The Tall Target was inspired by the real-life Baltimore Plot about the alleged conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. The 78-minute crime thriller is now available on Blu-ray by way of the Warner Archive Collection. It is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio with side mattes and a DTS-HD MA English 2.0 Mono audio track.

It isn’t surprising to learn that George Worthing Yates and Art Cohn’s script strays from real-life events. This more or less seems to be the case for so many films based on a true story. New York City superintendent of police John Alexander Kennedy did claim to uncover the plot. Unlike New York Police Sargeant (Dick Powell) in The Tall Target, this Kennedy was not on scene at any point.

In The Tall Target, the fictional Kennedy’s supervisor, Superintendent Simon G. Stroud (Tom Powers), dismiss the assassination threats, calling it “hogwash.” Militia colonel Caleb Jeffers (Adolphe Menjou) does so, too. As such, Kennedy has been given no choice but to matters into his own hands and boards the train himself in hopes of finding the plotters.

Kennedy–who once provided security for Abraham Lincoln during a New York campaign stop–boards the train in New York as it heads down to the nation’s capital of Washington, D.C. He’s learned enough to believe that someone or multiple people intend to kill President Lincoln upon the train stopping in Baltimore. Inspector Reilly never shows up to give him a ticket so Kennedy gets kicked off, only to run towards the train as it departs.

When he finally gets back on board to start his investigation in The Tall Target, he meets some of the other passengers:

• Mrs. Charlotte Alsop (Florence Bates), an anti-slavery writer
• A stranger with a gun (Leif Erickson)
• Lance Beaufort (Marshall Thompson), a West Point cadet planning resign and join the Confederate army
• Ginny Beaufort (Paula Raymond), Lance’s sister
• Rachel (Ruby Dee), a slave to both Lance and Ginny

Interestingly enough, Jeffers offers him a spare ticket but there seems to be more here than meets the eye. It turns out that Jeffers has investments in Northern cotton mills. The looming Civil War would have an impact on the mills and Jeffers is none too pleased about this. It makes one question as to who his co-conspirators are. Not surprisingly, Beaufort is resigning his Union Army commission to fight for the Confederacy. He’d have come off as suspect #1 in The Tall Target. But anyway, Kennedy attempts to have Jeffers arrested when the train stops in Philadelphia, only for this plan to backfire as Stroud fires Kennedy from the police force.

It’s also in Philadelphia where Mrs. Charlotte Gibbons meets her ailing husband and brings him on board the train. After getting arrested by Lieutenant Coulter (Richard Rober), Kennedy manages to evade custody and get back to the train. After an earlier attempt fell through, Rachel lets Kennedy know that Lance Beaufort is getting off in Baltimore. Next thing you know, Beaufort ties Kennedy up in Jeffers’ compartment. As all this is happening, they learn that President-elect Lincoln will not be delivering his Baltimore speech after all. Things continue to get messy but Kennedy soon learns that Allan Pinkerton (James Harrison) read his report.

Filmmaker Anthony Mann–who redefined the Western two years later with The Naked Spur–treats The Tall Target like the noir it is while capturing a political atmosphere on the edge in 1861. One can feel the temperature rising as the train makes its way to the nation’s capital. Anyone on the train could be a suspect and capable of committing a crime. Obviously, we know that the Baltimore Plot ends up getting foiled but you still can’t help but feel the tension as things move forward in The Tall Target.

Bonus Features

• March 6, 1949 radio broadcast of Mr. President with Edward Arnold
• Classic M-G-M cartoons
  • JERRY’S COUSIN
  • SLICKED-UP PUP
• Original Theatrical Trailer

DRECTOR: Anthony Mann
SCREENWRITERS: George Worthing Yates and Art Cohn
CAST: Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou, with Marshall Thompson, Ruby Dee, Richard Rober, Leif Erickson, Will Geer, Florence Bates

MGM released The Tall Target in theaters on August 17, 1951. Grade: 4/5

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