One of my favorite episodes. I actually have heard this one before and remember it!:) Love the cast and the acting! Check this one out!

I rate this episode ★★★☆☆ for AVERAGE. James Agate, Jr. wrote a good story involving Abraham Lincoln. Not as riveting as his writing for Ep. #1351-THE INNOCENT MURDERER, but still a good Drama-Mystery. The sound effects of the gavel, the general crowd noise in the courtroom, the teapot, papers, the 12mm pin fire pistol, deck of cards, the crickets by the fairgrounds, the gun shot of the pistol, murmuring of the crowd, the footsteps, door being knocked, the Almanac, and the document papers were all splendid to hear. The music was splendid as well, especially when you have themes of dramatic conflicts, puzzling encounters, and mysterious questionings. I hate to say this part, but Tammy Grimes did an awful job as Host. In her Prologue, she talked about who Abraham Lincoln was before he was ever President and then she mentions that this story was adapted by Edward Edison. Has anybody heard of an Edward Edison before? In ACT-1, the story begins in the 1850’s of Illinois. But at the end of this Act, she mistakenly said that she’ll be back for ACT-3. In ACT-2, the story continues on what happened on that night during the card game. Later, she mentions a biographer named Ida Tarbell who documented Abraham Lincoln and his cases. Once again, Tammy Grimes messed up by saying she’ll be back for ACT-2. In ACT-3, she breaks the 4th Wall to interrupt the story!?! Now, when E.G. Marshall was Host and he broke the 4th Wall in Ep. #0420-THE SLICK AND THE DEAD, that was perfectly okay because it was a “Who Done It” mystery. E.G. Marshall wanted to draw the CBSRMT fans into the story. But Tammy Grimes interrupted this particular episode just so she can talk about herself as an actress and mention actors like Joseph Jefferson who met Abraham Lincoln. In her Epilogue, she quotes Abraham Lincoln about the increasing disregard for the Law and left it at that. She said the wrong numbers for the Acts and jumped right in the middle of ACT-3, out of the blue, like she couldn’t wait to speak again. After listening to this episode, I said to myself, "Where is E.G. Marshall when you need him?!?" But I’ll end this review on a good note. The cast members were terrific because they played many parts in this. Lloyd Battista (as Abraham Lincoln & George Lockwood), Patricia Elliot (as Lily Grayson), Robert Dryden (as the Sheriff & David Sovine), and Gordon Gould (as Tom Grayson & Bill Herndon). SPECIAL NOTE: Himan Brown plays the role of Jessie Smith in this. Tune in to this episode if you like. But also, check out the other episodes that CBSRMT has done involving Abraham Lincoln: Ep. #0241-IT’S MURDER, MR. LINCOLN, Ep. #0352-ASSASSINATION IN TIME, Ep. #1071-CONSPIRACY, Ep. #1260-DEATH WILL NOT SILENCE ME, and Ep. #1351-THE INNOCENT MURDERER. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0]

Wonderful acting by Lloyd Battista as Abraham Lincoln! Just like the best depiction of George Washington I ever heard is from an episode of CBSRMT called, "The Headless Hessian", the best depiction of Abraham Lincoln is "The Abraham Lincoln Murder Trial." The actor truly brings him to life and makes you believe you're right back in those times witnessing this great trial. A truly enjoyable episode with historical value.

It's not really fair to blame Tammy Grimes for breaking into the episode. I am sure she didn't write the script, and she was just doing what they told her to.

One of my favorite episodes, BUT while I had some issues with Tammy Grimes taking over for E. G. Marshall in the beginning, I did rather begrudgingly finally accept her, until she broke into the story in the middle of the act. Maybe it was written that way for her to do so, but I thought it was in bad taste and very annoying!