The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 

Add a Plot »

Director:

Barak Goodman

Writer:

Barak Goodman

Stars:

Will Patton, Guy Gane, Jason Roberts

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Will Patton	...	John Wilkes Booth (voice)
Guy Gane	...	John Wilkes Booth (as Guy W. Gane III)
Jason Roberts	...	David Herold
Alexander Fedorchak	...	Young John Wilkes Booth
Garman Bowers	...	Union Cavalry Officer
Gregory Labenz	...	Union Cavalry Officer (as Greg Labenz)
William Buser	...	Union Cavalry Officer
Jeremiah Hornbaker	...	Union Cavalry Officer
Grant Mudge	...	Swordfighters
Joseph Carlson	...	Swordfighters
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Terry Alford	...	Himself
Amos Lee Beiler
David Blight	...	Himself
Caleb Brinson
Chris Cooper	...	Himself - Narrator (voice)

Storyline

---

Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History

---

Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 2009 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Very well done.

This episode of "The American Experience" is about the Lincoln assassination--the events leading to it, the killing and the aftermath. I was surprised, a bit, by this episode because I've seen several other documentaries on these events and "The American Experience" version stuck much closer to the actual facts. Very little supposition or talk of a more vast conspiracy were missing. For the most part, I appreciated this as some shows seem more interested in creating controversy than anything else--such as asking whether Secretary Stanton or guards were part of the plot (even though there really isn't any evidence of this). The only thing I wish they had questioned was the guilt or innocence of Dr. Samuel Mudd--as MANY historians have questioned whether his life sentence in very harsh conditions in the Tortugas was merited as he MIGHT have been innocent and might not have known who Booth was when he patched him up that night. Perhaps this might make for a good documentary by itself, as later Mudd became a hero, of sorts, during an outbreak of some plague and earned his release.

Aside from my questions about Mudd that were not discussed at all in the show, this is an outstanding episode of an outstanding series. Once again, PBS shows that their documentaries about America are simply the best you'll find. Well worth watching, thorough and interesting.

By the way, one portion of the film I really appreciated was talking about the 'Myth of Lincoln' following his death. He really was NOT a popular president and many hated him--yet when he became the first president assassinated, everyone suddenly thought he was among the very greatest men in American history!