's also very forward to portray Mary Todd as the ambitious one, she can't stand taking a back seat and cleaning house ("Look at this mess, Abe, what am I, your SLAVE?") He even goes walkabout from their engagement, but not for the reason that gay rights advocates would have you believe...
Finally, we get to the Lincoln/Douglas debates, and Abe has to put his libertarian beliefs on the back-burner and start taking a stand on things. I know I studied this in history class, but I didn't realize that on one side you've got Abe quoting the Declaration of Independence ("All men are created equal, period") and Douglas was working the Dred Scott Decision angle. Douglas says that the Supreme Court's decision was the law of the land, which is correct, except that new laws can always be written. The debates were for the Illinois senate race, which Lincoln lost, but after the debates were published as a book, they helped him get nominated for President - so in a way he lost the battle, but won the war.
The film ends on Election Night, 1860 (Spoiler alert - Lincoln wins) and it's an odd occurrence when the candidate who wins doesn't seem in the mood to celebrate. Lincoln sees the strain that the campaign has put on his marriage, he realizes that he has to fulfill a bunch of "dirty promises" he made to get elected, and then there's the hard work of running the country. Oh yeah, and the Civil War's coming - just call him President Buzzkill.
There's even talk of the need to protect him from assassination, right after the election. Is this true, or was it a bit of a knowing wink to the audience? If the latter, then I'm surprised someone didn't suggest he go to see a play and relax. (What, too soon?) I've got to keep myself entertained somehow, this was a tough one to get through without falling asleep. It's great that they rounded out Abe Lincoln's character beyond the simple facts we were taught in grade school, but it's a shame that to do that, they had to portray him as unambitious and socially awkward.
Also starring Ruth Gordon, Gene Lockhart, Mary Howard.
RATING: 4 out of 10 Bible quotes
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