The Lincoln Conspiracy (film)

The Lincoln Conspiracy
Directed byJames L. Conway
Written byJonathan Cobbler
Based on
The Lincoln Conspiracy
by
Produced byCharles E. Sellier Jr.
StarringBradford Dillman
John Dehner
Robert Middleton
Whit Bissell
John Anderson
CinematographyHening Schellerup
Distributed bySunn Classic Pictures
Release date
  • October 5, 1977 (1977-10-05)
[1]
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5.6 million (US and Canada rentals)[2]

The Lincoln Conspiracy is a 1977 film directed by James L. Conway that dramatizes certain conspiracy theories concerning the 1865 assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Adapted from the 1977 book of the same name by David W. Balsiger and Charles E. Sellier Jr., the production stars Robert Middleton as Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, John Dehner as Colonel Lafayette C. Baker, Bradford Dillman as John Wilkes Booth, Ted Henning as Robert Campbell, and John Anderson as Lincoln.[3]

The hypothesis of the film is that, far from being the work of the ringleader of a lonely band of Confederate-sympathizing fanatics as most historians agree that it was, Lincoln's assassination was the result of a vast conspiracy involving Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Chief of National Police Colonel Lafayette Baker, and various Northern Senators and politicians who were determined to stop Lincoln from carrying out his lenient Reconstruction policies towards the South. The movie further proposes that the man killed at Garrett's farm in Virginia was not actually John Wilkes Booth, but instead was another man named James William Boyd.[3][4]

Production

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Parts of the film were shot in Park City, Utah.[5]

Distribution

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Sunn Classic Pictures departed from its normal four wall distribution strategy to demand up-front guarantees from theatres.[6][1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c The Lincoln Conspiracy at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  2. ^ Cohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. pp. M170.
  3. ^ a b Lawrence Van Gelder (October 6, 1977). "The Lincoln Conspiracy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  4. ^ "The Lincoln Conspiracy: Review". TV Guide Online. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  5. ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
  6. ^ Silverman, Syd (January 4, 1978). "Show Biz Hits Grand Slam in 1977". Variety. p. 1.
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