"Tad" (1995) - Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Lincoln - Family-Friendly Film

[Music] so [Music] so [Music] the year was 1861. around our way something special was about to happen people were starting to gather waiting for paw to show up he had a new job and folks were there to pay him tribute mr herndon said it wasn't hardly possible coming out of a one-horse town like springfield still there was an election and our own paw had been chosen president of all the united states we'd be moving [Music] i was seven years old when we left home looking back a guy couldn't help but get caught up in the spirit of things willie what are you doing moe was busy at the hotel we rented out the house and moved in there temporarily today we were moving out all together ma was fussing over this and that pause said that she was a woman particularly beyond the usual brother bob had come back from college to help out mother robert where have you been we just sent him to the law office to try and find father i should think a young man from harvard college could at least help his mother at the time when was he there no mr herndon said he hadn't seen him all day it's just that i try at the bar the springfield house robert i want you to go and tell your father that i need him to come here mother i would really rather not robert i would have thought i could at least depend on you well the whole town is overrun with office seekers they're all grabbing a hold of me to get to paw where is ted willie find your oh she blows willie get down from there robert get him down come here you little idiot oh robert willy i want you and ted to change into your new suits for the ceremony where is ted robert i want you to go to the springfield house and tell your father to interrupt whatever story he may be telling and come here directly willie i want you to find dad oh ma he could be anywhere really [Music] leaving a place behind wasn't as easy as it seemed we had lots of friends there willie and me had a tree fort and a raft and we could go swimming in the river there were frogs to catch plenty of catfish and a deep spot for diving summer was best also winter when things froze over and we could skate to think on it there wasn't much about the place we really didn't like [Music] [Applause] it was strange seeing the house without anything in it [Music] makes a predictive sound don't it son paw the train came down in the table and it's all over flags and such it's a sheep's nose apple can't say i had one since new sailing days feller sent me a barrel of them yesterday i don't rightly remember whether he coveted the job of postmaster at elkhart or ambassador to spain well now ted what are you doing over here all alone i just wanted to look at things i mean before we have to go to washington district of columbia seems like a reasonable plan of action to me it is important when contemplating a removal to fix things in your mind because there's nothing worse than later on trying to remember and finding it all fuzzy and vague i can remember the first time i ever left a home behind me i suppose i was about your size my paw he had the same name as you thomas did they call him ted too no just tom how come i'm not just tommy well when you were a baby you looked as small as one of the tadpoles i'd cast in the cricket and i guess it just stuck anyway when we left my pods let the fire go out in the hearth loaded up the horse just headed out never even barred the door i remember i sat up on the back of the horse all scrunched around looking back i could see the cabin through the trees the door swinging open on one leather hinge [Music] my sister sarah's corn husk dolly dropped on the door sill my mother never did look back billy says it's gonna be prime in the new house the washington district of columbia with parades and soldiers and like that all you ain't so sure come here you know there's nothing wrong with being sad about leaving being a little afraid of where you're going now that makes sense the truth is ted i'm more than little afraid of where i'm going myself huh they're here [Music] they got red pantaloons front they're carrying monsters elmer's got a sword president come on in elmer president i have dispatches from general scott he's very concerned about your personal safety that's been received against your life and uh i mean there will be a detective joining us in chicago hey mr pinkerton but until then i until then elmer i have absolute confidence in you and your gallant zoabs thank you sir but we're not really soldiers i mean it's just volunteers for fun you be careful teddy don't worry i don't actually keep it sharp sir you may have to i'm heard one day elmer brother bob says there's gonna be a war he says the south hates pop for getting elected if there's a war i'm gonna be a swab with red pig wounds be careful teddy put her down i said she's got to come home right now to put her on your knees for the cars she's looking for you too pop real particular she says whatever you're doing you have to come right now she says you and i have to stop to swap stories every time they can harry on the street shoulder arm right shoulder shift arms without doubling right face it was peculiar leaving that old house it was all i'd ever known to that time to me and willie it was our world [Music] i guess we just figured we'd be there forever poss said we'd come back someday right now though it was time to move on [Music] not knowing when or whether i may return the task before me greater than that which rested upon washington without the assistance of that divine being whoever intended him i cannot succeed keep still when your father with that assistant but i can't i cannot fail trusting in him you can go with me remain with you and be everywhere for good let us confidently hope that all will yet be well to his care commending you as i hope in your prayers you will commend me i can't see nothing i bid you an affectionate farewell [Music] [Applause] and then we were going moving on down the tracks willy me bob mon paw elmer and the zouaves i can't see nothing for pity safety careful mr lincoln seeing the people getting smaller and smaller waving made time just sort of stand still it was like it was real and yet it wasn't [Music] despite what people said i had the feeling things were changing maybe forever whatever it was up ahead around the bend though i knew paul would make it right being with him things were just that way [Music] moving in wasn't hard at all there were all kinds of people there to help white house indeed shabby just plain shabby this place is a national disgrace guilt peeling right off the draperies they're threadbare you could put your finger right through them yes ma'am the place was big and though it wasn't especially old ma of course found plenty of things not to her liking pause said it was because of her high standards i wouldn't ma'am some of them be a mite indeterminant oh she'd come from a big old family in kentucky where they had servants fancy dress balls and all kinds of finery i don't think there's a chair fit for a decent decision [Music] stop it stop it stop it oh where do i start and mr lincoln is here i said to him mr lincoln the white house is in absolutely deplorable condition and he said mother it is a fitting match for the union ted what are you doing i want to see the boat don't stand on the chair whoa oh now teddy bear trees boys you've got to understand that your father needs all our help good as news good as new teddy where are you going like you said will he dare go after him and see that he doesn't get into trouble now i personally delivered the entire sixth floor then i figure that's good for a commissioner for new york army settler that's the ticket well i'll be if it isn't young willy lincoln i declare willie lincoln i'm ted you going to see your paw say you boys love that jawbreaker candy get yourself a whole sack full you just tell your paw that otis bixby of philadelphia needs a minute of his time tell him it's about the appointment of collector for the port of philadelphia you gentlemen have an appointment paw monster we were supposed to be a cover in hill because there's nothing else to do i thought a couple of those office seekers out there got through the barricade i'm sorry mr president there seems to be no way to discourage them i've been offered up to ten dollars in specie just to allow for an audience for one a man tried to give us a penny for jawbreakers there you are nicolet there are a few small matters on the docket like the southern states seceding and the threatening civil war but i'ma spend my time dealing with a gaggle of petty office seekers like a man so busy renting out rooms in one end of the house that he can't stop to put out the fire that's burning in the other yes sir i'll tell you hey the greatest service anyone could do me would be to make that whole swarm of office seekers out there go away let me get down to the sorry business of the nation what office would you boys be after mr president there are important matters i'm afraid mr nikolay is right son now you all just run alongside oh hi there ain't nothing to do mom says we was underfoot never mind boys everybody has a task to do isn't that right mr nikolay hmm oh yes yes sir now boys you go on and find yours general scott is becoming increasingly concerned about the situation at fort sumter in charleston home we wasn't much of comfort and help i sure wish we can get rid of him for paw who that mr bixby from philadelphia i mean with the south getting out what look at all the jobs that'll open up in the war department alone now there's going to be 50 clerkships well sonny what is it now you want to see old apes [Music] right here [Music] come here [Music] mr president they're gone who the office seekers in the corridor they're all gone nicolet i believe this rivals the parting of the red sea [Music] can you play with us now oh hold on willie ted do you boys have any idea what might have happened to the gentleman who were out here we are right mr bixby like you said boys what did you do we didn't lie to him paw we just said you want to see old dave it's true ain't it he did we didn't promise nothing and then they followed us downstairs and through the cellar and out the back door and through the clothesline and then we ran around and came right back in the front pop now you can get down to the sorry business of the nation like you wanted and when you're done with that you can play with us [Music] [Laughter] [Music] can you see it ted no it's too little move it this way until you see the church steeple i see it i see it that's the flag of the confederacy over the hotel in alexandria virginia come on let me see homer let me see i didn't get a long enough turn now willie if you look past the hotel you can see the artillery battery i see it the guns are pointed this way oh are they gonna fight a war well nobody knows really they're waiting i bet you're so also lick those sessions till they holler knock knock when them stuff well i hope i get the chance to find out now listen boys i have to muster up the guard so it's time to go in ah can't we look at that oh slash flag promised your mother and keep you boys out of trouble she wouldn't want you to fall off the roof that's awful close ain't it alexandria virginia excellent reference miss kelly thank you mrs lincoln but from miss davis miss jefferson davis yes ma'am i worked for her before the present difficulties well i'm satisfied we will keep your past employment record a state secret were you her slave mrs davises no ma'am i hired my own time and i bought my freedom ten years ago i worked as a seamstress for miss davis for wages and so you should work for me now i have a gown that needs some adjustment at the waist let out well sufficiently adjusted there's a reception this afternoon you must be clever with your work mrs keckley all my old bows will be there mr