The Heart of Lincoln
The Heart of Lincoln is the name of both a 1915 and 1922 silent film directed, produced by and starring Francis Ford and featuring Grace Cunard. The film was released by Universal Film Manufacturing Company on February 9, 1915. Ford later remade the film, completely re-shooting it and adding a prologue; it was released November 1, 1922.
The 1922 version was a lost film until a 16mm print was found at a film archive on Long Island in 2024.
Background
Francis Ford played Abraham Lincoln nine times in the silent films he directed; he loved to impersonate Lincoln. In 1915 he wrote the script for, directed, and starred in The Heart of Lincoln, a 3-reel 30-minute film. In 1917, Ford quit Universal Pictures and started his own studio Fordart Films, and returned to the plot of his 1915 film. He completely reshot it into a 5-reel 60-minute film.Plot
Set just before the American Civil War, the film tells the story of Betty, a young woman and an admirer of Abraham Lincoln, whose two friends, a Northern and a Southern colonel, debate Lincoln's merits.During a gathering at Betty's home, Lincoln is present, and she gifts him hand-knitted socks. The war breaks out, dividing the two colonels. When the Southern colonel's mother falls ill, Betty gets word to him, and he returns home. The Northern colonel, seeing his friend, reports his presence but not his identity. Another soldier reports the Northern colonel's inaction, and both are arrested.
The Southerner is condemned to death, and the Northerner awaits charges. Betty's letter to Lincoln, pleading for their lives, is intercepted by his secretary. Despondent, Betty encounters Lincoln while helping his son with his goats. She explains her plight, but he says he cannot help. Mysteriously, the Southerner escapes prison the night before his execution. The Northerner is later released thanks to Lincoln. Both men, in their respective locations, are left to ponder Lincoln's compassion.