Abraham Lincoln

A strange yet dull piece of American mythmaking. This is among the earliest surviving depictions of Lincoln in film and the first in the talkie era, so it's interesting to see how writers and audiences of almost a century ago frame the key moments of Lincoln's life and presidency. Aspects like Lincoln's potential romance with Ann Rutledge are given space here along with the typical beats of his leadership during the Civil War. I cannot say I was expecting the number of scenes that felt almost parodic in their telegraphing of Lincoln's achievements with a wink and nudge to the audience, almost reminding me of Walk Hard in some portions (scenes with Lincoln talking to a friend and saying "Can you believe my wife thinks I could be President someday??" or a genuine moment where a group of slaveholders angrily discuss abolition until one man declares that he would shoot any abolitionist he meets and we're told that that man is THE John Wilkes Booth omg). The whole affair can be a bit melodramatic when it isn't rushing us through Lincoln's entire life in less than 90 minutes, truncating any moments that aren't essential in the Sparknotes of his presidency. I won't say there's nothing worth investigating about this films: Walter Huston's performance as Lincoln ages with a quasi-psychological angle as you begin to see the weight of his responsibilities slowly crush him, there's some interesting early studio set pieces, and it functions as a historical curio of Depression-era patriotism and earnestness. Still, Abraham Lincoln feels constrained by its time period and seems more content providing a scant history lesson than it does portraying characters and events with real gravity.

A strange yet dull piece of American mythmaking. This is among the earliest surviving depictions of Lincoln in film and the first in the talkie era, so it's interesting to see how writers and audiences of almost a century ago frame the key moments of Lincoln's life and presidency. Aspects like Lincoln's potential romance with Ann Rutledge are given space here along with the typical beats of his leadership during the Civil War. I cannot say I was expecting the number of scenes that felt almost parodic in their telegraphing of Lincoln's achievements with a wink and nudge to the audience, almost reminding me of Walk Hard in some portions (scenes with Lincoln talking to a friend and saying "Can you believe my wife thinks I could be President someday??" or a genuine moment where a group of slaveholders angrily discuss abolition until one man declares that he would shoot any abolitionist he meets and we're told that that man is THE John Wilkes Booth omg). The whole affair can be a bit melodramatic when it isn't rushing us through Lincoln's entire life in less than 90 minutes, truncating any moments that aren't essential in the Sparknotes of his presidency. I won't say there's nothing worth investigating about this films: Walter Huston's performance as Lincoln ages with a quasi-psychological angle as you begin to see the weight of his responsibilities slowly crush him, there's some interesting early studio set pieces, and it functions as a historical curio of Depression-era patriotism and earnestness. Still, Abraham Lincoln feels constrained by its time period and seems more content providing a scant history lesson than it does portraying characters and events with real gravity.