douglas mr douglas the senate oh yes stephen was quite attentive in the old days there were so many of them it was stephen joshua speed mr conkling there were balls and sleigh rides and parties but you chose mr lincoln i used to laugh and say someday i would marry the man who would be president of the united states did you think he would then well no one else did my friends advised me against the match they said he was a poor prospect mr lincoln may not be as handsome a figure as the others but people are perhaps not aware of the fact that his heart is as large as his arms are long we was on the roof we saw this flag right across the river and it has bars going across like this boys boys not now i'm conferring with miss cagley you go on and play where anywhere in the house but not on the roof yes mom you think we should go in why not mom said we shouldn't go on the roof this ain't on the roof it's under the roof i don't know willie lincoln don't dash across this line i do too but i said not to scared of death bound to be last i ain't neither ain't nothing here anyway just old trash nobody wants no more who's that i don't know james madison is he the one mom paw had to suffer last week no he's just an old tummy out of history hey look some kind of poodle dog look at me look at me i'm george washington i cannot come alive you can't tell nothing but lies [Music] the question where shall virginia go is answered by mr lincoln she must go to war what are they talking about fort sumter that's airport only it's in the south and the seas folks want our soldiers to surrender from general because it's a slave state and there's a bunch of sore losers called spy got elected that regular is bound to be your war over that fort hunter i guess it's like they drew a lion and dad's pod step across it scared of death bound to be last i guess paul has to take the desk hey willy looky here it is perfectly obvious sir that general scott is simply too old and too gouty to provide the vigorous military leadership we need gentlemen do you have any idea how many millions of dollars are already committed to the cotton crop which is still to be picked in the plantations of virginia alone [Music] yes you rang sir hey yes ma'am [Music] mr president you rang no colonel but the white house apparently is under attack i'll direct you to find and secure the invaders yes sir mr president right away willie tag elmer look at here [Music] it is humiliating every bell ringing the entire mansion in an uproar i say let him play mother this house can use some laughter well you encourage them everyone in springfield said you let them run wild why should the spirit of mortal be proud a swift fleeting meteor a fast flying cloud a flash of the lightning break of the wave he passes from life to his rest in the grave you trot that out just to change the subject yes ma'am a dude but the sentiment's fitting we should set an example for them they are old enough to follow the rules of propriety propriety will have him in his shackles soon enough well we should at least set boundaries for them a designated place for them to play the back service yard the back service yard well i don't see how they can get in trouble there oh dad still still your goat go ahead ted you get in now you be careful mr tan that old goat ain't exactly broke to harness what's his name joe you ain't got one how about jefferson davis [Music] are waiting for thee [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] mr lincoln it is not amusing i'm sorry miss throssel has lost her singing voice completely no small loss i expect you understand that the influential and respectable people of washington consider us lacking in breeding culture and decorum no mother i always thought the todd side of the family had enough breeding and decorum for all of us you indulge them beyond the point of christian tolerance and decency mother the boys are just lonely i mind how that was picking up everything and leaving they have no friends i feel they may need someone you're right you're right they are in need of fellowship but decent well-behaved children and someone to look after them someone young enough to sympathize but ladylike but you sit up straight don't you use that language mama says that the president is the chief magistrate of the republic and his dignity is always to our respect [Music] [Applause] well now here's a pleasant and unexpected aspect mr president i am julia taft and may i express my pleasure at being vouchsafe the intimate acquaintance of members of your family well i'm equally pleasured miss taft about saving whatever it is you're about saving mrs lincoln arranged with mama to have bud and holly to play with your little boys and i'm to keep them out of mischief now that will be a herculean labor misstep do rise to the occasion does it really shoot sure mr sun showed us at the toy shop i understand ms lincoln had something of a long talk with your mom mama says i'm to be a restraining influence on the boys well i do hope you'll not be too restraining these days i think we might well let the children have all the good time they can have i don't see how anyone could have a good time when you think of the news well i suppose the trick is to avoid thinking of the news whenever you can but with major anderson besieged at fort sumter by the southern rebels i don't see how anyone could have a good time or whether indeed it would be right well julia as to that i'm reminded of the tale of a rooster and a hen who were marooned on the roof of a chicken house in the middle of a flood the roosters suggested to the hen that they marry on the spot immediately begging your pardon mr president but i was looking for general mcdowell you just missed him elmer mr chase took him over to the senate if you hurry you can likely catch both of them yes sir miss taft this is colonel almer ellsworth the colonel came from illinois with us elmer this is miss julia taft an honor colonel ellsworth enchanted