Field or Harden as Mary Todd Lincoln?

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In the third graph of a 9.19 Newsweek story by Karen Springen about Mary Todd Lincoln, it is offhandedly stated that Sally Field will play the emotionally troubled wife of Liam Neeson's Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's forthcoming Lincoln biopic. This is a done deal, or is this being floated to see what the reaction might be? I'm asking in part because the IMDB is reporting that Marcia Gay Harden has the role, and because she'd nail Mrs. Lincoln cold.

Sally Field, Mary Todd Lincoln, Marcia Gay Harden

I've no doubt that Field can turn on the juice and make this work to some degree, but it might be a stretch. I've had this image all my life of Mary Todd Lincoln being a scrapper with a cast-iron backbone, and there's something about Field's squeeky heartland voice and fretful manner that seems to channel victims and underdogs (Norma Rae, Places in the Heart). Harden has been superb time and again with that heart-of-darkness battle-axe thing (Pollock, Mystic River, The Dead Girl). And she resembles Mrs. Lincoln a bit more (or certainly could be made to resemble her). This would make her a perfect match alongside Neeson, who's obviously a close biological cousin of the nation's 16th president.

Due respect but isn't Spielberg obliged to at least listen to public opinion on this matter? It's his movie but the legend of Abraham Lincoln belongs to all of us. David O'Selznick understood this concept when he was casting Gone With the Wind. Not that he would have cast Fred MacMurray as Rhett Butler if the public had called for this (which they didn't -- everybody knew it had to be Clark Gable), but he knew the public was heavily invested in Margaret Mitchell's novel and at least made a show of listening to their casting preferences.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 24, 2007 at 12:06 PM

comment #1

BurmaShave says ...

Burt Reynolds as Lincoln.

Posted by BurmaShave at September 24, 2007 1:13 PM

comment #2

BNick says ...

Is this a big role? For some reason I have it in my head that Mary Todd Lincoln was quasi-insane and that the two didn't see each other much. So I'm not sure how big a part she'd have to play in Spielberg's film, depending on how he does it.

Posted by BNick at September 24, 2007 1:15 PM

comment #3

cinefan says ...

On the other hand, if Selznick had just listened to the public and based his casting decisions entirely on its input, he would have cast a more famous actress as Scarlett rather than Vivien Leigh (a complete unknown in the states at the time). I'd say the casting choice worked out pretty well: she completely nailed the part, won an Oscar, and gave one of the greatest performances by a female actress in an American film.

Posted by cinefan at September 24, 2007 1:21 PM

comment #4

PerfectTommy says ...

My guess would be that if Gallop took a public opinion poll about who should play Mrs. Lincoln, Sally would beat Marcia on name recognition alone. I can't see Spielberg going with Field because of her age.

Posted by PerfectTommy at September 24, 2007 1:22 PM

comment #5

lesterg says ...

I see Phillip Bosco as Hannibal Hamlin and Tommy Lee Jones as Andrew Johnson.

Posted by lesterg at September 24, 2007 1:31 PM

comment #6

lesterg says ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Younger_Andrew_Johnson.jpg

Especially here...Jones would be perfect.

Posted by lesterg at September 24, 2007 1:32 PM

comment #7

shepherd12345 says ...

Tom Cruise would be perfect for Joshua Speed.

Posted by shepherd12345 at September 24, 2007 1:45 PM

comment #8

Rob says ...

I sort of hope Field's busy schedule of Brothers & Sisters and shilling for Boniva will make her a no-go.

Harden is the obvious choice for the part, and I think Spielberg must know this. He's never been one to cast big names just for the sake of it. Besides, Field hasn't really been a movie star for quite awhile.

She has been effective in certain roles but she has a weakness for "Drink your juice, Shelby!" grandstanding.

Posted by Rob at September 24, 2007 1:51 PM

comment #9

T. Holly says ...

No, no, no, I do not agree with poop shoot on this. Normally I agree with him on all things acting, but MGH is the scrapper with a cast-iron backbone, and SF embodies the ghost of Mary Todd; plus she can play a wide age range. Great choice, I can't think of anyone better. She could get an Oscar if she puts her back into this and doesn't just do a t.v. show-up-and-play-crazy role.

Posted by T. Holly at September 24, 2007 2:08 PM

comment #10

Jay T. says ...

I don't know why, exactly, but Sally Field just bugs the crap out of me.

Posted by Jay T. at September 24, 2007 2:14 PM

comment #11

Rich S. says ...

As long as Tad Lincoln doesn't start toting around a Whitman Sampler, it should be okay.

Posted by Rich S. at September 24, 2007 2:19 PM

comment #12

Chicago48 says ...

Mary Todd died at the age of 64. Sallie might fit the bill, but honestly, she's irritating as an actress.

Posted by Chicago48 at September 24, 2007 2:20 PM

comment #13

Walter Sobchak says ...

If Mary Todd had been president there would have been no Civil War.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at September 24, 2007 2:34 PM

comment #14

PerfectTommy says ...

According to the Wick, Mary Todd died at 63 which was twenty years after the White House years. Don't see Sally at 61 pulling it off. She looks great for her age, but I for one, would be conscious of the fact she was a grandmother, not just a mother. (Excellent call Sobchak.)

Posted by PerfectTommy at September 24, 2007 2:42 PM

comment #15

lazarus says ...

