The Man in the Barn (1937) User Reviews

I Killed the best man that ever lived?

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 5 December 2018]

This short subject explores the possibility that John Wilkes Booth did not die in a fiery barn 11 days after he shot Abraham Lincoln. In 1903 a man named David E. George.said on his deathbed that he was Booth and that back in 1865 he killed the best man that ever lived.

Many thought so in 1903, many might still think that today. But despite all the 'evidence' demonstrated that this man David George was John Wilkes Booth, there's no way Booth ever thought that.

Booth who split from brother Edwin on the Civil War was one rebel at heart. Many from border state families did diverge in loyalty and the Booths were from Maryland. No way would that man ever have repented his foul deed.

Still The Man In The Barn is a nice speculative short subject.

Who Knows?

[boblipton · 6/10 · 15 September 2020]

This MGM "Historical Mystery" tells a story about the theory that John Wilkes Booth did not die in 1865, but lived until the early 20th century.

It's produced and narrated by Carey Wilson, one of MGM's senior screenwriters; his credits include BEN-HUR and MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. Judging by the shorts he narrated for the company, he was also given to fanciful theories. Nostradamus, the Mary Celeste, the possibility that the rightful king of France was a Minnesotan, Wilson espoused them all. If he were alive today, not only would he be very old, he'd probably be a member of QAnon, talking about child kidnappers operating out of the basement of a pizza joint... that has no basement.

"I killed the best man that ever lived."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 4 November 2014]

MGM short, narrated by Carey Wilson, that explores the rumor that John Wilkes Booth did not die in that barn in 1865, but rather escaped and lived for many years. The story starts with the 1903 deathbed confession of a man named David E. George that he was Booth. Before he can elaborate on his story, however, he falls into a coma. As the minister present at his bedside wonders aloud if Booth really did survive, narrator Wilson takes us back to 1865 to revisit the events from Lincoln's assassination to Booth's death in a barn on Garrett's farm to the examination of Booth's body afterwards. From there we get into full-blown conspiracy theory territory as Booth's alleged escape is detailed. I've seen this theory discussed on a variety of mystery & conspiracy TV programs, as well as in a few books. But it's interesting to see something from the '30s exploring it. This was directed by Jacques Tourneur, who would obviously go on to bigger things. It's an entertaining short about an interesting subject. If nothing else, it shows modern viewers that conspiracy theories have been around for a very long time.

A Historical Debating Point

[theowinthrop · 27 September 2006]

I can't judge this MGM short, part of a series narrated by Carey Wilson about odd little historical mysteries, but I can fill you in on it. And this is a type of timely review, as a new Harrison Ford movie, MANHUNT, will be opening in the next six or seven months based on the events that somewhat involve this short subject.

I have touched upon Lincoln's Assassination recently in an episode of ONE STEP BEYOND that I reviewed about so-called paranormal events tied to the murder. But there are plenty of details in the assassination of the 16th President that are still subject for controversy. Who backed John Wilkes Booth: the Confederate Government or power-hungry men in the North, such as Secretary of War Edward M. Stanton and Secret Service Chief Lafayette Baker. Or was Booth simply an egomaniac out of control?

One of the mysteries that has arisen is the issue of who exactly was killed in the early morning hours of April 26, 1865 in Garrett's Tobacco Barn (not warehouse, by the way - that Booth - Oswald "coincidence" list is full of lies and half-truths) in Bowling Green, Virginia. Officially it was John Wilkes Booth, tracked down there by Federal troops. He is cornered with David Herold, who surrenders. Booth refuses to do so, and either shot himself, or was shot by one of the troops who had set fire to the barn (the most likely culprit being a religious zealot named Sergeant Boston Corbett). Booth takes several hours to die, supposedly saying "Useless, useless" as his arms are raised by the others while he cannot do so himself, and finally saying, "Tell mother I died for my country!" (meaning the South).

Most historians have generally accepted this as what happened, although identification of Booth's body was poorly done (eventually the identification was based on a stab wound he got on his neck a few years earlier at the hands of a young woman). The final identification was not done until 1869, when the remains were turned over to Edwin Booth and the family - the remains were put in the family grave in Baltimore where they have remained (no, there is no tombstone marking his grave).

But there is a popular, legendary story that Booth escaped from Garrett farm, and another man named Boyd (who was one of Colonel John Mosby's Confederate raiders)was with Herold in the barn when the Federal troops showed up. It was Boyd who was killed, and for reasons ranging from covering up the Northern co-conspirators behind Booth, to covering up a major blunder, to just greed over the huge reward offered for Booth dead or alive, he was called "John Wilkes Booth". This would explain the haphazard identification used by Federal authorities in identifying Wilkes Booth and in handing the body over to his family until it was a bunch of bones.