missed out here comes mr nicolas fire bulls now boys what's your aim mr nicolet i trust general scott's artillery or better distinguishing friend from foe general scott is here sir they have fired on fort sumter huh you want to turn fire on the cannon maybe later teddy oh paul never gets to play with us no more he spends so much time with those plaguey generals with paw busy we wound up spending lots of time with miss julia i suspect we just about drove her crazy oh thomas lincoln i don't know what's come over you today you're absolutely horrible in church i thought it was prime and the minister started praying for pop and although sessions walked out banging on the fuse there was no reason for you to bang ours you want them to think you're a rebel i was just having fun is all hello there the staff i'd inquired of you but they said that you'd gone to church we are only now returning so i see may i walk with you mustaf i well i have to keep an eye on the boys well we could go in a circle if you'd like [Music] i've so enjoyed our strolls in the mansion garden that i particularly wanted to tell you at first hand tell me what they swear the zouaves in his regular federal troops this morning oh my it was to be expected after the attack on sumter oh i've recruited a number of irishmen from the fire brigade in new york city they are a jolly lot you should see them build a human ladder to carry buckets of water to the roof but you're not going right away i'm into the war it's not what you call a real war i mean they've just been flying the confederate flag across the river in alexandria i know the boys showed me from the roof well we're just gonna take a little story across the river and put an end to that when are you going well we'll have luncheon first of course mrs lincoln insisted i joined them in the dining room she said one must say goodbye to family going off to war and i too shall have to say goodbye colonel ellsworth [Music] please miss taft under the circumstances won't you call me elmer and i should call you julia my dear julia won't you give me your sash to carry with me you mean like in a novelizer walter scott exactly [Music] i shall give you this [Music] over here ted willie ted we must go now oh my stars lily and todd where are they we were all plenty envious when elmer took the zouaves into alexandria like is not he'd wind up getting a medal or some kind of commendation for it we were all excited for him [Music] there it is i got it in my sights what's happening it's my turn look how tad it's my turn can you see elmer nah just the elsa's flag i heard guns before you did not did so didn't you hear julia no i fed homers in a real first-rate battle with blood and cannons and bugles and musket balls are you crying yes you are you're crying it's elmer you're sweet on elmer [Music] get that colonel [Music] let me see you've had it too long no i don't see him [Music] [Applause] [Music] what's that what happened can you see him i saw him he had the flag it's all over now friends let's pray the lord is my shepherd i shall not want he maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters he restoreth my soul he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake yea though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil thou art with me thy rod and thy staff may comfort me thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies thou anoint us my head with oil spike up ronaldo surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and i will dwell in the house of the lord mother you've got to come back it is too much ted in the middle of a solemn sacred moment pulling that chair over i saw that how can you smile how can you revel in his disrespect at a time like this now mother i've lost them eddie elmer my brothers they're in this war they're going to die i know they will mother there's been no word about your brothers there's no reason to believe one way or another they are my family and i have to pretend they don't exist i do understand do you i do not understand you mr lincoln in the face of death you laugh it's just daddy let him play he'll understand death soon or not it's all around me i can feel it [Music] sometimes i don't think i can hold on [Applause] [Music] elmer's death seemed to be the start of it for us after sumterfell and virginia seceded there were 11 states in what mr davis called the confederate states of america they recruited an army to fight us pretty soon it was full-out war paw formed an army of his own there were battles at manassas bull run and antietam none of it wound up good for the north lots of men died truth to tell the rebs licked us bad park wouldn't find himself a general who wanted to do much more than ride around and look good at parades weighed on him heavy [Music] we knew plenty of boys from back home that were given their lives for the cause colonel baker took a mini ball and died in virginia the 11th of illinois got cut up at fort donaldson bad as it was the dark days had only just begun not too long miss keckley every time i walk down that corridor and see those dreadful men chewing tobacco i want to send my petticoats out to be cleaned what is that the boys are probably burying jack again oh no not in the flowers i'm afraid so mrs lincoln mr watts is coming after them oh he'll be furious julia dear run down right now and tell them they mustn't boys uh-uh not in that not in there now look to hear you done buried that confounded dog six times in the last three days but he was tried and convicted of sleeping on his post in the face of the enemy that's why the ribs like to sit bull runs look at him i don't told miss lincoln now i ain't gonna put up with this foolishness now hissing you was mine boys maybe jack doesn't have to be buried this time sure he does in case of typhus fever with full military honors maybe you could pardon him i could he's commander in chief let's go wait boys mr lincoln across the ridge i'm sorry sir i tried to i understand