In this episode we look at two early films examining the life of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States of America, who has become an iconic face of American history and politics. Both of the films we discuss were created by major directors. The first film, Abraham Lincoln (1930), was directed by D W Griffith, a veteran director of the silent era who is known for his immense influence in crafting the early language of cinema through short films as well as epic works such as the controversial 1915 film The Birth of A Nation. Abraham Lincoln is one of Griffith's first talking pictures and he makes full use of the Civil War scenes to show off his skill for depicting battles and horseback chases. The second film, Young Mr Lincoln (1939), was directed by the much younger John Ford, who has come to be known for his large scale Western pictures and adaptations of major literary classics by writers like John Steinbeck. His film is unusual in that it focuses on Lincoln in his early life as a lawyer, long before the Civil War and his entering the White House. It is equally noteworthy for featuring a young Henry Fonda, starring in a role very different to his more famous performances.