Abraham Lincoln on Screen

President Abraham Lincoln is the most frequently portrayed American historical figure in the history of the film and television arts, appearing onscreen as a character in more than 250 productions since the birth of the motion picture medium. This work covers each film and television portrayal of Lincoln, providing essential cast, production and release information, and discussion of each work’s historical accuracy and artistic merits. This updated edition provides commentary on all new screen works produced in recent years, including Steven Spielberg’s award-winning 2012 film Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role.

Mark S. Reinhart has presented lectures on the subject of Lincoln–related film and television at libraries and museums throughout the U.S. He is a musician in Columbus, Ohio.

Mark S. Reinhart
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 357
Bibliographic Info: 96 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9356-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5187-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  ix
Preface  1
Introduction  7
Chapter 1: 1908–1914   29
Chapter 2: 1915–1919   45
Chapter 3: The 1920s   62
Chapter 4: The 1930s   76
Chapter 5: The 1940s  103
Chapter 6: The 1950s  116
Chapter  7: The 1960s  155
Chapter  8: The 1970s  171
Chapter  9: The 1980s  195
Chapter 10: The 1990s  219
Chapter 11: The 2000s  248
Chapter 12: The 2010s and 2020s  273
Alphabetical Listing of Films and Television Productions  331
Bibliography  335
Index  337

Reviews of previous editions:

• “Fascinating…evaluative…descriptive”—Booklist

• “Intriguing…an informative reference tool. A welcome addition”—School Library Journal

• “An original and entertaining look at Lincoln’s place in American popular culture ”—The Washington Times

• “This reference work does an excellent job of providing extensive information on Lincoln as a historical and dramatic subject”—Reference Reviews

• “A useful guide…of value”—The NYMAS Review

• “Fascinating…incredible attention to detail”—ARBA

• “Fascinating…extremely detailed, thorough, and completely captivating…well-researched, well-written…definitely fills a gap in Lincoln scholarship”—The Civil War Courier

• “Definitive…tremendously informative…entertaining…superb…well illustrated…recommend[ed]”—Lincoln Herald

• “Reinhart does film studies a tremendous service by assembling this material”—Journal of American Studies

• “A real gem”—Film & History

• “Critiques more than 150 film and TV productions made between 1903 and 1998”—C&RL News

• “Comprehensive…a fine piece of diligent research…valuable”—The Civil War News

• “Fascinating”—Columbus Alive

• “The most frequently portrayed American historical figure in movies and television”—The Columbus Dispatch

• “Amply illustrated”—The State Journal-Register

• “Astonishing…enjoyable…sophisticated”—The Other Paper

• “Detailed…a useful and necessary addition to the field of Lincoln studies”—The A. Lincoln Bibliophile

• “Useful”—Ohioana Quarterly