Lincoln Assassination Movie Depictions

[Thomas Thorne]

The climax of the Warner Brothers biopic "A Dispatch From Reuters" starring Edward G Robinson,released in 1940, depicted the Lincoln Assassination and Reuters scooping Europe with the news. In real life the mail boat with the awful news took 12 days to reach Ireland and the important news items were put overboard in a canister ,picked up and telegraphed to London by overland and undersea cable.

Of course being a movie, being first with the news saved Robinson and Reuters from bankruptcy. It is the only movie I have ever seen where the hero and leading lady exchange a marriage proposal by carrier pigeon.
PS I just saw this film for the first time
Tom

[Hess1865]

One of Edward G's better movies IMO!!

My favorite depiction of the assassination is in The Prisoner Of Shark Island. John Ford did such a good visual of Lincoln's hand gripping the playbill after the shot, and following that with Abe sitting in the chair, and the gauze slowly covering the scene.....Ford sure knew how to make a movie!!

BTW, the best John Ford story I ever heard went like this: Ford, whose real name was John Feeney, was talking to one of his uncles that fought in the Civil War. Ford asked the uncle, "What was the batttle of Gettysburg like??"
His uncle looked at young John and replied,
" It was horrible! I couldn't get a drink for three days!!!"

[LincolnMan]

Nice story about John Ford. He is my favorite director! Sometimes we don't think about the fact that people from the Civil War Ear were still alive when individuals like Ford were "coming up." In fact, both Ford and Marion Morrision (aka John Wayne) met Wyatt Earp in the early days of their careers.

[Thomas Thorne]

In his movies,John Ford always had a wonderful disregard for the truth. In ""Young Mr Lincoln" he moved the Almanack trial to the period before he married Mary Todd.

Ford told a biographer that he contemplated one further historical inaccuracy in YML but did not film it. In one scene Lincoln would walk past a Springfield theater whose poster advertised a performance by John Wilkes Booth!!!
Tom

[Hess1865]

reminds me of the story about John S Mosby when he lived in California long after the War.

A neighbor's son, Georgie, would always come over, and Mosby would tell the boy tales about how he "whupped the Yankees!" The child never tired of hearing the Gray Ghost's war stories!

Well the young child was none other than George S Patton, and we all know his place in US history when he grew up!!

[LincolnMan]

Hess1865: great story! We know Patton had Confederate ancestors, but does anyone know if any of his bloodline served in the Union Army?

[LincolnMan]

Does anyone know if the new Lincoln movie depicts the assassination?

[Rob Wick]

If I remember correctly, Betty said they only alluded to it. Do you know any more Betty?

Best
Rob

[BettyO]

Mr Spielberg, when asked about depicting the assassination said "It's been done!" Referring to Redford's picture The Conspirator the previous year....

The assassination will primarily be shown through Tad's eyes when he hears the message that the President has been shot at Grover's Theatre. There will be a brief scene of the Seward attack - but No Lew Powell; No Booth......

That is what I was told by "those in the know", Rob.....

[LincolnMan]

Nice information!

[BettyO]

< Sigh > Guess this means that Spielberg would not be interested in doing a movie about Lew Powell! HA!

[Gene C]

BettyO, ....Maybe Clint Eastwood?

[Laurie Verge]

OR, James Cameron??

[John Stanton]

Hess1865: great story! We know Patton had Confederate ancestors, but does anyone know if any of his bloodline served in the Union Army?

Do you count the Revolution, as "The Union Army"? When Hugh Mercer's daughter married the first Gen. George S. Patton, he became the 9 General in her family. Gen. Hugh Mercer, died Princeton. The Rebs had George S. Patton 1833-1864, died at Winchester, VA with the 22nd Va Inf. Laurie and I had an exchange of email "way Back" when a cousin(??????) talked to her about L/G Patton.s youth, in California. Laurie,Do you remember any more?
P.S The first of the Pattons lived in Fredericksburg, VA.

[L Verge]

Good lord, John, I don't even remember what I had for lunch today! For further information on the Pattons, I suspect that Jim Garrett will soon be chiming in. I believe there's a family connection there. Jim has some impressive Confederate generals on his family tree, however, so he may not want to admit that a Unionist is lurking among the branches.