Abraham Lincoln (United Artists) (1930)

D. W. Griffith’s “Abraham Lincoln” Biographies and Production Features Griffith Began Career As Copy Boy and Poet I Rocked in the cradle of rabid South¬ ern hates and likes, sired by a Con¬ federate general, whose rantings against the enemy could be heard a mile away, D. W. Griffith, neverthe¬ less, is an . admirer of Abraham Lin¬ coln. Griffith, whose epic life of the mar¬ tyred President may be seen and heard at the.theatre, read the classics by candlelight in the La Grange, Kentucky, home where he was born. There his father, the renowned ‘‘Roaring Jake” of the Kentucky cav¬ alry, inculcated in him the love of romance which later was to make him an international figure. The Griffith of ‘‘The Birth of a Na¬ tion,” “Broken Blossoms,” “Way Down East” and “Intolerance” and 600 other pictures started life as a copy boy on Henry Watterson’s newspaper. At sixteen he tired of this and joined a stock company. Again he tired and wrote p poem which mirac¬ ulously found its way into Leslie’s Magazine. But poetry doesn’t pay. Griffith wrote and wrote and finally filed his rejection slips and forgot them. Another stock company claimed him and he toured the country for six years, but he didn’t make money at that. Pay days were the unluckiest days of his early stage experience, he says, because the manager of the show made all his actors play poker with him. For five years Griffith couldn’t win a cent. In the last two years he won enough money to buy himself a hat and part of the train fare to New York. In Gotham he worked for the New York World; writing obituaries and occasional poems. When he was get¬ ting poorer than ever, he deserted the newspaper profession and worked as an iron puddler. His arms and back ached so terrifically he wrote a play. The play was produced. The four acts were changed to three; the vil¬ lain became the hero and the dialogue was somebody else’s. Disgusted, he quit the stage and for sheer spite acted in a motion picture. The Biograph officials thought he’d make a better director; Griffith didn’t think so, but he needed the money. He directed the first successful screen romance. It was less than half a reel. From then on he became the virtual dictator of motion pictures, discovering Mary Pickford and the Gishes. The “close-up,” the “long-shot,” “soft focus effects” and the modern camera are all his inventions. “The Birth of a Nation” earned ten millions of dollars, of which Grif¬ fith received less than ten percent. Twelve of his productions have earned in excess of a million dollars each. Despite these earnings, Griffith is a comparatively poor man today. How¬ ever, this isn’t worrying him. Griffith was one of the five founder- members of United Artists. His one hobby today is the conduct of his lemon ranch in the San Fer¬ nando Valley. This ranch is one of thq largest citrus plants in California, with 500 acres under cultivation. Lincoln’s Charity The only fictitious character in D. W. Griffith’s “Abraham Lincoln,” the boy who was saved from a deserter’s grave through the Liberator’s sympa¬ thy for human frailties, is played by James Eagles, a newcomer to the screen, though he has been a juvenile stage actor for many years. Eagles’ part was written into Stephen Vincent Benet’s script for the purpose of epi¬ tomizing Lincoln’s supreme charity. “Abraham Lincoln,” a United Art¬ ists picture, is playing at the. theatre with a cast of 112 principal speaking players. The Polka Dance The stately and graceful polka of the Roaring Forties, with its gay, carefree music, features the country dance sequence of “Abraham Lin¬ coln,” D. W. Griffith’s film romance for United Artists now being shown at the.theatre. A special instructor, one acquainted with period dances, was engaged to teach the more than 200 extras the ele¬ gance and intricacy of the rhythmic polka. Una MerkeL featured in D. W Qriffith'r ’Abraham Lincoln." 