Lincoln in the White House (1939) User Reviews

The Task Before Us

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 27 October 2008]

Character actor Frank McGlynn, Sr. had a cottage industry of his own going with portraying Abraham Lincoln. Scroll down the list of his credits and you'll see what I mean.

Of course we get a history cardboard cutout, we don't get much more out of this short than the exhibit at Disney World. The film ends with Lincoln at Gettysburg and McGlynn recreating Lincoln's most famous speech of all.

Stripped from the myth, Abraham Lincoln was the guy who preserved the United States in being and freed this country from the stigma of slavery, nothing more, nothing less. It took a lot of lives to accomplish this, something he brooded on every minute of the slightly four plus years he occupied the White House. Had he not won the Civil War for the Union and preserved the USA in being, we would be in a much worse world than we are, no doubt in my mind about it.

The part I liked best in this was the human side of Lincoln with McGlynn comforting his son Tad played by Dickie Moore. Tad was one of two sons that survived him, his other son Robert was off at Harvard during most of the war. Lincoln was one of several presidents who buried children while in the White House, son Willie died the year before. The bond between Abe and Tad was something special after that as this short so clearly shows.

Lincoln In The White House is still a good teaching tool, but really only for the elementary school.

Nothing new, but still important as a reminder of what freedom is.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 6 April 2017]

Joining in the ranks of Walter Huston, Henry Fonda, Raymond Massey and most recently Daniel Day Lewis comes forgotten character actor Frank McGlynn Jr. as Abraham Lincoln. As the President faces the succession of the south, he reaches into his own spirituality as he faces the biggest battle of the country up to that time. It's episodic and incomplete with details, but it shows the obstacles from his own cabinet, support from his otherwise nagging wife (Nana Bryant) and the moral obligation to explain what freedom means to him to his own son (Dickie Moore). These color films weren't meant to be a complete histories of the struggles for freedom, but interest youngsters to explore it on their own and adults to remember the issues of the past as another war loomed on the horizon. Not bad for what they are if you take them in the propaganda spirit in which they are made, but lacking the details of the previous movies and plays, and sort of "American History for Dummies".

Frank McGlynn Sr.

[boblipton · 4/10 · 11 December 2021]

Frank McGlynn Sr appears as Abraham Lincoln for the umpteenth time, covering the period from his inauguration through his death. Like many of Warner Brothers' historical shorts in this period, it's a dress affair, an example of potted history covering well-known anecdotes, and a bit stiff and dull for all that.

More than that, the print that plays occasionally on Turner Classic movies is not up to that studio's standard of excellence for Technicolor in that era. It seems to have been put through a sepia wash to give it an antique look, which leaves it looking ugly.

Typical Hollywood treatment

[buchan1965 · 5 November 2003]

This short gives Honest Abe the typical Hollywood treatment: deep voice (Lincoln actually had a high-pitched voice), broad theatrical motions when giving speeches, and every line out of his mouth is basically an historical sound-bite from his best speeches. Interesting as a curiosity (how people viewed Lincoln on the eve of WW II), but don't expect to learn anything about Lincoln (or history in general) from watching it.

No pretty-boy Daniels here . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 15 October 2015]

. . . as Warner Bros. goes for historical accuracy by casting its Lincoln along the lines of the one featured in Vincent Price's HOUSE OF WAX--after the fire. Concluding with a two-and-a-half minute rendition of that piece memorized by every American schoolboy in the 1900s--the Gettysburg Address--LINCOLN IN THE WHITE HOUSE reveals the sort of trivia about Mount Rushmore's Abe that one used to find fleshing out the salient features of the adjoining "Playmate of the Month" (before Hugh Hefner adopted an articles-only policy). Mr. Penny thinks that "Dixie" is a "fine tune," and that he'd probably be fighting for Slavery, if he'd been born a few miles further South and believed in it. Nebraska's Capital says there's no need to throw the book at Bowe Bergdahl. Take Five has no problem with having a drunk on the Fifty, if U.S. Grant can get the job done. And though Sally Field is "no Spring chicken," Father Abraham says she should be allowed to play Mary Todd to her heart's content.

pre-war propaganda

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 23 March 2024]

It's Abraham Lincoln's presidency from his inauguration to the Gettysburg Address. It is a short from Warner Brothers and I must assume that this is a part of their war effort. It's part educational and part propaganda preparation for the coming war. I can see them trying to translate some of the dialogue for modern purposes. That's why they ended it at the Gettysburg Address and not with his assassination. The patriotism is dripping off the screen. It is the nobility of America and the struggle for freedom and the call for unity. The acting and the writing is stiffly sincere. One must see the purpose underneath it all.

