Young Mr. Lincoln is a 1939 film about the early life of President Abraham Lincoln, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, and Richard Cromwell.
The film is very loosely based on historical fact, with many incidents entirely fabricated. One scene, which was cut from the final product, featured a friendly meeting between Lincoln and his future assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Ford and producer Darryl F. Zanuck fought for control of the film, to the point where Ford destroyed unwanted takes for fear the studio would use them in the movie.
Ironically, this piece of American propaganda was an inspiration for Soviet filmmaker and propagandist Sergei Eisenstein and his film Ivan the Terrible.
Screenwriter Lamar Trotti was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story.