3—One Col. Player Scene Head (Mat 05c; Cut 30c) HUSTON RAN GAMUT OF KNOCKS TO WIN A combination of brawn and brain, comic and dramatic thespian, hero and villain—that is Walter Huston, who plays the title role in D. W. Grif¬ fith’s “Abraham Lincoln,” the United Artists epic playng at the. theatre. Born in Canada, he just naturally gravitated to the stage, as most actors do. Devoid of flourishes and affecta¬ tions, he is just a regular he-man; willing to chew nails- to show how hard he is, or wear spats. Nothing matters to him. One of his many good points is that he doesn’t take serious things seri¬ ously, himself included. Carried a spear once for Richard Mansfield so he could go down in his¬ tory with the Mantels and Barry¬ mores. Claims to have played everything in the theatre but the cake of ice in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Once, to change his luck, he went into vaudeville. There he learned to be an electrician, a song and dance man, a ticket taker and finally, a lead¬ ing man. It changed his luck. The show business is the show busi¬ ness, he says. It rains on Sundays and shines on Tuesdays, but you take the flowers and the smacks and like them both. When the smacks were the heav¬ iest, Brock Pemberton emerged from behind a cloud of gloom and gave Walter his first big Broadway chance. That was five years ago. The play was “The Easy Mark.” Since then this capable actor has starred in “Desire Under the Elms,” “The Barker,” “Elmer the Great” and “The Commodore Marries.” Paramount officials thought he might make a movie actor, so they gave him a start in “Gentlemen of the Press.” The picture, in picture parlance, was a ‘‘wow.” They tried him in another, ‘The Lady Lies”; it was also a sensa¬ tional money success. A third at¬ tempt brought forth “The Virginian”; another bull’s eye. Huston is either very lucky or very good—everything he touches turns to gold, as the saying goes. D. W. Griffith thought Huston re¬ sembled Lincoln more than any other actor in the States. The result was a contract for Hus¬ ton that makes ordinary motion pic¬ ture salaries fade into ciphers. Huston knows what to do with his money. He has the nerve, he says, to go into a bank and argue for a half percent more interest. He is equally effective against female book agents. Other principals in the cast of “Ab¬ raham Lincoln” are Kay Hammond, as “Mary Todd”; Una Merkel, as “Ann Rutledge”; Ian Keith, as “John Wilkes Booth”; Jason Robards, as “Herndon”; Hobart Bosworth, as “Robert E. Lee”; Frank Campeau, as ‘‘Phil. Sheridan,” and Lucille La Verne. Campeau Plays Sheridan General Phil. Sheridan, whose mag¬ nificent rallying of troops at Cedar Creek in the Civil War turned the tide of defeat into a spectacular vic¬ tory, is played by Frank Campeau in D. W. Griffith’s “Abraham Lincoln” for United Artists, the spectacular life of the Emancipator now showing at the.theatre. Una Merkel Credits Her Success to Luck It is characteristic of Una Merkel that she should give credit for her phenomenal success on the stage, and now in pictures, to that most imper¬ sonal of all things affecting the lives of people, Luck. Yet it was not Luck that made her one of the most sought after ingenues on the Broadway stage, and certainly it wasn’t this fickle dame of the imag¬ ination who brought her west to Hol¬ lywood to portray the role of “Ann Rutledge” in D. W. Griffith’s United Artists epic romance, ‘‘Abraham Lin¬ coln,” now showing at the. theatre. This unaffected girl, whom John Golden, eminent New York producer, called the most even tempered and most capable young actress on the stage and who is “the greatest nat¬ ural actress now engaged in pictures,” according to Griffith, was born in Covington, Kentucky. After completing her high school education in Philadelphia, Miss Mer¬ kel enrolled in a dramatic school in New York City. Her first stage ex¬ perience was in the play, “Two By Two,” starring Charlotte Walker. Her two lines lasted but two weeks when the show closed for lack of an audi¬ ence. Not much better was “The Poor Nut,” which gave her work for three weeks. Miss Merkel recalls that she was seriously debating whether to give up the theatre when she called on John Golden in the hope he might have something for her. The producer asked her to see “Pigs,” then running on Broadway. Shortly after the visit to Golden, one of the leading actresses in “Pigs” resigned and Miss Merkel