Mighty 'Fine' Idealism

[marcin_kukuczka · 5/10 · 18 March 2012]

"Any idealism is a proper subject for art." Lafcadio Hearn

One of the most cherished figures of the American history, Abraham Lincoln, has appeared to be a truly unique and powerful character for the screen. D.W. Griffith, among others, had directed the motion picture with Walter Huston. Along with the emergence of Technicolor and some greatest productions of the late 1930s, there was a need for pictures meant not merely to entertain but, as the prologue in William C. McGann's film says, to remind Americans of 'the magnificent heritage to preserve.' Therefore, the idea of this short little picture (running sole 20 minutes), seemingly the studio's bonus entertainment for a night at Warner Brothers, has remained something filled with many idealistic notions and wordy pompous clichéd script. But aren't the words by Lafcadio Hearn quoted at the beginning really adequate? Isn't art open to any idealism? Especially when relying on some important moments in history to lift up people's hearts? Let us focus on the main figure, the main hero of this picture: Abraham Lincoln. LINCOLN IN THE WHITE HOUSE, Lincoln as the President of the United States...what is he like in this picture? Who is the man who helped the union stay alive?

Initiated by strong patriotism and the adequate material in this respect, the film relies strongly on the definition of an 'upright man, straightforward leader, perfect father, moral diplomat and a saint-like believer,' who counts on individual freedom and revels in it. That is how Frank McGlynn portrays Abraham Lincoln. Much glory and little psychology! Something on the verge of propaganda! And yet...he is so deadly sympathetic as a genuine honest husband and a father who keeps the flame of family's union. He is ready for a little laughter, a calm, restrained companion and friend of the people whom Almighty God has created equal. He is a man who understands others' sorrows better than his own and aids desperate Mrs Scott (Sybil Harris), the father who teaches his son Tad (Dickie Moore) to be a good soldier and a good guard.' Primarily, however, he is a 'father' of one nation tormented by divisions and war. He is the President who keeps the flag waving and the flame of union's heritage intact. His remarks are loving and 'delicatory.' He is an example to follow, masterpiece of mankind. Even visually, he is the tallest of all. Although his policy is considered as 'suicidal' by some of the fellow politicians, he understands that the nation is one and he must care for all, though 'they believe in their cause as we believe in ours.' This perception of one nation is executed in one of the scenes when Lincoln wants the band to play the famous song 'Dixie', the purely southern song. Paradoxically for the time, clichés are broken - a 'Yankee' listens to 'Dixie' with enthusiasm and a tear in the eye... It is said that Lincoln lives in torment but, psychologically, we cannot see it. Naturally, what can you develop in a 20 minute-production? Frank McGlynn does his best in overacting and although he has some nice scenes with Dickie Moore as his son, the general result is rather unconvincing for a modern viewer. Not a very good performance.

In sum, the little film such as LINCOLN IN THE WHITE HOUSE is does not appear as entirely dated. Though its mighty 'fine' idealism is surely exaggerated, the Technicolor pluses and some little moments make for quite amusing twenty minutes. But history lesson? Forget it here! Look elsewhere! 5/10

lincoln in the white house

[mossgrymk · 3/10 · 1 January 2022]

After much thought I have come to the conclusion that the target audience for this 20 minute film about our 16th president is a mentally challenged, easily bored sixth grader.

Brief outline of the Lincoln years is full of clichéd material...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 27 October 2008]

First of all, FRANK McGLYNN is not the best choice to play the lanky president who gave the Gettysburg Address after the Civil War changed American politics forever.

He's excessively hammy, especially when speech-making, and bears only a slight resemblance to Honest Abe.

NANA BRYANT as Mrs. Lincoln is much too sensible and natural looking for the role. However, DICKIE MOORE is effective as Tad, the ill-fated youngest son who is gravely ill when Lincoln leaves his Washington, D.C. residence to deliver the Gettysburg Address, against his wife's wishes.

All of the usual facts are stated briefly so that it's really a very compressed look at American history, but probably suitable for young viewers who are just learning about the period.

Words like "strong union," "keep the flag flying," "freedom to slaves," "footsteps in the snow at Valley Forge," etc., give the documentary some talking points that are only able to hint at the overall facts.

Might have been more commanding with a better actor as Lincoln, it seems rather ordinary in its treatment of subject matter.

Nice Short

[Michael_Elliott · 7 January 2009]

Lincoln in the White House (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Technicolor short showing Abraham Lincoln (Frank McGlynn, Sr.) taking office and leading up to his Gettysburg Address. This film runs just twenty-minutes so it doesn't have time to go into great detail but I thought it did a pretty good job and I'm sure those unfamiliar with these events would find this very entertaining. The Technicolor really adds a lot to the film and makes it stand out compared to other films and shorts from this era that took a look at the President. McGlynn seems to split opinions on his performance but I enjoyed it for the most part. I think he has some very awkward moments but I found most to these to be in his movements. The first time we see Lincoln and several scenes afterwards it appears the actor is walking around so stiff that the character had suffered a stroke. Dickie Moore does a nice job as Lincoln's son. Character actor John Harron co-stars.