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THE TALL TARGET

Anthony Mann (Director), Dick Powell (Actor), Paula Raymond (Actor) Rated:

NR

Format: DVD

95 ratings

IMDb7.2/10.0

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Genre	Mystery & Suspense
Format	NTSC
Contributor	Adolphe Menjou, Anthony Mann, Dick Powell, Marshall Thompson, Paula Raymond, Ruby Dee
Language	English
Runtime	1 hour and 18 minutes

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About Us

Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) was formed in April 1924 by theater magnate Marcus Loew, who orchestrated the merger of Metro Pictures Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions. With visionary Louis B. Mayer and production genius Irving Thalberg at the helm, MGM, with its roaring lion logo, was a powerhouse of prolific artistry and filmmaking expertise. During a golden three decades from 1924 to 1954, the Culver City-based studio dominated the movie business, famously attracting "more stars than are in the heavens" and creating a Best Picture nominee at the Academy Awards every year for two straight decades. Historically, in 1939 two of MGM's most iconic films, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, were both nominated for Best Picture.

Product Description

Former police officer John Kennedy doesn't have a ticket, but he's determined to stay aboard the overnight train rolling from New York to Washington DC. He's convinced that someone -- or some ones -- among the passengers intends to kill newly elected President Abraham Lincoln when the train stops in Baltimore. The true-life Baltimore Plot provides the inspiration for this Hollywood thriller directed with film noir overtones by Anthony Mann and possessing a real feel for the powder-keg political atmosphere of 1861. Dick Powell (Murder, My Sweet) portrays Kennedy with appropriate grit, sifting through layers of duplicity and confronting escalating dangers as the Night Express rumbles toward destination or assassination.

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 2.72 ounces
Item model number ‏ : ‎ 883316204795
Director ‏ : ‎ Anthony Mann
Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC
Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 18 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ December 2, 2009
Actors ‏ : ‎ Adolphe Menjou, Dick Powell, Marshall Thompson, Paula Raymond, Ruby Dee
Studio ‏ : ‎ MGM
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002ZG8PZO
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
Best Sellers Rank: #60,767 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #40,027 in DVD
Customer Reviews:
95 ratings

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Customer reviews

95 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this movie to be a great thriller with taut suspense throughout. The performances receive positive feedback, with one customer highlighting the excellent work of Powell and Adolph Menjou. They appreciate its mystery elements, with one review noting it's based on true facts.

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Movie quality Suspenseful Performance Mystery movie

16 customers mention "Movie quality"14 positive2 negative

Customers find this movie to be great, with one customer specifically noting its film noir quality.

"...This is a great movie where he is a government agent trying to stop an attempt on President Lincoln's life...." Read more

"GREAT MOVIE, LOTS OF SUSPENCE, A MUST IN YOUR DVD COLLECTION!!!!" Read more

"We wouldn't recommend it to non-historical buffs. It was an okay DVD. Price was reasonable" Read more

"excellent video" Read more

11 customers mention "Suspenseful"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the movie suspenseful throughout, describing it as a nice thriller that's great for railroad fans.

"A terrific film finally gets a quality release!..." Read more

"This is an excellent thriller which is set entirely aboard a train which is on its way from New York to Washington for the inauguration of Abraham..." Read more

"...The great Ruby Dee is also on board in this terrific thriller!" Read more

"Nice thriller" Read more

7 customers mention "Performance"7 positive0 negative

Customers praise the performances in the movie, particularly the action roles, with one customer highlighting the excellent work of Powell and Menjou.

"Dick Powell is so good in his action roles- it's hard to believe he started out in musicals!..." Read more

"...William Powell and Adolphe Menjou are superb in their roles." Read more

"A terrific film finally gets a quality release! Top-notch performances, first-rate direction and a story that moves like a train racing through the..." Read more

"...performance by Powell. Excellent supporting work by Adolphe Menjou as a svheming military officer and Ruby Dee as a silent observor to the..." Read more

5 customers mention "Mystery movie"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy this mystery movie, with one customer noting it's based on true facts and another mentioning it portrays a conspiracy buried in history.

"...Dick Powell is excellent as the detective and Adolphe Menjou as a mysterious possibly good/possibly bad guy Army colonel...." Read more

"...It portrays a conspiracy that has been buried in history. The movie is a wonderful suspense thriller enhanced by great cinematography...." Read more

"This is an old but great movie based losely on true facts...." Read more

"Not a bad mystery movie." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

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wolfster
THE TALL TARGET is On the Money
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2025
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A terrific film finally gets a quality release! Top-notch performances, first-rate direction and a story that moves like a train racing through the night... Highly recommended.

