Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Actor 1940

The Contenders:

Raymond Massey: Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Henry Fonda: The Grapes of Wrath
Charlie Chaplin: The Great Dictator
James Stewart: The Philadelphia Story (winner)
Laurence Olivier: Rebecca

Honest Abe

Film: Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Format: Turner Classic Movies on rockin’ flatscreen.

One of the nicknames for Illinois is The Land of Lincoln. Abe Lincoln wasn’t born in Illinois, of course, but he lived here for a long time, and for most people, he’s considered as someone from the state. In terms of presidential birthplaces, we get only Ronald Reagan. Still, you don’t live in Illinois as a schoolchild and not hear a lot about Lincoln. I’ve had Abe Lincoln in Illinois on the DVR for a long time; today seemed as good a day as any to watch it.

This is presented as a biography of some years in Lincoln’s life. Essentially it goes from his early days as an adult to the point where he was first elected president. We don’t get his childhood and we don’t get the Civil War. It’s more about the making of the man who would become president than it is about anything else. It’s also not a straight biography. Oh, I don’t doubt that the information included here isn’t mainly factual. It is a very forgiving look at the 16th president, though, which makes sense for 1940.