HALLMARK HALL OF FAME: MISTER LINCOLN (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas presented by Hallmark. In
this program, Roy Dotrice dramatizes the life and career
of Abraham Lincoln in a one-man show performed live at
Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. In the first act,
Lincoln recalls the following: his enlistment in the
army because he "had nothing better to do," his
political career as a young attorney in Springfield,
Illinois, his courtship of Mary Todd, his bouts of
melancholia, and his battles against slavery as a
freshman congressman. The first act also focuses on
Lincoln's fiery debate with Stephen Douglas during the
1858 Illinois senatorial campaign. Upon losing that
election, Lincoln resolves to seek the office of the
presidency. In the second act, Lincoln addresses the
possibility of civil war, the urgent matter of the
Emancipation Proclamation, the movement to remove him
from office, the devastating effects of the conflict
between North and South, and the premature death of his
second son, Willy. Finally, Lincoln delivers a
stirring Gettsyburg Address and concludes by describing
visions of his own death to his wife Mary.
("Hallmark Hall of Fame" aired on NBC from 1952 to
1978; network affiliation varies after 1978.)
(Beginning with the live telecast of the opera "Amahl
and the Night Visitors" on December 24, 1951, Hallmark
has sponsored a series of dramatic specials which since
1952 have been titled "Hallmark Hall of Fame." From
1952 to 1955 Hallmark also presented "Hallmark Hall of
Fame," a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology series
hosted by Sarah Churchill. The first program, "Dr.
Serocold," was televised in January 1952 under the title
"Hallmark Television Theatre." This series also ran
under the title "Hallmark Summer Theatre" in July and
August 1952.)
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: February 9, 1981 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:30:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:32724
- GENRE: Docudrama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Docudrama
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1981
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Susskind … Producer
- Gordon Rigsby … Director
- Peter Coe … Direction (Misc.), Directed for the stage by
- Herbert Mitgang … Writer
- George C. Scott … Host
- Roy Dotrice … Cast, Abraham Lincoln