Abraham Lincoln (1930)

This is the earliest biographical film about American president Abraham Lincoln, and is directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars Walter Huston as Lincoln and Una Merkel, in her second speaking role, as Ann Rutledge. The script was co-written by Stephen Vincent Benét, author of the Civil War prose poem John Brown's Body. This was the first of only two sound films made by Griffith. The film was not a hit at the time, which is understandable with all the inaccuracies in it. Later on, this movie was included as one of the choices in the book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. But, it is not so bad! This is the early film making, and the significance is that we can witness the great D.W. Griffith's work, with all the good and bad things from the time. The first act of the film covers Lincoln's early life as a storekeeper and rail-splitter in New Salem and his early romance with Ann Rutledge, and his early years as a lawyer and his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd in Springfield. The majority of the film deals with Lincoln's presidency during the Civil War and culminates with Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theater. The good thing about this movie is that covers 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 (although the film surmises that this was due to unresolved feelings over Ann Rutledge and adds a dramatic scene where Lincoln stands Mary up on their scheduled wedding day, which never happened). The early scenes of Lincoln's life are very accurate, but much of the later scenes contain historical inaccuracies. From the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, to the depictions of some of the characters - General Winfield Scott is depicted as being overconfident of a quick victory (and something of a buffoon), when in reality he was one of the voices in the minority claiming the war would be long, and he would also have been taller than Lincoln at 6'5". At the climax of the film, Lincoln delivers a conflation of famous words from the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865 - just moments before being assassinated... these things were chosen by the director and felt out of place. This is a movie for people who want to see the old master's work - not his best one, but still with his signature.

This early sound film from D.W. Griffith is almost episodic in its telling of the life of our 16th president. The editing gives the film no flow, but rather the scenes -- all cut down to the barest of information -- seem to each stand alone, as if the film was just a collection of film clips. There are some well-done miniature sets, and Walter Huston makes a good Honest Abe, but it's clear that Griffith's best work was behind him.