Abraham Lincoln [DVD]

I've ordered a few things from this company and most of them were historical documentaries so I sorta thought that this would be as well.

It's not - but that's not a bad thing. It's a work of historical fiction and its fairly well done. You get to see an interesting fictional interpretation of Lincoln - without a l ot of modern narative baggage.

The film is older - and looks it - but in some ways that adds to it's charm.

This is like the original version of the History Channel.

"After watching this classic rendition of Abraham Lincoln's most important years (Abraham Lincoln from A2ZCDS), I know for sure that such a life has not been before and will not be again. He WAS a man - a real man who felt love, joy, despair and hurt just like you and I do. This is more than a historical film - this is an immortal tribute to this country's greatest statesman..."

Abraham Lincoln was probably our greatest President (certainly one of the top 3), and D.W. Griffith was surely the greatest director of the silent era. So D.W. Griffith Presents Abraham Lincoln is a must see for any film lover. Made in 1929 and released in 1930, this is one of our earliest talkies. It stars Walter Huston and Una Merkel with Russell Simpson and Jason Robards Sr.

Walter Huston (1883-1950) plays Lincoln. At this point in his career, Huston was churning out film - 3 in 1930, 4 in 1931, 8 in 1932, and 5 in 1933. His performances are relatively undistinguished, even if some of the films (e.g., "Gabriel Over the White House") were hits. Huston got better as he got older, and he was nominated for an Oscar in 1937 ("Dodsworth"), 1942 ("Devil and Daniel Webster") and 1943 ("Yankee Doodle Dandy") and won in 1949 for "Treasure of the Sierra Madre". He died in 1950.

Una Merkel (1903-1986) appeared in nearly 100 films and was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in 1961 ("Summer and Smoke"). She's best remembered for the hair pulling fight with Marlene Dietrich in "Destry Rides Again" (1939). Lincoln was her first film after having worked in the theatre for 5 years. She plays Ann Rutledge, Lincoln's first love. BTW - when she was younger and slimmer, as she is in this picture, Merkel was the spitting image of Lillian Gish.

Russell Simpson (1880-1959) used his lanky appearance and deep voice effectively in films with Errol Flynn ("Dodge City", "Santa Fe Trail"), Henry Fonda ("My Darling Clementine"), and John Wayne ("The Horse Soldiers"). He was a favorite of John Ford, and he gave his most memorable performance in Ford's "Grapes of Wrath" as Pa Joad. Here he plays young Lincoln's employer.

Jason Robards Sr. (1892-1963) is billed as Jason Robards since his son was not acting at the time (Junior started in films in 1959). Robards was a prolific actor appearing in nearly 100 films, most of which are forgettable. Robards plays Lincoln's law partner.

D.W. Griffith (1875-1949) practically invented the idea of film directing. He directed the first film ever made in Hollywood ("In Old California" in 1910) and was the first person to employ Mary Pickford, Mack Sennett, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, etc. He's most well known for "Birth of a Nation" (1915). After Lincoln, he made only one more film - "The Struggle" (1931).

The film is based on a story by Stephen Vincent Benet (1898-1943) who also wrote "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1942) that starred Huston.

Lincoln was a popular figure in film, especially in the silent era. In talkies, several films focused on Lincoln - "Young Mr. Lincoln" (1939) with Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" (1940) with Raymond Massey, "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" (1998) TV movie with Lance Henriksen, and Gore Vidal's Lincoln (1998). Many other Civil War films feature Lincoln in a major role. Frank McGlynn played Lincoln in two 1936 films - "The Plainsman" and "The Prisoner of Shark island" and Raymond Massey also played him three times - in the 1940 film, a 1956 TV special "The Day Lincoln was Shot", and the 1960 film "How The West Was Won" . Royal Dano (1922-94) did a terrific job in the 1952-3 TV series "Mr. Lincoln". My preference is for Raymond Massey, followed by Royal Dano.

This is an interesting film. Of course it is not historically accurate, and Griffith's southern bias is clear even while he offers a heavily pro Lincoln portrait. It is really the last of the silent film epics, even though it isn't silent. Griffith uses all his old techniques, with the close-ups, the makeup, the settings, and the unique camera shots to give us another of his great films - only, it's not a silent film and even though it is 1930, the acting is far too stagey for modern tastes. Bear in Mind that films had already started to adapt by 1930, and while some of the biggest hits of the year still harked back to silent days (e.g., "All Quiet on the Western Front", "Disraeli", "Anna Christie", "The Blue Angel"), others were clearly more modern (e.g., "Animal Crackers", "The Big House", "Dawn Patrol", "Little Caesar).

This film is definitely worth a viewing for its historical significance, but people interested in Lincoln should look at the 1939 and the 1940 films. Griffith fans will find his earlier films more worthwhile.