Lincoln in the White House

This short gives Honest Abe the typical Hollywood treatment: deep voice (Lincoln actually had a high-pitched voice), broad theatrical motions when giving speeches, and every line out of his mouth is basically an historical sound-bite from his best speeches. Interesting as a curiosity (how people viewed Lincoln on the eve of WW II), but don't expect to learn anything about Lincoln (or history in general) from watching it.

After much thought I have come to the conclusion that the target audience for this 20 minute film about our 16th president is a mentally challenged, easily bored sixth grader.

Character actor Frank McGlynn, Sr. had a cottage industry of his own going with portraying Abraham Lincoln. Scroll down the list of his credits and you'll see what I mean.

Of course we get a history cardboard cutout, we don't get much more out of this short than the exhibit at Disney World. The film ends with Lincoln at Gettysburg and McGlynn recreating Lincoln's most famous speech of all.

Stripped from the myth, Abraham Lincoln was the guy who preserved the United States in being and freed this country from the stigma of slavery, nothing more, nothing less. It took a lot of lives to accomplish this, something he brooded on every minute of the slightly four plus years he occupied the White House. Had he not won the Civil War for the Union and preserved the USA in being, we would be in a much worse world than we are, no doubt in my mind about it.

The part I liked best in this was the human side of Lincoln with McGlynn comforting his son Tad played by Dickie Moore. Tad was one of two sons that survived him, his other son Robert was off at Harvard during most of the war. Lincoln was one of several presidents who buried children while in the White House, son Willie died the year before. The bond between Abe and Tad was something special after that as this short so clearly shows.

Lincoln In The White House is still a good teaching tool, but really only for the elementary school.

Lincoln in the White House (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Technicolor short showing Abraham Lincoln (Frank McGlynn, Sr.) taking office and leading up to his Gettysburg Address. This film runs just twenty-minutes so it doesn't have time to go into great detail but I thought it did a pretty good job and I'm sure those unfamiliar with these events would find this very entertaining. The Technicolor really adds a lot to the film and makes it stand out compared to other films and shorts from this era that took a look at the President. McGlynn seems to split opinions on his performance but I enjoyed it for the most part. I think he has some very awkward moments but I found most to these to be in his movements. The first time we see Lincoln and several scenes afterwards it appears the actor is walking around so stiff that the character had suffered a stroke. Dickie Moore does a nice job as Lincoln's son. Character actor John Harron co-stars.

Frank McGlynn Sr appears as Abraham Lincoln for the umpteenth time, covering the period from his inauguration through his death. Like many of Warner Brothers' historical shorts in this period, it's a dress affair, an example of potted history covering well-known anecdotes, and a bit stiff and dull for all that.

More than that, the print that plays occasionally on Turner Classic movies is not up to that studio's standard of excellence for Technicolor in that era. It seems to have been put through a sepia wash to give it an antique look, which leaves it looking ugly.