played the part on three days’ notice. Eventually she was co-starred with Wallace Ford when the company went on tour. On the company’s return to New York City, she was given the lead opposite Lynn Overman in “The Gos¬ sipy Sex.” When it closed she joined the star in a vaudeville sketch. Her greatest Broadway play was ‘‘Coquette” in which she appeared with Helen Hayes for over two years. When it closed she was immediately cast opposite Frank Craven in “Salt Water.” Miss Merkel’s charm and natural acting abilities made such an impres¬ sion upon Joseph M. Schenck, head of United Artists; John W. Considine, Jr., general production executive at the studios, and Griffith that she was placed under long-term contract. As soon as she completed her part in “Abraham Lincoln,” she was loaned to Inspiration Pictures for one of the starring roles in Henry King’s pro¬ duction, ‘‘Eyes of the World.” Lincoln Biography D. W. Griffith, whose “Abraham Lincoln” is being shown at the........ theatre, with Walter Huston cast in the title role, came across an interest¬ ing Lincoln story while he was film¬ ing the picture at the United Artists studios in Hollywood. The compiler of the “Dictionary of Congress,” desiring a biography of Lincoln for publication in 1858, sent the gaunt Ulinoisian the usual request for a sketch of his life. He received the following reply: “Born February 12th, 1809, in Har¬ din County, Kentucky. “Education defective. Profession, a lawyer. Have been a Captain of vol¬ unteers in Black Hawk War. Post¬ master at a very small office. Four times a member of the Illinois Legis¬ lature and was a member of the Low¬ er House of Congress. Yours, etc. A. Lincoln.” Scene from D W Q riff’Lth'r 'Abraham Lincoln." 9 —One Col. Scene (Mat 05c; Cur 30c) Walter Huston featured in D W Qriffith's Abraham Lincoln 2—One Col. Player Scene Head (Mat 05c; Cut 30c) NO MINOR ROLES FOR KAY HAMMOND Kay Hammond, who plays the scolding, peppery-tongued Mrs. Lin¬ coln in “Abraham Lincoln,” the D. W. Griffith-United Artists spectacle show¬ ing at the.theatre, has a unique record as an actress. Her first dramatic experience was as a leading woman with the famous Alcazar Stock Company of San Francisco and she has never played a minor role since. Miss Hammond was born in Spring- field, Mo. Her mother was a South¬ erner, and her father a staunch Unionist. On her maternal side she is a descendant of the Robert Critten¬ den whose friendship for the Emanci¬ pator is shown in “Abraham Lincoln.” Her early education was obtained in the exclusive school for girls con¬ ducted by Ward Belmont at Nashville, Tennessee. After five years of study at this cultural institution, Miss Ham¬ mond journeyed to New York and found her way into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating at the tender age of 17. There was no long period of strug¬ gle for her. Recognition came imme¬ diately in the form of a telegram of invitation from Tom Wilkes who needed a leading lady at the Alca¬ zar. This association led to New York and the role of “Polly” in “Polly Pre¬ ferred.” Following this, Miss Ham¬ mond pioneered the stock-starring system which permits the exchange of leading artists throughout the country. She opened the Morosco Theatre in Los Angeles in 1927 and remained there as its star for 14 months, appear¬ ing in the first Western presentations of Broadway plays. It was natural, being so close to the center of motion pictures, that the actress should attract the attention of film producers. Her first picture work was as the crippled wife in Gloria Swanson’s “The Trespasser.” Within a few weeks she was cast for a prin¬ cipal role in “Her Private Affair,” with Ann Harding. Miss Hammond was selected to play “Mary Todd Lincoln” because of her exceptional talents in the difficult realm of characterization. Walthall a Colonel In “Lincoln” Film The fame of one role which he cre¬ ated years ago brought Henry B. Walthall another very similar re¬ cently. Walthall’s most memorable charac¬ terization was that of “The Little Colonel” in D. -W. Griffith’s immortal production, “The Birth of a Nation.” When Griffith planned his talking picture masterpiece, “Abraham