Editing Abe Lincoln in Illinois (film) (section)

==Reception==
In a contemporary review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', critic [[Frank Nugent|Frank S. Nugent]] called the film "a grand picture and a memorable biography of the greatest American of them all" and praised Massey's performance: "His Lincoln has acquired, with constant usage of the role, a mellowness, an evenness, an assurance that make the character seem less put on than foreordained by nature and by art. He looks the part, he is the man, he speaks the lines as Lincoln must have spoken them, or should have spoken them. We recognize that it is unfair to take performance for granted, but that will be Mr. Massey's fate: you will simply think of him as Lincoln."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nugent|first=Frank S.|date=1940-02-23|title=The Screen in Review: The Music Hall Celebrates Washington's Birthday With a Brilliant Edition of Sherwood's 'Abe Lincoln in Illinois,' With Raymond Massey and Ruth Gordon|work=[[The New York Times]] |page=19}}</ref>

The film recorded a loss of $740,000, making it one of the greatest financial disasters in RKO's history. However, in the states of Illinois and Indiana, where the film was heavily promoted, it became the highest-grossing film in most theaters. Nationwide, it lost attendance to a number of successful films such as ''[[Rebecca (1940 film)|Rebecca]]'', ''[[Foreign Correspondent (film)|Foreign Correspondent]]'', ''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]'', ''[[The Grapes of Wrath (film)|The Grapes of Wrath]]'', ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]'', ''[[Our Town (1940 film)|Our Town]]'', ''[[Santa Fe Trail (film)|Santa Fe Trail]]'', ''[[The Letter (1940 film)|The Letter]]'', ''[[Northwest Passage (film)|Northwest Passage]]'' and ''[[Pride and Prejudice (1940 film)|Pride and Prejudice]]''.<ref name="rko" />