''The Lincoln Conspiracy'' is a 1977 film directed by

James L. Conway James L. Conway (born October 27, 1950 in New York City, U.S.) is an American film and television director, producer, and writer, studio executive, and novelist. Movies Conway directed include ''The Boogens'' and '' Hangar 18''. Television ser ...

that dramatizes certain

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

concerning the 1865

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. Adapted from the 1977 book of the same name by David W. Balsiger and

Charles E. Sellier Jr. Charles Edward Sellier Jr. (November 9, 1943 – January 31, 2011) was an American television producer, screenwriter, novelist and director, best known for creating the American book and television series ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' ...

, the production stars

Robert Middleton Robert Middleton (born Samuel G. Messer, May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977) was an American film and television actor known for his large size, beetle-like brows, and a deep, booming voice (for which he was known as "Big Bob Middleton"), usually ...

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Edwin M. Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

as Colonel

Lafayette C. Baker Lafayette Curry Baker (October 13, 1826 – July 3, 1868) was a United States investigator and spy, serving the Union Army, during the American Civil War and under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. Early life Baker was born in Staf ...

Bradford Dillman Bradford Dillman (April 14, 1930 – January 16, 2018) was an American actor and author. Early life Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930, in San Francisco, the son of Dean Dillman, a stockbroker, and Josephine (née Moore). Bradford's pa ...

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

Ted Henning Ted Henning is an American Video game producer, video game and animation producer, and former stage, television, and film actor, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter. Acting and writing career Early roles - Stage acting and voice work Ea ...

as Robert Campbell, and

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

as Lincoln. The hypothesis of the film is that, far from being the work of the ringleader of a lonely band of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

-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 Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize t ...

, 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 Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

policies towards the South. The movie further proposes that the man killed at Garrett's farm in Virginia was not actually

, but instead was another man named

James William Boyd James William Boyd (1822 – after 1865) was an American Confederate military officer who was alleged in a conspiracy theory to have been killed in the place of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, due to their resem ...

Production

Parts of the film were shot in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City' ...

Distribution

Sunn Classic Pictures Sunn Classic Pictures, also known as Sunn International Pictures, Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, and Taft International Pictures was an independent U.S.-based film distributor, founded in 1971. The company was notable for family films and document ...

departed from its normal

four wall distribution In the film industry, four wall distribution (also known as four-walling) is a process through which a studio or distributor rents movie theaters for a period of time and receives all of the box office revenue. The four walls of a movie theater giv ...

strategy to demand up-front guarantees from theatres.

References

External links

* * * * Watch ''The Lincoln Conspiracy'' at the Internet Archive 1977 films Films based on non-fiction books Films about conspiracy theories Assassination of Abraham Lincoln Biographical films about Abraham Lincoln Films directed by James L. Conway 1977 drama films Taft Entertainment Pictures films Films shot in Savannah, Georgia 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{1970s-drama-film-stub

Production

Distribution

See also

References

External links