Lincoln in the Movies

Greetings all - I've recently been asked to  write a review essay on Brian J. Snee's new book, Lincoln before Lincoln, for the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. Of course, I happily agreed to take on the project - Snee's book concerns the cinematic adaptations of the life of Honest Abe. I mean...how could I pass, especially since I am working on a project about depicting historical actors and events in a motion picture. To get in the right frame of mind (I have a little time on my hands this summer) I thought I would watch a number of Lincoln films - or films at least featuring the sixteenth president as a character. Asking around through the usual social media channels for recommendations has yielded a fine harvest of Lincoln movies. So far, the most frequently recommended film is John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln, starring Henry Fonda. I'm on it...and prepared to watch it this weekend...so expect a follow up. In addition, folks have suggested I check out Lincoln in a more pop-culture setting, such as Lincoln, the time traveler (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) or vampire killing super hero (Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter).

But in all seriousness, there are any number of ways one can interpret the life and presidency of Abraham Lincoln: great emancipator, commander in chief, astute and practical politician, husband, father, country bumpkin, rail-splitter, and I suppose, vampire hunter.  Please leave your recommendations in the comments below - before I start writing, I want to see as many Lincolns as I can.

With compliments,

Keith