From the estate of actress Nancy Drexel Ince is this vintage original 11x14 in. US lobby card from the classic 1940's historical biopic drama, WILSON, released in 1944 by Twentieth Century-Fox and directed by Henry King. The political career of Woodrow Wilson is chronicled, beginning with his decision to leave his post at Princeton to run for Governor of New Jersey, and his subsequent ascent to the Presidency of the United States. During his terms in office, Wilson must deal with the death of his first wife, the onslaught of German hostilities leading to American involvement in the Great War, and his own country's reticence to join the League of Nations.

The image features an interior scene of Woodrow Wilson (Alexander Knox) addressing the United States Congress. It is unrestored in fine- condition with various signs of wear (including one pinhole) and discoloration in the borders; two pinholes in the image area which are unobtrusive; and a few vertical scratches to the right of the credits box in the lower right corner. The color tints are fresh and vibrant without any signs of fading.

Franklin D. Roosevelt screened the film at the Second Quebec Conference in 1944. Among those watching were Winston Churchill, who was decidedly unimpressed and left early to go to bed. For his part, Roosevelt, upon seeing the part with Wilson suffering a stroke while advocating for the League of Nations, remarked, "by God, that's not going to happen to me!" The film, a pet project and labor of love for producer Darryl F. Zanuck, was a notorious box-office flop in its day, despite good reviews and several Academy Award nominations, including "Best Picture" and "Best Actor," and despite the fact that when it played the Roxy in New York, it grossed more than any one movie had in a single theatre up to then. Zanuck was so heartbroken over the movie's failure that he forbade anyone who came into his presence to ever mention the film again. This was, perhaps, the only box office disaster in the history of Hollywood to have received so many Oscar nominations (10), to have won as many Oscars as it did (5), and to have received so much critical acclaim. Three years later, when Darryl F. Zanuck stood on the Oscar podium picking up his “Best Picture” Academy Award for Gentleman's Agreement (1947), he said "I should have won this for Wilson (1944)". 


Nancy Drexel (born Dorothy Kitchen, April 6, 1910 – November 19, 1989) was an American film actress of the late silent and early sound era. She was sometimes credited by her birth name in films. She appeared in 29 films, generally B-film Westerns. Drexel was the daughter of George P. Kitchen, who was described in a newspaper article as "a pioneer of the film industry." Her professional debut came when she was 8 years old, performing in The Royal Vagabond comic opera. She ventured to Hollywood after winning a Miss New York contest that had 10,000 competitors. She was featured in F.W. Murnau's sought-after lost silent film, 4 Devils (1928), alongside Charles Morton, Janet Gaynor, and Barry Norton. In 1931, she appeared in one of the earliest Spanish-language sound films, Hollywood, City of Dreams, as a glamorous movie star who is the idol of the film's hero, Jose Bohr. Drexel is presented as one of the leading stars of Hollywood, rather than the B-movie leading lady she was in real life. On September 28, 1932, Drexel married Thomas H. Ince Jr., son of film producer Thomas H. Ince, in Beverly Hills. Both of them were students at Antioch College in Antioch, Illinois, and resumed their studies after the wedding.