Abraham Lincoln (1930)

An episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States.

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

John W. Considine Jr. (story), Stephen Vincent Benet (adaptation),

Stars:

William L. Thorne, Lucille La Verne, Walter Huston

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William L. Thorne	...	Tom Lincoln (as W.L. Thorne)
Lucille La Verne	...	Mid-Wife
Helen Freeman	...	Nancy Hanks Lincoln
Otto Hoffman	...	Offut
Walter Huston	...	Abraham Lincoln
Edgar Dearing	...	Jack Armstrong (as Edgar Deering)
Una Merkel	...	Ann Rutledge
Russell Simpson	...	Uncle Jimmy--Lincoln's Employer
Charles Crockett	...	Sheriff
Kay Hammond	...	Mary Todd Lincoln
Helen Ware	...	Mrs. Edwards
E. Alyn Warren	...	Stephen A. Douglas / Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Billy Herndon (as Jason Robards)
Gordon Thorpe	...	Tad Lincoln
Ian Keith	...	John Wilkes Booth

Storyline

Brief vignettes about Lincoln's early life include his birth, early jobs, (unsubstantiated) affair with Ann Rutledge, courtship of Mary Todd, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates; his presidency and the Civil War are followed in somewhat more detail, though without actual battle scenes; film concludes with the assassination.

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Plot Keywords:

president | assassination | civil war | courtship | debate | 

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Taglines:

The wonder film of the century, about the most romantic figure who ever lived!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

D.W. Griffith's 'Abraham Lincoln'

Company Credits

Production Co:

D.W. Griffith Productions, Feature Productions, Joseph Schenck Presents

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 90 min (TCM print) 96 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henry B. Walthall, who plays the minor role of Robert E. Lee's aide, was the star of Griffith's first landmark Civil War feature The Birth of a Nation.

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Goofs

Subtitles correctly describe the bombardment of Fort Sumter by the Confederates as starting the Civil War, but the film depiction shows the reverse. It has the fort firing on the Confederates.

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Quotes

[an aide suggests that General Lee surrender]
Gen. Robert E. Lee: [Grasping sword] Surrender? My poor army! Why I'd rather die a thousand deaths than to do that to them.
Aide: There, there, General. You must lie down and rest.
Gen. Robert E. Lee: [Introspectively] Rest... that's a beautiful word.

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Connections

Referenced in Drei D (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Battle Hymn of the Republic"
(ca 1856) (uncredited)
Music by William Steffe
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe (1862)
Played during the opening credits and often in the score
Sung by an offscreen chorus during a civil war scene

User Reviews

"A nightmare of the mind and nerves" indeed, for Griffith and us!

No doubt about it, D.W. Griffith was one of the great directors of the early silent era. "Birth of a Nation," "Intolerance," "Orphans of the Storm," even a lesser-known film like "The Musketeers of Pig Alley" are all now regarded as classics. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, Griffith couldn't maintain his success record, and, by the time he made his first all-talking film, "Abraham Lincoln," he was in the midst of a major slump that he just couldn't pull out of. The film is static, stilted, and moves at a snail's pace. Walter Huston, Ian Keith, Henry B. Walthall, and most of the rest of the cast all had distinguished careers in sound films, but here they are merely wasted, unable to cope with the tedious dialogue and Griffith's uncharacteristicly stiff direction. Worst-served of all, though, is Una Merkel, here in one of her first films. I can't believe that Anne Rutlidge could have been such a sugary simp as we're led to believe by her performance here, and her death scene is only exceeded for bathos by Ali McGraw in the last scene of "Love Story." In sum, a major disappointment, a good cast wasted, and a sad farewell form one of American film's true pioneers. Griffith described making this film as "a nightmare of the mind and nerves," and, unfortunately, that's just what it is, for him and us.