An episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States.An episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States.An episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States.
- Tom Lincoln
- (as W.L. Thorne)
- Armstrong
- (as Edgar Deering)
- Herndon
- (as Jason Robards)
- John Hay - Secretary to the President
- (as Cameron Prudhomme)
- Young Soldier
- (as Jimmie Eagle)
- Director
- D.W. Griffith(personally directed by)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was D.W. Griffith's first sound film. Abraham Lincoln (1930) was also the first sound film about the Civil War which veterans of that war could view.
- GoofsIn both the Union and Confederate parades, the musicians play trombones with forward facing bells. During the Civil War, the bells faced backwards.
- Quotes
Abraham Lincoln: You know, Ann, I... I've always done a lot of dreaming. And lately it seems when I dream, your face gets mixed up in it.
Ann Rutledge: Does it really, Abe? Tell me about them, Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln: Well, I... I feel as though I'm going to be seeing your face 'til the day I die. Course, I know that that'll be pretty hard on you to have to look at my face that long.
Ann Rutledge: Everybody to their own opinion.
Abraham Lincoln: Hmm?
Ann Rutledge: Well, I... I think it's the dearest, kindest, most beautiful face in the whole world.
Abraham Lincoln: Oh, Ann, Ann. Course, I know that's just flattery, but I love it.
- Alternate versionsOriginally, this film was color-tinted in sepia-tone, with blue for night scenes. These prints also had a prologue. Current public-domain prints are in black and white, minus the prologue with a shorter running time.
- ConnectionsEdited into General Spanky (1936)
- SoundtracksBattle 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
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.
- bkoganbing
- Feb 11, 2006
- How long is Abraham Lincoln?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- D.W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1