The Copperhead is a 1920 American silent historical drama film based on a novel by Frederick Landis and a 1918 play by Augustus Thomas. The star of this film is Lionel Barrymore who won acclaim in the play version on Broadway, and who appeared in the play and this film with his first wife Doris Rankin. A print of this film has been screened in recent years. Plot At the beginning of the American Civil War Milt Shanks, who owns a farm in Illinois, is asked by President Abraham Lincoln to join the Copperheads, a clandestine quasi-political organization whose sentiments lie with the South. His family and friends unknowing of his mission call him a traitor. His son later dies in a Civil War battle and his wife dies of heartbreak over the son's death. Shanks spends decades keeping silent about his involvement with the Copperheads until his granddaughter prepares to marry and he's forced to come clean about being involved in a secret Civil War Mission. With this understanding friends and family forgive him. Cast Lionel Barrymore as Milt Shanks William P. Carleton as Lt. Tom Hardy Francis Joyner as Newt Gillespie (billed as Frank Joyner) Richard Carlyle as Lem Tollard Arthur Rankin as Joey Leslie Stowe as Brother Andrew Nicholas Schroell as Abraham Lincoln William David as Tom Hardy Harry Bartlett as Dr. James Jack Ridgeway as Theodore Roosevelt Mayor N.M. Cartmell as Captain Mercer Doris Rankin as Mrs. Shanks Carolyn Lee as Grandma Perley Anne Cornwall as Madeline Francis Haldorn as Elsie Preservation The film survives. It is available on DVD from at least one online source. See also Lionel Barrymore filmography References External links lantern slide/coming attraction; "The Copperhead" w/Lionel Barrymore from Italian-Wikipedia, Lionel Barrymore in the 1918 play The Copperhead 1920s historical drama films American historical drama films American silent feature films 1920 films Films directed by Charles Maigne Films based on American novels American films based on plays Paramount Pictures films American Civil War films Fictional depictions of Abraham Lincoln in film American black-and-white films Films based on adaptations 1920 drama films Surviving American silent films 1920s American films Silent American drama films