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Gene Cisco
Truth is Larger Than A Whisper
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2024
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I was reading Carl Sandburg's great Lincoln Sagamon biography, (2 Prairie Years and 3 War Years) when I realized he was covering this true event in 3 or 4 pages. The adaptation into screenplay captures the numerous rumors, suspicions and mischaracterizations which dogged Lincoln as he was about to reach Washington. Citizens from each state were divided and wary of Lincoln who was new to the urban east coast cities. It is an exciting film done extremely well by director Anthony Mann. Most of the cast is known to folks over 40 today. Lincoln is enroute to Washington and the tension builds when he has just a few stops before Washington and he is guarded for the first time by Pinkerton, and his local agent, Dick Powell. You see a young Ruby Dee and Marshall Thompson, with a younger Will Geer and Adolph Menjou. Unlike JFK, who dismissed assassination rumors, Lincoln was indecisive at first but was persuaded at the last minute by the professionalism of the Pinkerton agent, the start of the Secret Service. It is exciting throughout so much that you must see the film at least twice to spot Lincoln! There are plenty of feints, red herrings to make a new "Murder On the Orient Express," but at the finish you are thrilled that Lincoln escaped. Now you know why each party wants their candidate to take a short ride to the Capitol on Inaugural Day! There are fight scenes reminiscent of "From Russia With Love," too!

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2 people found this helpful

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Israel Drazin
A good film based on an alleged attempt to kill President Lincoln
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017
As bad and divisive conditions are today because of the election of President Trump, it was far worse in 1861 when Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Among the many acts by those who felt he was a baboon, States seceded from the Union and attempts were made to kill the President Elect.
The 1951 black and white well-done film “The Tall Target” is a fictional account of the February 23, 1861 alleged plot against Lincoln. It is alleged because no proof has ever been presented that there was such a plot. Nevertheless, steps were taken to protect the president as he passed through the southern city of Baltimore. Part of the protection was that Lincoln boarded the train to Washington in disguise. He was thereafter for some time criticized for acting cowardly.
The film generally follows what is known about the Baltimore Plot, with some differences. It is a New York city sergeant named John Kennedy, played by Dick Powel, who alerts the administration about the conspiracy and boards the train trying to discover whether any of the plotters are on board before they reach Baltimore. According to the film, which is not fact, Kennedy discovers that there is a sharpshooter armed with a rifle with a telescopic sight on the train who was supposed to shoot the president-elect. Kennedy saves the president, the assassination attempt is aborted, and the leaders of the conspiracy are identified.
While the film character is fiction, there was a superintendent of the New York police force, not a sergeant, who was not on the train, named John Kennedy, like the Powell character. He claimed that he was the man who discovered the Boston Plot and alerted authorities.

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6 people found this helpful

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J R
Review
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2025
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Interesting and Entertaining movie.

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One person found this helpful

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John Hagy
Great Dvd.
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2025
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A++++++++ Highly Recommend This Seller. Will buy from them again soon.

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Abner Sam
Delayed
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2025
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Perfect Bluray but it took18 days to arrive!!

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2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer
TALL TARGET
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2025
Verified Purchase
I just read a book about this topic and it's nothing like this movie.

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FRED C. DOBBS
THE BALTIMORE PLOT: IF YOU DON' T SUSPECT, YOU'LL MISS THE BOAT...AND THE TRAIN
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2012
Another good film by the great but often forgotten director Anthony Mann. Like his two classic Westerns, WINCHESTER 73 [1950] and THE NAKED SPUR [1953], this one is also set in the 1800's but is more a political and mystery thriller/noir. About a NYC detective who boards a train to try to stop a possible inauguration assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln. A couple of problems, though, as the cop is not sure if the nefarious plan is veridical and, if so, who is carrying out the deed. He is played by Dick Powell [detective Philip Marlowe in the classic noir MURDER MY SWEET, 1944] who renders a pensive and succinct performance as the cop who quits the force after being ordered by his boss to discard his suspicions. He now hops on the NY-to-Atlanta locomotive, without his badge and without a gun, following the scent of conspiracy.

Mann uses black & white filming to full advantage in conveying the dark and furtive ways of strangers on a train, and of the isolation and paranoia often encountered in the impersonal, controlled and compartmentalized environ of the uncompromising locomotive. In addition, Mann's skill in perfectly casting just the right face, voice and demeanor for specific roles and situations, like fitting the pieces of a puzzle, is evident here.

Marshall Thompson [DAKTARI TV series, 1966-1969] is very effective as the taciturn and edgy young soldier, with the ambiguous destination, who happens to have a telescoped rifle in his room. His eyes and expressions move the viewer more than any words. Leif Erickson [who can forget that stirring closeup of his alienized countenance as he picks up his hysterical kid at the police station in INVADERS FROM MARS, 1953] is unsettling as a stowaway who steals Powell's coat and train ticket, then tries to kill him. Adolphe Menjou [PATHS OF GLORY, 1957] renders a masterful performance as the glib, always-smiling senior commander of a group of soldiers traveling on the train. The congenial and whimsical Menjou appears to be Powell's ally on the train. His attempts to verbally slip-and-slide his way out of trouble after the latter arrests him and tries to deliver him to the cops is a gem. Will Geer [Grandpa in THE WALTONS, 1972-78] is another nice casting pick as the perceptive and always-suspicious train conductor whose primary interest is keeping that train on schedule despite the repeated obtrusions. How about the icy lady passenger with the detached demeanor seeming to have something to hide behind her compartment door.

