Abraham Lincoln

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Abraham Lincoln (1930)
(aka: D. W. Griffith’s “Abraham Lincoln“)

Pre-Code American biographical film.

The first act of the film covers Lincoln’s early life as a storekeeper and rail-splitter in New Salem, his early romance with Ann Rutledge, and his early years as a lawyer.  It also covers his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd in Springfield.

But the majority of the film deals with Lincoln’s presidency during the American Civil War and culminates with Lee’s surrender and Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre.

Some little-known aspects of Lincoln’s early life, such as his romance with Ann Rutledge, his depression and feared suicidal tendencies after her death, and his unexplained breaking off of his engagement with Mary Todd are also covered in the film.

While the early scenes of Lincoln’s life are remarkably accurate, much of the later scenes contain historical inaccuracies.

This was Griffith’s second portrayal of Lincoln’s assassination, the first being in The Birth of a Nation (1915).

The film garnered good reviews when it was released. The New York Times listed it as one of the 10 best films of 1930 and Film Daily called it “A Griffith achievement; this is entertainment plus history.” Charles F. Hynes,writing in Motion Picture News,wrote that Huston “gives the role all the Lincoln resolution, all of the humor of the part. He is a human Lincoln who will appeal to all classes.”

“Abraham Lincoln” was the first of only two sound films made by Griffith.

Abraham Lincoln is part of the David Wark Griffith collection at the Museum of Modern Art. It was donated as a gift from screenwriter-producer Paul Killiam, a collector of silent movies.

Funding for the preservation of this film was provided by The Lillian Gish Trust for Film Preservation, The Film Foundation, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

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