mr nicolae excuse me joe well what is it boys paw we want a pardon for jack jack oh oh yes jack he's been convicted of sleeping on his post again incentives to be shot at sunrise it's but we always a pardon for him well i suppose we'll have to consider that request for clemency asleep at his post time why does jack deserve a pardon well uh well mr president jack well he's awful young not much older than me and he was powerful tired and homesick and afraid he didn't mean to do anything wrong well general what do you think we ought to do about jack mr president harsh discipline is necessary to maintain the army i have heard it suggested that field commanders adopt the plan shoot him first and then report to the president but jack's not a real soldier he's a doll we made him a soldier now there you have a sound argument consider gentlemen if human feeling isn't enough to spare a life we lawyers can always find a legal quibble to hang our hats upon it's good law that a man should not be put twice in jeopardy and since jack has been shot and buried a dozen times mr haye is she the fool's cap the doll jack is pardoned by order of the president signed a lincoln there you go gentlemen now you all run along let's go thanks mr preston well now gentlemen i believe we were discussing a somewhat similar case not precisely sir the prisoner in this case was duly tried by a military court for desertion and i know i know and sentenced to be shot well what i need here now is some neat pedifoggers quibble like the sword that just saved jack mr president the man was a coward well there's no doubt about that god knows most of us are cowards at some time or another i believe it was shakespeare who wrote a coward dies many deaths before his time so it could be maintained that like the doll jack your young soldier was in far more than double jeopardy really sir mr haye prepare a formal pardon for me to sign really mr president i protest general i go arm and arm with melancholy so often these days so i should go to bed happier tonight julia what's all this it's jack they just convicted him again this time it was for spying they're gonna hang him from the trellis so they don't have to dig in the rose garden mr president the pardon if only death were again gentlemen i envy my children they have the power to bring back to life those who die in their war in our war that's a power limited to god he does not seem to care to exercise it despite the war life went on at home there were receptions and balls one of which willy and i weren't able to see we were sick and ma took it hard i guess she was thinking about eddie eddie was a brother i never knew he died when he was four it was something ma never quite got over this washington dc ain't numbered one open for even lord knows what kind of sicknesses these folks coming down with with the malaria and the typhus and oh but not your boys i should have called back the cards canceled the reception we should have canceled dinner now mary dr stone said willie would recover soon but he's worse i know he's worse well mr lincoln what do you think of mrs lincoln's new gown from new york well now i must say ladies you would think with all that white lace trailing over the valley there might be a little left over to obscure the hilltops mr lincoln will you stop that here miss lincoln has a very beautiful neck and arms and that's all right miss keckley mr lincoln is trying to divert me by teasing but i know him we know each other [Music] i promised the boys i'd show them the new gown before we went down thank you you be careful mr lincoln don't you tread on her train despite how she felt by the time ma came in with paw to say good night and tell us about the big cake downstairs everything was fine it comes all the way from mr sherry's in new york a steamboat made from puff paste with real guns general mcclellan is sugar icing we'll save a piece of cake for you and when dr stone says you're better you shall have it huh i'm right here willie was it in the newspaper it was son can you hear me teddy uh-huh to the editor washington national republican dear sir i enclosed my first attempted poetry yours truly william w lincoln my name is there oh yes actually it says william w lincoln lines on the death of colonel edward baker there was no patriot like baker so noble and so true he fell as a soldier on the field his face to the sky of blue paw it's not fair i'll never have a pump good enough to be in the newspaper someday you will teddy do you know anybody else who's gonna get killed so i can write a poem well maybe you can write a poem about somebody who doesn't die dead poems are easier mr lincoln i'll stay with the boys now paul is that the music from the marine band i believe it is what are they playing teddy i only know two tunes one of them's yankee doodle and the other one isn't it's aura lee you want paw gonna dance to it i'm afraid protocol will demand it wish i could say that [Music] okay [Music] he hears you but he's very tired now you go back to sleep [Music] so [Music] really really really really [Music] the doctors they didn't know about already [Music] bullying [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] really [Music] so okay willie's dead yes yes he's he's in heaven god has called him home [Music] [Music] where's mom she's in a room can she come to me not now teddy maybe later you're my can't come now into bed now teddy i'm so sorry mr president [Music] huh willie won't ever talk to me no more no we won't [Music] you ain't going away are you paw no son i ain't going away [Music] losing willie made life different to me things would never be quite the same sad as paw was ma took it even harder she said the joy was gone from things forever she had built a sort of shrine upstairs to those that had died eddie elmer and now willie she stayed in a room crying mary mary it's been four weeks since willie's funeral four weeks you shouldn't keep this here it's wrong mother i understand