ksf-2 SO many great actors in this story of Lincoln's journey by train to give a speech. Dick Powell is "John Kennedy"..oddly enough. Adolphe Menjou is Colonel Jeffers, and the Amazing Florence Bates (LOVE her !) is Mrs. Alsop. She didn't make a lot of films, but she is outspoken and FUN whenever she pops up. Check out her bio.. her own life story is just as interesting as any of her film roles. and of course, Will Geer as The Conductor. (Grandpaw Walton !) Note that the IMDb cast list has several actors listed as "Zoaves" (uncredited); they were an actual group of uniformed soldiers from Poland... check it out on wikipedia. quite a history. This one is QUITE well done, like a good steak. A good chemistry between the actors. Of course, knowing history, and that A.L. wasn't killed until MUCH later.... we have the luxury of knowing HOW it comes out, but not WHO wants to "dunnit". The first half is kind of an Agatha Christie, not knowing who the murder is. Just about halfway through, we know some of the illicit characters, but clearly we don't know the whole story. Just enough to make it intriguing. Some good ol' north against the south talk as well. It was just before the civil war, after all, with slavery and politics as the hot button issues. This one is a good one. The entire time, we're never sure just who is on which side. Highly recommended. They don't seem to show it often, so catch it if you can!

MartinHafer While most everyone seems to know about the assassination of President Lincoln, this was just the last of quite a few plots to kill the man. In particular, getting Lincoln to Washington for the inauguration was problematic, as crowds were often hostile and bent on killing the man they blamed for the splitting up of the Union. In particular, in Baltimore, the President-elect needed to be spirited off the train quietly to avoid the hostile mobs. So, the premise of "The Tall Target" is very appropriate---as there was a lot of hatred and hostility towards the man during the war years.John Kennedy (no, not THE John Kennedy but he's a guy played by Dick Powell) is a New York policeman who is frustrated, very frustrated. The inauguration of Abraham Lincoln is approaching and he insists that there is a plot to kill the man--however, his superiors don't take him seriously. So, he resigns from the force and boards a train headed to Washington. He's determined to do SOMETHING. Along the way, he meets up with several conspirators--though unfortunately no one believes him! And, when he captures the one of the conspirators, the local police want to arrest him instead! What is the man to do?! Aside from one small dumb scene (where Kennedy left his identification and gun in his coat at his seat--leading to serious complications), this is a bang-up film. While you know that Lincoln survived to serve as president, you still are on the edge of your seat--a sign that this is a very good action/adventure film. Tense, well-written and acted--this is well worth seeing.

bandw This story takes place in February, 1861. It is a story built around a plot to assassinate president-elect Lincoln during his twelve-day inaugural train trip from Springfield, Missouri to Washington, D.C. Dick Powell plays police detective John Kennedy who is aware of the plot and meets indifference from his superiors when he tries to take action. Kennedy takes it on himself to try to foil the plot single-handedly and most of the story takes place on trains where Kennedy gets in tight situations in trying to unravel the conspiracy. That part of the movie plays out as a classic crime drama, but there is much more here than a crime drama.Many scenes establish the mood of the country at the time. With the beginning of the Civil War only a couple of months away, the tensions leading to that war were in strong evidence on the train. In an early conversation between two women one of them says, "We must take a firm stand against slavery once and for all, don't you agree?" to which the other responds, "As far as I am concerned madame, the new president is Jefferson Davis of Mississippi." Another passenger remarks, "If someone puts a bullet into Abe Lincoln, I'll be the first to shake his hand. That man is heading us straight into war." From the distance of a hundred and fifty years it is interesting to understand that Lincoln, who has become the most admired U.S. president, was so detested at the time by so many. Another topic broached is the relation between Rachel, a young slave (Ruby Dee) and her owners, the Beauforts. When challenged by Kennedy about her slave ownership, Ginny Beaufort turns to Rachel and says, "I never thought to ask for your freedom and I never thought of giving it to you," to which Rachel responds, "It's not a thing you should have been able to give me. Freedom is something I should have been born with." Certainly this comment resonated with the nascent Civil Rights Movement in the early 1950s.The black and white photography is well done; the portrayal of the inaugural train seems to be historically accurate.After seeing this I was left wondering just what the truth was and I was provoked to do a little research. From "Life of Lincoln" by John Caroll Power, H.W. Rokker publisher, 1889, p.51, in referring to a detective who had been hired (behind Lincoln's back) to ferret out the possibility of an assassination attempt planned for when Lincoln passed through Baltimore, the author says, "He (the detective) found out beyond a doubt that a plot was formed for a party of conspirators to crowd around him (Lincoln) in the guise of friends , and at a given signal Mr. Lincoln was to be shot and stabbed." From "The Time Life History of the United States," vol. 5, p.97, 1963, referring to president Lincoln, "Leaving Harrisburg secretly by train on February 22, he transferred at Philadelphia to a sleeper, taking a berth reserved by a female Pinkerton operator for her invalid brother. The party passed safely through Baltimore at 3:30 in the morning and reached Washington at 6 a.m. on the 23rd. The elated Pinkerton sent a code to Harrisburg: Plums Delivered Nuts Safely." Obviously a lot of liberties were taken with history in coming up with this film to turn it into a noir thriller, but there is at least enough of a kernel of truth behind it so it can be enjoyed for the fictionalized version it is without thinking that history has been totally savaged. I thought it was a particularly nice touch to reference a three-cent piece, in circulation at the time.

Alan Trevennor Having collected an off-air recording of this film I now make sure to watch it at least once per year. Why? It's almost perfect.A New York police detective stumbles upon a plot to kill President elect Abraham Lincoln en route to Washington for his inauguration. The plotters plan for multiple gunmen to assassinate Abe whilst he is speechifying in Baltimore.Having failed to convince his superiors that the plot is real, the cop hands in his badge and takes "The Flyer" - an overnight train from New York to Baltimore. The bulk of the film concerns his efforts to find out more details of the plot, and figure out which of his fellow passengers are part of it. Having done so, he must stop them from bumping him off or getting him locked up until it's all over. It's a great plot, extrapolated to some unknown degree, from real events.For me, the film has a quality that should put it right up there with other film noir classics such as "The Big Sleep". You actually feel the cop's physical desperation that he must stop the conspirators, and you feel their fanaticism to succeed. Dick Powell as the cop (Ironically called John Kennedy) carries the film superbly. Will Geer (he eventually played the Grandfather in "The Waltons") is completely believable as the harassed train conductor. The more minor characters (such as the driver/engineer and some of the non-principal passengers) are given depth and motivation to a degree that is quite unusual.The settings feel like a train, rather than a set being rocked gently by a set of burly teamsters. The external train shots are mostly real, not the usual laughable model shots you get in many train films of this vintage. In fact, overall, the technical competence of the whole production is top notch. The photography, lighting, sound, visual effects and sets are of a very high calibre indeed.Even if you are not usually given to watching movies as old as this one, I urge you to track this one down - it's well worthwhile.Alan T.