Lin¬ coln,” he decided upon Walthall as the one man to do justice to a role which required the same human, vital quality, that of a colonel on the staff of General Robert E. Lee. Walter Huston and Una Merkel are featured in Griffith’s great United Artists dramatization of “Abraham Lincoln.” Literary Genius Does Script for "Lincoln” When Stephen Vincent Benet, the noted poet and Pulitzer prize winner, consented to write the screen story and dialogue for D. W. Griffith’s “Abraham Lincoln,” a worry of six months was quickly dissipated. Griffith, whose remarkable drama¬ tization of the life of the martyred President may be seen at the. theatre, sought for a full half year for a distinguished man of letters who would undertake the difficult task of humanizing the gaunt, melancholy Lincoln. The producer was experiencing great disappointment. Those authors who were acknowledged masters in literature and were consequently eli¬ gible, were either disinclined to lend their talents to motion pictures or were afraid of the possibility of failure. Finally Griffith read a copy of Ben¬ et’s classic “John Brown’s Body.” The work impressed him because of its sheer poetic lyricism, its romanticism and best of all for his immediate pur¬ pose, it showed the author to have an intimate and comprehensive knowl¬ edge of the events leading up to the Civil War period. Griffith consulted with Joseph M. Schenck, head of the United Artists organization, and together these two decided that Benet was the man they wanted to clothe “Abraham Lincoln” with the dignity of finely chosen words. The poet consented and he signed a contract in New York at one of the highest figures ever paid to an author. Benet attained the highest position possible in the literary world with his epic ‘‘John Brown’s Body.” He is the winner of the John Masefield poetry prize offered by Yale Univer¬ sity; the Albert Stanburrough Cook prize and the Teneyck prize. In writing the life of Lincoln for the screen, Benet stripped the man of the myth and fiction surrounding him and drew him as he really was, a kindly, joke-loving and sometimes crude country lawyer, who achieved the highest rank in the United States by virtue of his clarity of vision and great political genius. Benet, with his knack for romantic expression, and Griffith, whose forte is romantic interpretation, collabo¬ rated in the development of what his¬ torians assert is the greatest love story ever told—the love of Lincoln for Ann Rutledge. It will be remembered that Lincoln carried the picture of this sweet coun¬ try girl in his heart, thirty years after she died. At the time of his greatest political trial, he would sometimes lose himself in the dim past when Ann Rutledge was a young girl, budding into early maturity, and he courted her by the banks of the Sangamon. The genius of Benet and Griffith were blended happily in evolving the most important scenes for this artistic and entertaining life of America's greatest hero. Every actor and ac¬ tress appearing in the picture, and there are 112 of them in important roles, are faithful reproductions in character, temperament and resem¬ blance of the persons they portray. Thus we see Mary Todd with her peppery-tongue and constant nagging, literally talking Lincoln into the White House; Herndon, Lincoln’s jun¬ ior law partner, who refused a cab¬ inet appointment because the dignity of that office might interfere with his getting drunk; Booth, the assassin, the egoist who thought Lincoln’s mur¬ der would make him a famous man. Maudlin sentiment enters into none of these vital characterizations. Walter Huston is seen as “Lincoln”; Kay Hammond, as “Mary Todd Lin¬ coln”; Una Merkel, as “Ann Rut¬ ledge”; Ian Keith, as “John Wilkes Booth”; Jason Robards, as “Hern¬ don”; Hobart Bosworth, as “General Robert E. Lee”; Frank Campeau, as “General Phil. Sheridan,” and Lucille La Verne. Henry Kolker Engaged Henry Kolker, former star of the Broadway stage, appears in the open¬ ing sequences of “Abraham Lincoln,” D. W. Griffith’s epic life of the Lib¬ erator now showing at the. theatre. Kolker, playing an embit¬ tered New Englander, was the first artist engaged for the picture.