your grief i share it for two nights now i've dreamed that willie was still here with us and when i wake i have to face it all over again that it isn't true but i have to go on and so do you there's tad he needs you and robert he's up there at harvard mother you must stop it listen to me you see that large white building on the hill yonder that's the washington asylum for the insane now you must try to control your grief or to drive you mad and we may have to send you there paw paw ted what are you doing up i don't like it in my room i ain't never slept alone before back at home me and willie always slept in that one room and here we were just right through the door i see do you mind if i sleep in here no no i don't think i mind you lie down teddy huh yes what are we doing the war is over the war teddy yes sir well we can always go back to the farm i suppose i was happier there as a boy digging potatoes for 25 cents a day than i am now yes our farmer would be prime i'll get you a pony and we can have a garden in a field all our own paw is mom right now your mom's better it's just that she takes things hard and she gets afraid she does she's a fine woman and strong in many ways and highly accomplished you should have known her when she was the bell just up from kentucky all the young men pursued her but you got her paw you got her i did then i wondered if i was good enough for her so did a lot of other people but she didn't i'll tell you something tad at that time i was a man of inordinate ambition i depended on your mind i leaned on her she was my strength then and my support my strength my support [Music] now she gets afraid and it runs away with her and when that happens somebody's got to tell her to stop crying someone just has to bring her back that's all paw if you have to go somewhere i'll take care of ma i'll tell her to stop crying i'm glad of that ted and i thank you the war had been going on nearly two years i never saw paul moore despondent it seemed everyone wanted a piece of his hide but he stayed the course it was the preservation of the union he wanted and the opportunity for all men to be treated equally by march of 1863 nearly three hundred thousand men had died paul seemed to feel each death as if he had caused it personally many felt he had [Music] i need to speak with you you're not dressed you're not attending the reception well certainly not several important people in washington have been invited well i can't think why they've accepted it's ridiculous a presidential mansion reception to puff up one of mr barnum's museum freaks might as well add the carded giant to tea that's not fair i understand general tom thumb is a charming little fellow just last week at grace church in new york the cream of new york society attended his wedding mother i will not have you changing the subject i want to leave harvard a rabbit don't be foolish foolish how do you think i feel the president's son and there i am safe and sound at cambridge studying latin miss keckley i think we could use a little more iron on this one well i feel like a fool that's all they've all joined up my classmates wendell holmes was wounded at antietam bob shaw has command of an entire regiment of colored infantry robert i won't hear another word mother there is no reason why i should not join the army no no no bob i think you might understand your mother's feelings on this subject what about my feelings they're all laughing at me i know they are well and damn nation they're right robert i will not listen to such coarse language why should i be special why should i be protected when everybody else i know is is risking their lives i had a tortoiseshell comb mother i will not let you do this to me father can you please explain to her that this is something that i must do bob suppose you and i talk about this tomorrow no no i want to settle this now he's here he's here [Music] i'm bigger than you yes most people are my past president of the united states i presume you're tad lincoln you're tom thumb actually my name is charles sherwood stratton palm thumb was pt barnum's idea don't you wish you were big sometimes i hate being little you can't really do anything you just have to make believe but ted all you have to do is wait and you'll grow big and you can do all the things that big people can do i reconcile i guess i better grow up i mean now that willie's dead you know is that a real sword are you a real general nah that was mr bonham's motion too can my paw make you a general even if you're small i imagine your paw could make anyone a general not brother bob he wants to be a soldier but mo won't let him of course i couldn't be a general i'm too small i mean too young do you think i could be a lieutenant i think a lieutenant would be just right general thumb the president would be pleased if you would join the family privately before the reception my pleasure mr lincoln general thumb could i carry your sword lieutenant lincoln [Music] you may keep [Music] oh oh just grab whatever you got hey lieutenant i got six rose bushes to plant out back would you take a bullseye candy to pay for a draft substitute [Music] [Music] he has them posted on sentry yes all over the white house gardeners kitchen men porters there's an irish groom by the front gate so drunk he can't even stand up well i don't see how you can laugh well he's just been a little boy bob no harm done father don't you see this makes you ridiculous i'm i'm sorry i reckon you are entitled to your own vexations things have just never been the same between us as they were with tad and willie well when you were growing up your mom and i were just starting and i was away so much on the circuit or politicking i guess i just never did get to know you like i would but i have been proud of you going off on your own at harvard if i was really on my own i'd be in the army it's not that easy buck no no but ted dad runs around the white house with a commission from the war