本片是美国默片时期的名导演D·W·格里菲思晚期拍摄的传统电影，手法平铺直叙，但相当忠于史实。 沃尔特·休斯顿扮演林肯示有精彩的演出；尤娜·默克尔的表演也不俗。Brief vignettes about Lincoln's early life include his birth, early jobs, (unsubstantiated) affair with Ann Rutledge, courtship of Mary Todd, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates; his presidency and the Civil War are followed in somewhat more detail, though without actual battle scenes; film concludes with the assassination.
