(1930)
3
Nathan Southern
As one of only two "talkies" helmed by the godfather of American silent cinema, David Wark Griffith's Abraham Lincoln remains a thoroughly wretched work -- one of the poorest feature films ever turned out by a filmic craftsman of Griffith's stature. But it nevertheless claims inestimable historical importance as a counterpoint between silent film and sound film -- one of those rare motion pictures that suffers traumatically from its schizoid nature because it fully embodies that awkward point of transition between the two major modes of filmmaking during the first decades of the 20th century (silent and sound) -- "the hybrid breed" in cinematic evolution. Though blessed with one of the most profound Hollywood actors as his lead -- the legendary Walter Huston -- it appears that the late Griffith (completely weathered and seasoned to directing actors sans dialogue by 1930) instructed Huston and the rest of his cast to act histrionically, à la Sarah Bernhardt, completely ignoring the presence of dialogue -- a mode that could not be any less suited for talkies. The results are outrageously funny and unforgettable; slapping his hand to his stomach melodramatically, and inquiring in a booming, hyper-enunciated voice, "Well, Mar-y, what are we go-ing to-do a-bout that Civ-il War?," Huston constantly appears as if he's auditioning for the L. Frank Baum Elocution Award. But, once again, this happened for a reason, and that reason -- ever fascinating, to be sure -- virtually saves this film for those interested in movie history. Equally intriguing, but totally unsurprising given his pedigree, is Griffith's adroitness with the silent montages that he intercuts between his scenes with actors (several depicting the Civil War itself); with magisterial sets designed by William Cameron Menzies and a master's cinematographic and editorial fluidity, these sequences are as breathtaking as anything in The Birth of a Nation or Intolerance. Were they indicative of Griffith's approach from fade-in to denouement, Abraham Lincoln might have been remembered as an invaluable work instead of an oddball curio. A few of Griffith's other choices are inexplicably bizarre -- not the least of which is his decision to cast the middle-aged Huston as teenage Lincoln in the story's opening act. With the actor buried beneath piles of makeup, he comes terribly close to resembling a Felliniesque drag queen -- a sight that must be seen to be believed.
awards for Abraham Lincoln on AllMovie
Abraham Lincoln (1930)
