Targeting Another Mann

Exactly three years have passed since my last entry in this blog on January 8, 2009, time enough to grow older and perhaps wiser. My posts were few and far between, ending in a two part analysis of the Westerns of Anthony Mann. When I decided to continue this blog, it became a personal goal of mine to update more frequently. Speaking of Mann, I decided to link my past efforts with the new by looking at The Tall Target, a criminally underrated Mann picture whose acquaintance I made recently.

Before my lengthy hiatus, I blogged ("All Aboard!") about Transsiberian, an exciting 2008 release directed by Brad Anderson. In the same piece I mentioned Runaway Train, The Lady Vanishes, and Murder on the Orient Express; films with similar settings. Well, I loved train movies then, and I love them now. Make no mistake, The Tall Target is one hell of a train movie and ranks among Mann's finest achievements.

Released in 1951, it claims to be based on a forgotten historical conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln on the way to his inauguration. Apparently this was an alleged plot where nothing ended up happening, but security measures were indeed taken to protect Lincoln aboard a night train to Washington D.C. in March of 1861.

Mann's version of events, smartly scripted by George Worthing Yates and Art Cohn, gives us a protagonist in the form of New York detective John Kennedy (Dick Powell). Kennedy, who served as Lincoln's bodyguard for two days prior to the election, recently caught wind of the plot and filed a report which no one on the force takes seriously. Why would they? It seems many people wouldn't mind seeing Lincoln on the receiving end of a bullet. As one man states, “I'd inaugurate him with a stout rope from a White House chandelier!”

It could not be clearer, The Tall Target takes place in a divided nation. People are concerned about war on the horizon once Lincoln takes office. Waiting to board the Night Flyer Express, a woman says, “Mr. Lincoln must take a firm stand against slavery once and for all”. With a sour expression, another passenger retorts, “As far as I'm concerned madam, the new president is Jefferson Davis of Mississippi.” This disgusts the first woman, who yells, “Secessionist!” The train essentially functions as a microcosm of the United States a century and a half ago, with tensions running high between the northerners and southerners aboard.

Forced to give up his badge, Kennedy boards the Night Flyer to thwart the plot himself. Things get off to a poor start when he discovers his friend, an inspector who wished to see him off and give him his ticket, has been murdered. Upon returning to his seat, Kennedy realizes he is being impersonated by a man, perhaps the murderer, who has his missing ticket. Luckily, Colonel Caleb Jeffers (Adolphe Menjou) is on board to vouch for Kennedy. A race against the clock begins as Kennedy must find his friend's killer, and discover who else is involved in the conspiracy.

The contrast between The Tall Target and many more recent films is staggering. The other day I sat through War Horse, Steven Spielberg's latest, and found myself pummeled into submission by yet another booming John Williams score. The music was so abusive, I expected Nigel Tufnel to charge in from the wings. Let's face it, we live in an era of big Hollywood spectacle and “louder is better” musical scores. How refreshing, then, is a movie like The Tall Target? Mann gives us a taut, tremendously crafted thriller with no bloated Hollywood moments and no score whatsoever. The setting comes to life brilliantly through sound effects alone, and the tale is so gripping even the most savvy viewers would be hard pressed to notice the lack of music.

Performances are nicely done all around, particularly those of Powell and Menjou, who despite his many roles continues to exist in my head as the Major General in Kubrick's Paths of Glory. A very young Ruby Dee (Mother Sister in Spike Lee's 1989 film, Do the Right Thing) plays a slave girl raised more like a sibling to her owner, Ginny Beaufort (Paula Raymond). Even the train conductor, played by Will Geer, manages to stand out. Truth be told, he happens to be involved in one of my favorite exchanges in the picture. When offered a drink by Colonel Jeffers, he declines as he is on duty. “Come on, come on, this is a tonic,” Jeffers insists, as the conductor takes a nervous look around. “Here, I'll get you some water,” Jeffers adds. The conductor quickly takes the straight tonic and responds, “Let's not dilute its medicinal value.”

Films of this type often live and die by their period detail, and The Tall Target gets it right. From the beginning, I believed these events were taking place in 1861. I absolutely loved seeing the Flyer dragged, by horses, through the city of Baltimore to prevent the engine smoke from polluting the city (a real law at the time). I also enjoyed seeing the Capitol Building under construction. Some have complained that Powell's suit isn't accurate for 1861, but I never noticed or cared. Credit simply must be given to Cedric Gibbons' art direction and Edwin B. Willis' set decoration. They were a talented pair, working on other fine MGM productions such as Singin' in the Rain, An American in Paris, and The Wizard of Oz.

About nine months after The Tall Target was released, Richard Fleischer's film noir, The Narrow Margin, came out. Like Mann's picture, it is a thriller set on a train, it uses no musical score, and the similarities don't stop there. The Narrow Margin has a contemporary setting, however, and tells the story of Walter Brown (Charles McGraw), a detective assigned to protect a mobster's widow (Marie Windsor) en route to California where she will testify before a grand jury. It's an exciting, well crafted movie (remade as the lackluster Narrow Margin starring Gene Hackman in 1990).

Unfortunately, producer Howard Hughes was so impressed with this “little B-movie that could”, he held up its release and planned to reshoot it with an A-list cast and budget. His wish never came true, and despite being completed before The Tall Target, the public saw Fleischer's film last. I have no idea whether or not Mann knew of The Narrow Margin or had insiders who ripped it off. Both films are wonderful, and stand on their own. Still, if forced to choose, I would cast my vote in favor of The Tall Target. I'm not fond of some of the twists in The Narrow Margin, and I prefer the character and atmosphere of Mann's picture.

It is always nice to come across a splendid, forgotten movie. Mann's work, I suppose, isn't so much forgotten as it is undervalued. The films are there, readily available in most cases, and just waiting to be seen. Cinema history does not seem to appreciate him as much as Ford or Hawks, but I certainly do. Three years ago I discovered his Westerns, a couple noirs, and a few epics. Now I come across a gem as substantial as this? I can not recommend Mann's work highly enough, and The Tall Target is as good a place to start as any.