The Face of Lincoln (1954)
1954 · Short film · 21 min · dir. Edward Freed
- Documentary
- Short
Synopsis
Head of the sculpture dpeartment at USC when this film was made (by USC), Merrell Gage was a lifelong expert on Abraham Lincoln. This short was a lecture often given by Gage, using wet clay to depict the on-going changes to Abe's face over the years as Abe altered his hairstyle, grew a beard, and showed the effects of aging. Shown on TV many times, a fascinating look at one of history's important statesmen.
Synopsis from TMDb
Details
- Director
- Edward Freed
- Studio
- Cavalcade Pictures, University of Southern California, Universal Pictures
- Released
- 1956-03-05
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 1 win & 1 nomination total
- Running time
- 21 minutes
Cast & crew
- Edward Freed Director
- Merrell Gage
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★★ · Is your thumb in my eye or are you just happy to see me? · Spuzz · 2006-01-29
VERY nice short little biography here of Honest Abe. The unique thing about it is that why the story is being told, a bust of his face is being sculpted out! And as Abeáïs story goes on, the sculptot ages the bust accordingly, which was a great touch. Iáïve never seen anything like this before. Itáïs unique and works beautifully. I even cringed when the sculptor began raking Lincolnáïs face. Even though this is 20 minutes, the time flies by because youáïre half listening to the bio, and half watching the guy making this face look like a piece of cake. Great!
★★★ · Honest Abe in Clay · Christine Hennig · 2006-05-29
This 50s film tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln in an unusual way: by having sculptor Merrell Gage tell it to us while making a bust of the man. As the story goes on, Gage shows us the changes that formed in LincolnÂs appearance over his lifetime, such as when he decided to grow a beard, or when the worries of the Civil War etched lines into his face. For the most part, this is understated and touching, though it does drag a bit in spots. Still, this film is to be commended for coming up with a truly unique way to tell the story of a man whose life has been talked about so much…
★★★ · THWAP! · ridetheory · 2005-10-29
Man, I remember this one! They used to air it on a local TV station in the 1960s when a feature movie ran a bit short. My favorite bit is where he says, "Of course, he had ears..." and then THWAPS two big clumps of clay on either side of Lincoln's head. (That moment, by the way, is about the most exciting part of this film.) It's a bit tough to pay attention to Lincoln's life history when it's told by a lecturer who simultaneously digs his thumbs into a giant clay Lincoln's eye sockets.