Just in time for Oscars.
The coveted longtime silent film about President Abraham Lincoln was recently discovered in North Fork, Long Island, thanks to an intern who dug into the Rusty Old Reel.
The 1915 65-minute flick, The Heart of Lincoln, was found to be hidden deep in Greenport's historic film archives by Dan Martin, a 26-year-old film student from Jamesport.
Martin was tasked with sifting through cans of films that were moving through many titles, and considered the title to be “a kind of dry” old pedagogical education.
Only after playing the flicks he recognized director and actor Francis Ford. Brother and Academy Award winner John Ford has achieved the fame of “Grape of Angry.”
“” [Ford] The brothers were almost obsessed with Lincoln as this liberated Messiah in American history.” Martin told Newsday.
“This was like a piece of puzzle that is missing from the whole myth around these people.”
Until recently, Library of Congress is listed “The Heart of Lincoln” as a lost, quiet film.
Archives manager Joe Lauro then digitized the film to 4K quality and stored it in a more appropriately labeled can. He plans to donate his lost work to the Library of Congress.
As for Martin, a huge fan of the Ford Brothers, he said this is “pretty cool things” that could happen to a guy like him.
“For those who go to school to preserve movies, this is about the most rewarding outcomes you can sift through those old film cans.” He told NBC New York.