Mann gives us a nice snapshot of the tense socio-political climate of that time with on-board pro & anti-Lincoln banter, and a slave [played by Ruby Dee, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, 1961] providing her owner some insight into the meaning of freedom.

The film is a modified account of a suspected but never-substantiated conspiracy to assassinate President-elect Lincoln named 'The Baltimore Plot'. The plot was purportedly first suggested by a NYC police official creepily named John Kennedy, the character played by Powell. Scary to think of how history [our lives] may have been altered in unknown ways were it not for the precautions taken by, and the convictions of, Kennedy and Allan Pinkerton---Lincoln's chief security strategist for that trip and founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency [his character NOT depicted in this film]---despite certain derision, distraction, doubt and discouragement.

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3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Bev Carter
THE TALL TARGET DVD
Reviewed in Canada on October 24, 2024
Verified Purchase

I like train movies and this is a good one, with a historical bent. Arrived in time, good condition.

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Spike Owen
Mann delivers the perfect companion piece to Reign of Terror.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2011
Verified Purchase
"Ninety years ago a lonely traveller boarded the night train from New York to Washington D.C., and when he reached his destination his passage had become a forgotten chapter in the history of the United States. This motion picture is a dramatisation of that disputed journey."

The Tall Target is directed by Anthony Mann and written by George Worthing Yates, Daniel Mainwaring (as Geoffrey Holmes) and Art Cohn. It stars Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson and Will Geer. As the above opening salvo suggests, story is disputed, it's based around the so called Baltimore Plot, a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln; the tall man of the title who is on the train heading for his inauguration.

Set mostly aboard a train, Mann's The Tall Target is a very tight noirish type period thriller that sees Powell's gruff detective try and protect Abe Lincoln from assassins lurking within the confines of the locomotive hauled express. Although a low budget production, there is some smart period detail to enjoy and the cramped setting of the train interiors allows Mann to infuse the story with paranoia and claustrophobic tints. Major bonus is that the makers excellently capture what must have been a powder keg of political uncertainty in 1861, this is born out by the number of interesting characters with a voice aboard this train. Thus the suspense and mystery elements are not confined to being of the obvious variety.

With Paul Vogel's black and white photography adding some period bite, and putting the noirish sheen to scenes such as the ones involving smoke, it's a shame that the cast are mostly hit and miss. Powell just about carries off the tough-guy persona, with the scenes shared with Menjou good value, and Geer is the stand out as the jobs worth conductor. Raymond is lovely, but hardly puts a stamp on proceedings, while Thompson is badly inadequate when it comes to putting the threat into threatening situations. But they are only minor itches that fail to derail the film from the tracks, because ultimately it's the story that is the star, a story boosted no end by Mann's taut direction. 7.5/10

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Not a critic
Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? Oh it is a gun!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2015
Verified Purchase
Atmospheric telling of a story that could have a basis in fact. Lincoln was the 'tall target' for a number of assassination attempts prior to his election, as well as afterwards. The director Anthony Mann creates an atmosphere of tension that is present from the start, not overstated to begin with but it grows in steps (both as a social drama and a thriller) as the train gets closer to its destination. The assassin on the train is still hidden from us though he is clearly not working alone and the death count starts to rise as soon as the train leaves the station in New York. When we learn what is going on we are still in doubt as to the outcome even though most watching will have known Lincoln was not assassinated in 1861 when the film takes place. Some of the story is a bit laboured but it is done so the viewer gets a clear understanding of the depth of feelings towards Lincoln in Northern and southern states prior to the civil war. However the social drama brilliantly portrayed between Paula Raymond as the southern belle and Ruby Dee as her maid and childhood companion gives the story a strong resonance of what freedom was for different classes of people.
Then back to the tension of being on a train which is a confined space but with numerous doors to hide behind, to be trapped behind even though the film cannot produce the special affects of modern day train thrillers it is not missed. Dick Powel is at his best as the principled ex New York detective and Adophe Menjour as the militia colonel is very good. A good social drama, a very good thriller. And as for Lincoln. Where exactly is he?

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Tudor Marks
This I really like. It's a little known movie by Dick Powell ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2018
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This I really like. It's a little known movie by Dick Powell and deals with the assassination of well known political figure in a moving train . It's a bit like Breakhart pass with Dick powell as the Charlie Bronson part

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Mr-george-pickford
Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
good-ok

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