Synopsis
The almost entirely true story of Abraham Lincoln and his self-appointed bodyguard, U.S. Marshal Ward Hill Lamon - a banjo-playing Southerner who foiled repeated attempts on the President's life, and kept him functioning during the darkest hours of the Civil War.
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Cast
- Tom AmandesAbraham Lincoln
- Lea CocoWard Hill Lamon
- Penelope Ann MillerMary Todd Lincoln
- Bruce DavisonWilliam H. Seward
- Creed BrattonSenator Charles Sumner
- Saidah Arrika EkulonaMrs. Elizabeth Keckly
- Josh StambergSalmon P. Chase
- Robert CraigheadEdwin Stanton
- Lew TempleMontgomery Blair
- Michael MaizeBilly Herndon
Recommendations
- 50
The Hollywood Reporter
A curiosity telling the President's story through the eyes of longtime friend Ward Hill Lamon, it's of interest only to serious history-hounds and techies curious about its unusual green-screen production. - 50
New York Post
Odd and not entirely uninteresting little docudrama. - 40
Variety
The script, while largely historically accurate, is undermined by stilted dialogue, and the picture is laced with ill-fitting parts that wind up literally all over the matte. The result is a film better suited to classrooms than theaters. - 40
The New York Times
The whole affair has an artificial look reminiscent of a community theater production on a cardboard set. The vintage images don’t add enough to make up for the visual distraction. The story, though, is of moderate interest. - 38
Slant Magazine
Under even the best of circumstances, Saving Lincoln would have to inevitably face the scrutiny of potential redundancy. - 20
New York Daily News
The movie’s gimmick is having the actors visually superimposed over sets created from actual Civil War photographs. But this collage effect, while striving for truthfulness, comes off like a View-Master version of a tale already told. - 20
Los Angeles Times
Saving Lincoln feels amateurish, strange and beyond redress. - 0
Village Voice
The tragic ending the material demands precludes viewers from complaining that the movie is the most unpleasant thing that could happen in a theater.
