This morning from midnight to 3:30, I watched my original taped broadcast from 1992, and was enthralled by this incredible treatment of our 16th president.
I have seen the Raymond Massey performance of ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS, 1940 and he gave Abraham Lincoln such a great human presence. The performance of Henry Fonda as young Abe Lincoln, trial lawyer added some great humanity. Even Walter Huston's early thirties talkie added dimension to The Great Emancipator.
This production, Lincoln's own words spoken by Jason Robards gives the audience a complete portrait, the internal tortures of this self educated man. The death of his favorite son to typhoid fever in his first term, his struggles within his marriage and his constant torment with the reality of the War Between the States breathe new life into Abraham Lincoln the man.
Although this nation has sought to make festive weekends out of national holidays, maybe the media will once again separate the birthdays of George Washigton and Abraham Lincoln from President's Day and do homage by broadcasting this program once again on Lincoln's birthday.