department as a second lieutenant a commission that was just a joke between mr stan and me i told teddy i couldn't make him an officer and sent him over the war department and mr stanton turned the joke around on me and actually issued it a joke that's a very fine joke that's one of old apes best bob we've been through this your mother took willie's passing very hard and we must be patient patient the war will be over robert i fear you and i are almost strangers fond strangers i hope respecting each other but strangers i beg your pardon mr president it's the boy he fell asleep in the guard room thank you it's a panel isn't it tom pendle yes i'll do what i can with your mother about the army time was moving on pod found himself a couple of generals he liked ulysses grant was given charge of the entire union army a man named sherman had marched federal troops south into atlanta the tide had turned in our family though things just didn't seem to have the same sparkle brother bobby joined the army serving underground all right he cut the cake happy birthday mr tan me i couldn't help but think on willy pass said the best was selected for the greatest trials brambles do not get pruned he said you can actually see the tents of lee's army from here mr president i do believe i can see him colonel if the wind is right you can hear the guns before petersburg grant has written that it can't be long the league cannot hold his position for more than a fortnight yes sir you agree colonel i am hardly in a position to question general grant well i suppose i am he's coming aboard at city point i'll have to ask you yes sir [Music] many battles had been fought in the meantime at vicksburg chancellorville chickamauga and a place called gettysburg pod given a speech there later where he talked about the brave men that struggled and died for us earlier he had set free the slaves the black folks himself thought he was a kind of moses he's brought us safe through the red sea one of them said to them he was a liberator and a friend they prayed for him to me of course he was still just paw he treated us pretty much as always except he was more serious i knew that some of the things he was thinking on were going to have far-reaching effects i struggled to understand some of them you're a too ain't you miss kepler i am a person of color tad now that's the way you say it yes ma'am person of color were you a slave miss kathleen yes i was i belonged to judge hewlett lewis in charleston south carolina did my paw free with his mancipation proclamation no i was free before the war i hide my time as a dressmaker bought myself free that was 13 years ago my grandpa todd had slaves in kentucky brother bob said we went down there to visit he had a person of color just to do for him he said it was prime well now that depends on who is the slave and who is the master well i wouldn't want to be neither it's brother bob [Music] mr president i'm the bearer of dispatchers from general grant hey teddy [Music] grant tells me petersburg is surely surrendered soon he's prepared to move against richmond's defenses and drive lee's army into the open guess sir it does look as if this war is running down you'll have supper with your mind me i imagine general grant could spare you that long uh yes sir he can't stand [Music] uh general grant is not a very tidy man i've noticed he keeps all of his correspondence jammed in a leather field case sometimes he asks me to go through it to look for something supply order a bottle of rye whiskey i have to go through many kinds of letters sometimes i glance at them i was looking for a farrier's report on the general's horse when i found this one i made a fair copy my son now in his 22nd year wishes to see something of the war before it ends could he without embarrassment to you or detriment to the service go into your military family with some nominal rank i and not the public furnishing the necessary means bob are you supplying my pay out of your own pocket i was just a question of avoiding political criticism this is just another little joke isn't it it's like tad's commission from the war department you go to mr stuntz's toy shop and buy me a little sword so i could play soldier now bob i want you to be silent or you'll say something we'll both regret yes sir mr president son it took me one year to get your motto agreed you're going into the army at all under any conditions would you let her do it why did it have to be this way robert your mother means a great deal to me now i must admit i have in my life generally knowing exactly where i meant to go and what i intended to do when i got there but there were times when there was only one other person in the world who thought i had a snail's chance and there was your mother now bob you just have to take my word that i did what i thought was best for you and your mother it was just a couple of days ago we're going to a review of general ort's whole army power went on horseback with my sword he's a real prom horse woman and me and ma came along in a pokey old ambulance what happened well the sword showed up tomorrow she's a real pretty lady and mom just tore into her why i don't know for ryan with pie i guess she sure lit into her and she cried a spill what right then right in front of everybody there was a past little kernels and such stinging around yeah that's marvelous just marvelous that'll be all over the dang army by now you can be sure i'll hear about it i always do it's like that business with the bill for the white house carpets and i had to go before congress and that committee and make excuses for that was all over harvard yard one piece meyer came up to me and said any expensive rugs in your room bobby dear i knocked him down did father say anything to mrs order the general he just stood there then he said mother kind of quiet kind of sad and he just walked away i would have said something to ma but i couldn't think of anything well there's nothing you can say