September 13, 1954 - May 27, 1970
A portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the 150th anniversary of his birth. This program concentrates on the final four years of Lincoln's life and his presidency. Thomas Mitchell introduces the program, and does one commercial for the sponsor, (The Lincoln Life Insurance Company). This presentation was a repeat of its premiere airing one year before, February 11, 1959. Alexander Scourby narrates from Richard Hanser's script, quoting mostly in the words of Abraham Lincoln. Robert Russell Bennett's score incorporates songs of the time. Donald B. Hyatt produced and directed. This broadcast received many outstanding awards but was never aired again.
For this extraordinary documentary producer Donald B. Hyatt developed the "stills-in-motion" technique which involved the animation of thousands of still photographs and non filmed visual materials. However, just listening to the narrative sound track by Alexander Scourby, the incredible score, using music of the times, orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett, coupled with the narrative written by Richard Hanser, including salient quotations expressed by President Abraham Lincoln, makes for an exhilarating interpretation, insight and appreciation of Lincoln's presidency, and what he endured during his administration during the Civil War (1861-1865).
In 1954 Henry Solomon, along with Donald B. Hyatt, Issac Kleinerman, Richard Hanser, and Robert Russell Bennett, began production on a group of compilation documentaries they named PROJECT 20. Salomon and company periodically produced special broadcasts for NBC recreating the lives, events, periods, and trends of the 1900's through an effective marriage of archival news film and still photos, long before contemporary Ken Burns picked up the baton to do similar approach documentaries broadcast on PBS beginning in the 1980's.
There were 33 produced Project 20 NBC Specials in the series. Eleven of them were enhanced with narration provided by the mellifluous Alexander Scourby. The series became universally recognized as one of American television's most enduring and honored series, winning hundreds of national and international awards for broadcasts, including two prime time Emmy Awards.
