The Lincoln Cycle is a 1917 American silent series of ten short films portraying the life of American president Abraham Lincoln. They were directed by John M. Stahl and starred Benjamin Chapin, a celebrated Lincoln impersonator, in the title role.[2] All except two episodes survive in the Library of Congress archives.[3] It was also released as The Son of Democracy.
Chapin had appeared as Lincoln for many years, and had set up his own production company with the intention of making a film based on his own 1906 play Lincoln. Following the enormous commercial success of D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, the potential of another play related to the American Civil War allowed Chapin to plan an ambitious epic series of films, rather than a single feature. He hired young filmmaker John Stahl to direct.[4]
It initially began shooting at studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey before shifting to Ridgefield Park. Location shooting took place around New Jersey, with some shots also taken of the White House and other historical sites.[5] Because he lacked a distributor for his costly production, Chapin premiered the first episode at the Belasco Theater in Washington to coincide with the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson. This and a transfer to the Strand Theatre in New York proved a great success. Following American's entry into World War I the patriotic elements of the play were heavily promoted.[6] In December it was picked up for distribution by Paramount Pictures and released serially between February 11 and April 15, 1918. By this time Chapin was in ill health and died in the summer of that year. As the films conclude without the end of the American Civil War or the assassination of Lincoln, it was likely they were unfinished.[7]
Some confusion exists about the credits of the film because Chapin only featured himself in advertising materials acknowledging neither the other actors or the technicians behind the scenes, something that director Stahl strongly objected to.[8]
lincoln, cycle, 1917, american, silent, series, short, films, portraying, life, american, president, abraham, lincoln, they, were, directed, john, stahl, starred, benjamin, chapin, celebrated, lincoln, impersonator, title, role, except, episodes, survive, libr. The Lincoln Cycle is a 1917 American silent series of ten short films portraying the life of American president Abraham Lincoln They were directed by John M Stahl and starred Benjamin Chapin a celebrated Lincoln impersonator in the title role 2 All except two episodes survive in the Library of Congress archives 3 It was also released as The Son of Democracy The Lincoln CycleDirected byJohn M StahlWritten byBenjamin ChapinProduced byBenjamin ChapinStarringBenjamin ChapinCinematographyWalter BlakeleyHarry FischbeckJ Roy HuntProductioncompanyCharter Features CorporationDistributed byParamount Pictures 1 Release dateMay 27 1917Running time10 films of 2 reels eachCountryUnited StatesLanguagesSilentEnglish intertitlesChapin had appeared as Lincoln for many years and had set up his own production company with the intention of making a film based on his own 1906 play Lincoln Following the enormous commercial success of D W Griffith s The Birth of a Nation the potential of another play related to the American Civil War allowed Chapin to plan an ambitious epic series of films rather than a single feature He hired young filmmaker John Stahl to direct 4 It initially began shooting at studios in Fort Lee New Jersey before shifting to Ridgefield Park Location shooting took place around New Jersey with some shots also taken of the White House and other historical sites 5 Because he lacked a distributor for his costly production Chapin premiered the first episode at the Belasco Theater in Washington to coincide with the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson This and a transfer to the Strand Theatre in New York proved a great success Following American s entry into World War I the patriotic elements of the play were heavily promoted 6 In December it was picked up for distribution by Paramount Pictures and released serially between February 11 and April 15 1918 By this time Chapin was in ill health and died in the summer of that year As the films conclude without the end of the American Civil War or the assassination of Lincoln it was likely they were unfinished 7 Some confusion exists about the credits of the film because Chapin only featured himself in advertising materials acknowledging neither the other actors or the technicians behind the scenes something that director Stahl strongly objected to 8 Contents 1 Cast 2 References 3 Bibliography 4 External linksCast EditBenjamin Chapin as Abraham Lincoln Tom Lincoln Charles Jackson as Abraham Lincoln as a boy Madelyn Clare as Nancy Hanks Lincoln John Stafford as Carter Joseph Monahan as Willie LincolnReferences Edit Babington amp Charles Barr p 30 Babington amp Charles Barr p 29 35 Babington amp Charles Barr p 33 Babington amp Charles Barr p 31 Babington amp Charles Barr p 31 Babington amp Charles Barr p 32 Babington amp Charles Barr p 33 34 Babington amp Charles Barr p 29 34Bibliography EditBruce Babington amp Charles Barr The Call of the Heart John M Stahl and Hollywood Melodrama Indiana University Press 2018 External links EditThe Lincoln Cycle at IMDb This article about a silent film is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Lincoln Cycle amp oldid 1105524119, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
