MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 4,029 this week

Abraham Lincoln (1930)

5.8
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 5.8/10 from 692 users  
Reviews: 35 user | 17 critic

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

Director:

Writers:

(story), (adaptation), 2 more credits »
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 31 titles created 3 months ago
 
a list of 1691 titles created 13 Oct 2011
 
a list of 5779 titles created 5 months ago
 
a list of 209 titles created 19 Jul 2011
 
a list of 10 titles created 13 Mar 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Abraham Lincoln (1930)

Abraham Lincoln (1930) on IMDb 5.8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Abraham Lincoln.

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William L. Thorne ...
Tom Lincoln (as W.L. Thorne)
...
Helen Freeman ...
Otto Hoffman ...
...
Edgar Dearing ...
Jack Armstrong (as Edgar Deering)
Una Merkel ...
Russell Simpson ...
Charles Crockett ...
Sheriff
Kay Hammond ...
Helen Ware ...
E. Alyn Warren ...
Jason Robards Sr. ...
Billy Herndon (as Jason Robards)
Gordon Thorpe ...
Ian Keith ...
Edit

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. Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

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


Certificate:

TV-G
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

8 November 1930 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

D.W. Griffith's 'Abraham Lincoln'  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (TCM print) | (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

(MovieTone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The line Lincoln speaks about how during Reconstruction he will treat the Southern states "as if they had never been away" was recycled from D. W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation," in which it was "spoken" as a title by actor (and future director) Joseph Henabery as Lincoln. See more »

Goofs

When Lincoln is filling out his ticket for his luggage on the train trip to Washington, the familiar signature of ALincoln, which is familiar to audiences, is in an entirely different writing style that the destination of Washington. See more »

Quotes

Offut: There he is! Ugliest, laziest, smartest man in New Salem. Ain't ya, Abe?
Abraham Lincoln: Well, I don't mind my face; I'm behind it. It's the people in front that get jarred.
See more »

Connections

Featured in A Century of Cinema (1994) See more »

Soundtracks

"Yankee Doodle"
(ca. 1755) (uncredited)
Traditional music of English origin
Played by a marching band during an election
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
"The Most Romantic Figure Who Ever Lived????"
12 February 2006 | by (Buffalo, New York) – See all my reviews

Before writing this review I saw that publicity driven line about this film. Abraham Lincoln is a lot of things, but NOBODY ever accused him of being a great romantic. All I can say there is, Huh?

Abraham Lincoln is one of two sound films made by movie pioneer, David W. Griffith. It's also something of an atonement for Griffith who was accused fostering racism with his masterpiece silent work, The Birth of a Nation.

Maybe if Abraham Lincoln had been a better film it would have succeeded in being an atonement. It certainly had one of the best interpreters of Lincoln ever in Walter Huston. The film also in many ways looks like a newsreel of the Civil War era. Our image of that era and you can see it in Ken Burns documentary comes from Matthew Brady's still photographs. In crafting this and The Birth of a Nation, Griffith was heavily influenced by Brady's still photographs.

Lincoln's prarie years were better told in Abe Lincoln in Illinois and Young Mr. Lincoln. Griffith should have stuck to the war years and made it in fact the Lincoln family story. One thing that would have done is eliminated Una Merkel as Ann Rutledge. Una Merkel had many a good role as a wisecracking dame in modern films. But in Abraham Lincoln she's just awful as Lincoln's lost love Ann Rutledge. It's a miracle she had a career after this film and a good one.


14 of 21 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Looks Like a Drag Queen Avalon123
Watch and Download Abraham Lincoln for free here mspaintnerd
Discuss Abraham Lincoln (1930) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?