Tonight's Movie: The Tall Target (1951) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

THE TALL TARGET (1951), a favorite film from director Anthony Mann and star Dick Powell, has just been released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

The Warner Archive previously released this film on DVD in 2009. Having the movie available on DVD at that point was most welcome, as it was rarely seen; now,15 years later, we can enjoy a beautiful Blu-ray print which is surely as good as this film might ever look.

I first met this film via Turner Classic Movies back in 2008, then had the pleasure of revisiting it in 35mm in 2014 thanks to an Anthony Mann series at the UCLA Film & Television Archive's Billy Wilder Theater.

That beautiful theatrical print really helped me appreciate the movie's "lamplit" black and white cinematography of Paul C. Vogel in greater detail. For those who don't have the opportunity to see THE TALL TARGET on a big screen, this new Blu-ray is surely the closest approximation.

THE TALL TARGET is a brisk 78-minute film written by Art Cohn and George Worthington Yates from a story by Yates and Geoffrey Homes (aka Daniel Mainwaring, OUT OF THE PAST).

The movie tells the story of a New York police detective named John Kennedy (Powell) and his desperate quest to save Abraham Lincoln (Leslie Kimmell) from assassination prior to his inauguration in 1861. The movie is loosely inspired by a true story.

I'll insert a side note here that, as many before me have commented, it seems more than a little strange that a 1951 movie about a potential Presidential assassination features a hero named John Kennedy. Cue the Twilight Zone theme...

Back to the movie: Virtually the entire film takes place on a night train speeding south from New York toward Baltimore, where Lincoln is due to give a speech - though a directive from higher-ups means the train isn't moving as quickly as the engineer (Victor Kilian prefers).

Kennedy is already on the alert for threats to President-Elect Lincoln when he discovers early in the trip that his friend and colleague, Inspector Reilly (Powell's real-life close friend Regis Toomey), has been murdered. It thus appears that not only is Lincoln in danger, but Kennedy's life is also at risk.

This is an exciting, fast-moving, atmospheric story which grips the viewer's attention from the opening credits, in which the words roll up the screen bottom to top, accompanied by the sounds of trains rather than music.

As I wrote back in 2008: "Lanterns swinging in the fogs as the train pulls in for its stops, telegrams sent and received at train stations, and the engine speeding through the night, as seen from the engineer's perspective, all contribute enormously to the presentation of a rather unique film." When I revisited it in 2014 I commented "the dim lamplight of this 'up all night' story seems authentic and looks quite stunning."

I'll add here that at times the film also uses unusual yet perfectly chosen camera angles, especially given the cramped spaces on the train. It's a film which merits close viewing attention for multiple reasons.

Powell, in his "noir era," is as good as expected as the worried cop. He's not quite as sarcastic as some of his more hardboiled portrayals, but he's effective in this period piece as a sincerely concerned man trying to make sure the newly elected Lincoln lives to see his inauguration.

The story has a certain sobering irony, of course, yet the viewer feels grateful for our nation that Lincoln lived as long as he did past 1861.

Among the large supporting cast I particularly enjoy Will Geer as the shawl-covered train conductor who manages to be both businesslike and helpful.

The film is packed with familiar faces, including Paula Raymond, Marshall Thompson, Adolphe Menjou, Ruby Dee, Leif Erickson, Tom Powers, Barbara Billingsley, Will Wright, Percy Helton, Florence Bates, Jeff Richards, Richard Rober, Jonathan Hale, Ken Christy, Charles Wagenheim, and Frank Sully.

Sound quality is as good as the Blu-ray's print; I highly recommend this release, which combines an excellent film with outstanding presentation.

Disc extras consist of the trailer; a half-hour radio show, MR. PRESIDENT (1949), starring Edward Arnold; and a pair of Tom & Jerry cartoons released the same year as THE TALL TARGET, JERRY'S COUSIN (1951) and SLICKED-UP PUP (1951).

As a final side note, fans of this film and the 1952 train mystery THE NARROW MARGIN will enjoy reviewer Glenn Erickson's list of the films' extensive similarities.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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