Abe Lincoln in Illinois 1940

Humble Abraham Lincoln gains the respect of his Illinois neighbors, growing in stature and respect until he is elected President in 1860 and departs for Washington.

This fascinating book offers a revealing and groundbreaking assessment of how Hollywood has imagined and reimagined America's greatest president on-screen, contributing to the popular image and myth of the legendary man.

At once a compelling piece of anti-isolationist propaganda and a quick-witted wartime thriller, 49th Parallel is a classic early work from the inimitable British filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. When a Nazi U-boat crew, headed by the ruthless Eric Portman, is stranded in Canada during the thick of World War II, the men evade capture by hiding out in a series of rural communities, before trying to cross the border into the still-neutral United States. Both soul-stirring and delightfully entertaining, 49th Parallel features a colorful cast of characters played by larger-than-life actors Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey, Anton Walbrook, and Leslie Howard.

In their seventh and final collaboration, master impresario David O. Selznick (GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ) wrote and produced while John Cromwell (THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS) directed this beloved World War II blockbuster about life on the home front. Claudette Colbert stars as Anne Hilton, an attractive housewife whose husband is fighting in Europe. SINCE YOU WENT AWAY examines the day-to-day lives of Anne and her fellow war brides as they find employment in ammunition factories, take in boarders to make ends meet, and try not to think about what might be happening to their husbands in combat..

Few historical figures are as revered as Abraham Lincoln, and few director-star pairings embody classic American cinema as perfectly as that of John Ford and Henry Fonda. In Young Mr. Lincoln, their first collaboration, Fonda gives one of the finest performances of his career, as the young president-to-be, struggling with an incendiary murder case as a novice lawyer. Compassionate and assured, this is an indelible piece of Americana.