Lincoln/Douglas debate

[Thomas Thorne]

I have not seen every Lincoln movie but the only one I remember that depicted the Lincoln-Douglas debates was "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" which gave a very accurate portrayal of the roughhouse political culture of 1858 Illinois but gave the false impression that Douglas fully championed current Southern opinion.

Charles Middleton played Lincoln's father in this film. He is best known for playing the delightful villain "Ming the Merciless" in the "Flash Gordon" serials. I believe that many Southerners during the Civil War would have seconded the motion that Lincoln surely was the son of Ming the Merciless and was born on the planet Mongo.
Tom