In 1915, a silent film about the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was discovered in a warehouse in New York state after being missing for many years, bringing it back into the spotlight.
According to a report by NBC on February 4th, the silent film titled “The Heart of Lincoln” was distributed by Universal Studios and premiered in 1915. It was once considered one of the 7,000 silent films permanently lost, by the Library of Congress.
The film depicts Lincoln’s life and the lives of Americans during the Civil War. It was directed by Francis Ford, the brother of the legendary Hollywood director John Ford.
Last summer, an intern named Dan Martin was working at the Historic Films Archive in Greenport, New York. While going through boxes of old film reels donated to the archive, he stumbled upon a 16mm reel of “The Heart of Lincoln”. This is believed to be the only known surviving copy to date.
Martin said, “For those studying film preservation, this may be the most valuable result of screening old film cans donated from outside.”
The film archive manager, Eliot Kissileff, cleaned and digitized the film to ensure its permanent preservation. He mentioned that the film reel was sealed in a metal can and had not decayed, which was fortunate.
Joe Lauro, the owner of the archive, expressed that Martin’s surprised expression upon finding the reel was indicative of something special they had stumbled upon.
Lauro expressed his hope to restore the film and add a musical score to it so that modern audiences could witness a piece of cinematic history.
He noted that roughly 70% of silent films may have been lost. “This is a piece of the puzzle found now – the missing piece of American film history.”
Martin remarked, “A film like this provides evidence for the writing of film history.”
Lincoln, during his presidency, experienced the most brutal war and constitutional crisis in American history – the Civil War. He abolished slavery post-war, strengthened federal government authority, and promoted economic modernization, often revered as one of the greatest presidents in American history.
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