The real Booth fled into the wide hinterlands of the U.S. Some said he became a popular minister practicing in Atlanta (Edwin Booth went to see this man, who did look and sound like his brother, in the 1880s - they had a long talk afterward, but Edwin said it wasn't Wilkes). Some spoke of a mysterious man named John St. Helens (for "St. Helena"?) who said he was Booth in the 1880s. Later a man named David E. George (for David E. Herold and George Atzerold, two conspirators who were hanged for the assassination on July 7, 1865?) claimed that he was Booth. He committed suicide in Enid, Oklahoma in 1903, and a lawyer named Finis Bates had the body preserved by a taxidermist, with it's hair and mustache combed like Booth's, and toured around the South and Midwest for decades as the real Booth.

What is the truth? I tend to think the man in the barn was the assassin, but people like to believe what they fancy. And they always will.

Postscript: On Monday, December 10, 2007 TCM network showed this short subject just before showing John Ford's THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND about Dr. Mudd (Warner Baxter). It is a well acted and produced episode, but the defects of it's presentation is that it is insinuating Booth was David E. George, including bringing forth private "new evidence" to reinforce that point. Of course the new "evidence" is basically a hearsay comment, and unprovable. Still it's entertaining enough for it's purposes.

More than a conspiracy theory?

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 12 December 2018]

"The Man in the Barn" is a 10-minute black-and-white short film from 1937, so this one is already over 80 years old and despite being made by French filmmaker Jacques Tourneur, this is an American production based on a script by Morgan Cox. If you knew from the title already that this is about the man who killed President Lincoln, then props to you and your history knowledge. But it is enough as well if you hear the name John Wilkes Booth and can put him into context. As this is what this brief movie is about, not about Lincoln. According to history, JWB died briefly after the presdenticide in a burning barn surrounded by police forces who burned it down when he refused to leave the little shack. But here we have a man who says at his deathbed that he is actually JWB and afterward the film elaborates on possible scenarion how he could have gotten away with his life if he was not dying from the fire in the barn. If that was even him. At the end, there is a little conclusion. Well, this film is not a solution, but rather gives an insight into what happened back then and what could have been. I liked it most of the time. Not a great watch or somewhat historically defining by any means, but a solid little add-on feature if you plan on watching Spielberg's Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis and still don't have enough of the subject despite the massive running time afterward. Narrator here is Carey Wilson by the way, who scored his one and only Oscar nomination as a screen writer around the time this was released. All in all, a thumbs-up from me. One of the better live action films from the 1930s, even if still far behind the Golden Age of Animation, but yeah the historical references sure help in making this little movie seem more relevant.

what if

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 15 September 2020]

This short proposes that John Wilkes Booth actually escaped after assassinating Abraham Lincoln. In 1903, Mr. David E. George is dying on his death bed in Enid, Oklahoma, and makes the incredible confession that he is actually John Wilkes Booth. It's not much of a what if story. If it is what it is, he didn't do much afterwards. It has an interesting opening setup but it's nothing more than recreating after that.

"I killed the best man that ever lived"

[evening1 · 5/10 · 15 October 2022]

Intriguing short film that gets one thinking about "the Clark Gable of his day."

When I stumbled across this snippet on TCM, I assumed it was a creative what-if. However, a little internet research reveals that there is a longstanding rumor about John Wilkes Booth that had him dying in an Enid, OK, hotel room -- after having lived incognito while claiming to have been an actor, and declaiming Shakespeare at length.

This well-acted bit of celluloid raises a number of intriguing questions, and I enjoyed following up on my curiosity with numerous look-ups on Wikipedia.

I hadn't realized that Lincoln was assassinated a mere six days after Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox in April 1865. Given the otherworldly passions of the time, it's quite surprising that our 16th president would have taken the risk of attending a play at Ford's Theater.

A great short film about a longstanding conspiracy theory

[dear-70443 · 10/10 · 30 March 2015]

This is a great short film about the longstanding theory that John Wilkes Booth escaped his death at Garrett's barn in Virginia, twelve days after he shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater.

This was produced shortly after the records were released from the conspiracy trial...and many years after Finis Bates' landmark book The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth had been published.

Tourneur's "Man in the Barn" had to have been shot as a "sizzle" for a potential feature-length film. I guess there wasn't enough interest in taking the story further, or if you believe what some researchers believe, the film could have been killed for a very good reason.

For the complete story, check out the novel The Man in the Barn: Digging Up Lincoln's Killer. It comes out on April 26, 2015 - the 150th anniversary of John Wilkes Booth's death at the barn.

Great

[Michael_Elliott · 27 February 2008]

Man in the Barn, The (1937)

**** (out of four)

Jacques Tourneur directed this MGM short that takes a look at whether John Wilkes Booth was killed in 1865 or if he lived until 1903. This documentary covers both sides as to when Booth was killed but what really sets this short apart is some terrific atmosphere, a great mood and some terrific camera-work. The story is also very interesting, although who knows where the truth lies.

I don't look for history when I watch a film. I want to be entertained and this film did just that.