The Tall Target

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, D.C. He's convinced that someone -- or someones -- 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 M-G-M thriller directed with film noir overtones by auteur Anthony Mann. Under his distinctive direction, The Tall Target possesses 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 rumples towards destination or assassination.

• adventure
• crime
• thriller