when she gets that way bob what's it like what's it really like in the war you know i got to go taddy i got two hours hard ride don't play war anymore i don't play soldiers we're shooting and falling dead not like i used to with willy not anymore [Music] [Music] you see now that willie's gone i never could talk to him about things but you see you're with him a lot that's very important you can talk to him that's very important for pot to have someone to talk to him particularly with the way mai is sometimes about always god left anymore he doesn't play like he used to and his eyes don't get crinkly they just get kind of shadowy like he tries to play with me wrestling and riding me on his foot i'm too old for that but i don't tell paw [Music] and then it was over general lee had surrendered and paw had won the south was back in the union people celebrated and danced till dawn it was cause for all kinds of jubilation i was just celebrating because the war is over you celebrated your place at the table son huh i bet all those people out there would love to hear you make a speech no i've made enough speeches in the last few days i swear every time i face an open window i find myself erupting into oratory every time you stand before an open window i think of those wicked men who would hate you and would stop at no i believe i can manage another piece of this chicken like paul always said cream chicken and biscuits is soothed into the soul ah they're playing dixie again ever since you requested that song we hear little else well the war being over we can live in peace with the music and with the brave men who were fighting against us mr lincoln i would like to draw your attention to the important matters before you i shall mother i mean this evening we have received two invitations to the theater if you would prefer i could respond and say that the president is far too occupied with important matters no no mary between the war and everything else we've lost our appreciation of the foolishly joyous girl we must be more cheerful in the future and i admire a good show can i go paul can i there is a comedy at ford's miss laura keane and her truth and our american cousin at the national aladdin and the wonderful land a wind there will be magic in them i suppose a comedy would suit us robert why don't you go with your mother and made a force if you'll forgive me sir i i have an engagement engagement with a young lady ow i need jace paw taco i understand there are some illusions in miss keane's play that are not exactly appropriate for lessons well now ted i'll tell you you will go to aladdin hooray hurry i'm going to the show now you be a good boy teddy when you get home you go right to bed huh i wish it was going with me to aladdin tell the truth dad so do i [Music] mother [Music] we weren't halfway through the show the genie hadn't just appeared when a man came in saying we had to leave it must have been important because i wager that show was about the best i've ever seen [Music] where's paul bring that character down [Music] what happened to paul you've been shot just to make a good shot oh lord lord lord jesus you've been crucified again um [Music] paul's been shot right here [Music] [Music] bad as i felt after willie's death pause going was even worse it was more pain that i ever knew was possible how could he die it was like the whole of the earth had heaved up leaving no foundation at all looking back pau's passing was the most profound thing that ever happened to me my universe was changed forever mother mother mother please listen to me you'll make yourself ill mother you have to try to stop this oh we're all grieving you must behave rationally mother please don't cry don't cry or we're gonna make me cry too come away ted there's nothing that we do mother stop crying stop crying i'm telling you to stop crying now don't be afraid mom my paw said it's right to be a little afraid that's what paul said someone has to tell her to stop crying ma listen to me stop crying [Music] dad teddy you put on a clean shirt and you wash up good ted you look quite properly turned out and your cravat is knotted very handsomely you did it yourself didn't you why don't you wait downstairs you can look at the carriage and the horses i was just thinking paul's dead and i have to take care of myself now pau's dead i'm just tired lincoln i'm not the president son anymore it's time to go now ted [Music] [Music] [Music] and that was all we were leaving it surely did seem like a dream and yet it was real so real if i think on it i can still see those faces and hear him talk [Music] they say a tree is best measured when it's down it would be that way with my paw he was like a giant oak he would be measuring him through history still in all he was gone our years there were over life would change for all of us i surely felt it was changing for me life is a river paw said never standing still there'd be plenty yet around the bend times to laugh and play still i'd never forget the time we spent there with paw and willy the part of me i left behind [Music] so [Music] [Music] my thanks for watching if you'd like to help us produce more compelling historical content like this please like comment below and share this video with fellow history buffs and of course be sure to subscribe to help keep history happening [Music]

Channel: LionHeart FilmWorks

Views: 87,497

Keywords: kris kristofferson, jane curtain, bug hall, abraham lincoln, tv movie, 1995, the family channel, family-friendly, film, fort sumter, battle of bull run, manassas, civil war, bull run, history, anniversary, military, american history, military history, battle, combat, battlefield, war, first manassas, lincoln, re-enacting, reenactment, recreation, living history, the civil war, american civil war, american civil wars movie, 1861, american civil wars, war between the states, tad lincoln, tad

Id: 8JztYfVHC48

Length: 90min 15sec (5415 seconds)

Published: Sat May 21 2022