Wells, you should be focusing your attention on pushing Matthew McConaughey for John Wilkes Booth.

Unless you're thinking a first-rate actor should play a third-rate one.

Posted by lazarus at September 24, 2007 2:55 PM

comment #16

Chuck Latovich says ...

"Due respect, but isn't Spielberg obliged to at least listen to public opinion?" What a joke. First, that he's obliged to listen, and second that there's a M-G Harden tornado out there. (Due respect to Ms. Harden!)

Posted by Chuck Latovich at September 24, 2007 2:59 PM

comment #17

JoeJustice says ...

"You NEED, Abraham! You NEED!!!!"

Posted by JoeJustice at September 24, 2007 3:00 PM

comment #18

le corbeau says ...

I'd rather see Harden play this because I'd rather see Harden. Field has been good but she's one of those people, I've seen enough of in my lifetime.

The real question is, who's going to play Seward? That's the key role. If it's a heavyweight, sparks will fly. If it's someone who doesn't have Neeson's level of heft and gravitas, it will be a snoozer.

Posted by le corbeau at September 24, 2007 3:00 PM

comment #19

Larry says ...

Ruth Gordon did a good job many years ago.

The best fit today? Rosie O'Donnell.

Posted by Larry at September 24, 2007 5:00 PM

comment #20

thegreatmags says ...

I agree with JoeJustice bigtime. The Seward role is ESSENTIAL to this flick working. Maybe Sam Waterston? I also think a strong actor is needed for Salmon Chase, off the Kearns Goodwin bio, he's a sort of foil (not a villain, I guess but maybe) for Lincoln.

Posted by thegreatmags at September 24, 2007 5:36 PM

comment #21

thegreatmags says ...

Whoops meant I concur with Mgmax. Sorry, bud.

Posted by thegreatmags at September 24, 2007 5:38 PM

comment #22

jesse says ...

I'm fine with most actors but is anyone with me on really disliking Marcia Gay Harden? Granted, I haven't seen her turn in Pollock which is what got her all these parts to begin with, but I've found her way over the top in just about everything, including what Jeff mentions as her peaks, except maybe The Dead Girl, and even there, she was very much playing the Marcia Gay Harden part (the distressed but emotionally paralyzed and/or prim and proper and/or uptight wife and/or mother)... nails on a blackboard for me.

Posted by jesse at September 24, 2007 7:00 PM

comment #23

T. S. Idiot says ...

I'm not a big Harden fan but agree with Chicago48 that Field is irritating. Her look-at-me-I'm-acting grandstanding would clash with Liam's more subdued style.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at September 24, 2007 7:07 PM

comment #24

moorish says ...

Is it just becuase you'd rather look at nudie snaps of MGH than Sally Field, Jeff? Hell, I don't blame you, given the choice so would most people.

Posted by moorish at September 25, 2007 2:14 AM

comment #25

lesterg says ...

Moorish - Sally Field at her peak vs. Marcia Gay Harden at her peak is no contest.

Posted by lesterg at September 25, 2007 5:52 AM

comment #26

Buzz Fledderjohn says ...

Stanley Kubrick thought Vivien Leigh gave one of the worst performances ever in Gone with the Wind. I don't really agree with him, but I just thought it was interesting.

And yeah, Sally Field wouldn't work in a role like this...she's at her best in roles that are supposed to irritate you, like her part in E.R for instance. I don't think she'd make a very good match with Neeson, as good an actress as she can be.

Posted by Buzz Fledderjohn at September 25, 2007 9:51 AM

comment #27

BurmaShave says ...

I guess they figure she has heat right now because of the hit TV-series and the Emmy win, not to mention the story about her being cut off getting a lot of traction. All of the Geek sites are running it like its confirmed via the trades, so I guess we'll have to live with it.

Posted by BurmaShave at September 25, 2007 10:14 AM

comment #28

T. Holly says ...

Maybe Macia Gay Harden has another role in the movie. And FYI, Mary Todd is 43 in her portrait, yikes!, taken in 1861, the inaugural year.

From the synopsis, there are many women.
http://www.ecampus.com/book/0684824906

There is, too, an extraordinary cast of female characters. Lincoln's rivals boasted wives and daughters, including Frances Seward, Fanny Seward, and Kate Chase, who, like Mary Lincoln, displayed striking intelligence, unconventional personalities, powerful ambition and a rare degree of political sophistication. Their histories not only provide an excellent opportunity to re-examine the Lincolns' marriage in a comparative light, but also inspire a positive reassessment of Mary Lincoln's much-maligned performance of the role of First Lady. With fresh insights into the dynamics of 19th-century Washington social life gleaned from the papers of women in the Seward and Chase families, as well as with new research on the First Lady's service as a volunteer in Washington hospitals and as a fund-raiser for fugitive slaves quartered in camps near the capital, it is possible to add nuance and perhaps some new truths to the current record of Mrs. Lincoln's time in Washington. In the end, however, since Lincoln was "married" more intimately to several of his Cabinet members during the war than he was to Mary, in terms of the time he spent with them during the day, the long, anxious hours at night waiting for the telegraph to report news from the battlefront, the moments of relaxation shared, the stories exchanged, the emotions expressed, this is ultimately a story of Abraham Lincoln's mastery of men.

Posted by T. Holly at September 25, 2007 11:48 AM

comment #29