One of the things Hollywood does exceedingly well – in my humble opinion – is they know how to dramatically distort the truth for the benefit of good storytelling.
(No, no, no: I don’t mean this as an insult.)
As an example, consider 1987’s entertaining and award-winning The Untouchables. Directed by Brian De Palma from a script by (in part) David Mamet, the film explored the era of American Prohibition, specifically highlighting the violent collision between crusading federal agent Eliot Ness and charismatic bootlegger Al Capone. Having read more than a fair share of books recounting the facts and figures of this era, I can assure you that it’s been proven that these two figures likely never came face-to-face – there’s even some argument suggesting that Capone most likely couldn’t have picked Ness out of a police line-up were one held – and yet De Palma’s story would have to believe the exact opposite was reality!
Still, The Untouchables is undoubtedly great moviemaking precisely because it does what Hollywood does so well: it seizes the right dramatic elements, spins them together alongside some winning fictional commentary, and reshapes history well enough to encourage the audience to pay close attention. It may not be the right thing to do, but it happens almost every time these dynamic purveyors of drama try to give viewers something compelling to enjoy. They take a little bit of artistic liberty in order to dramatize such adversarial relationships, and only those of us who resist being ‘none the wiser’ truly know otherwise.
Another great example worthy of consideration is 1951’s The Tall Target, a Film Noir inspired Crime Thriller exploring the facts and possible fantasy involving one of the earliest assassination attempts befalling Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States of America. Directed by Anthony Mann from a story by George Worthing Yates, Daniel Mainwaring, and Art Cohn, the film stars Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson, and Ruby Dee in prominent roles. Set almost entirely aboard the train racing to get the new President-elect to Washington D.C. for his inauguration, the tale brings to life a chapter in American history that many experts suggest never took place … or, at least, never quite took place.
You be the judge.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A New York City detective, traveling by train between New York and Baltimore, tries to foil an on-board plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln before he reaches Baltimore to give a major pre-Inauguration speech in 1861.”
(No, no, no: I don’t mean this as an insult.)
As an example, consider 1987’s entertaining and award-winning The Untouchables. Directed by Brian De Palma from a script by (in part) David Mamet, the film explored the era of American Prohibition, specifically highlighting the violent collision between crusading federal agent Eliot Ness and charismatic bootlegger Al Capone. Having read more than a fair share of books recounting the facts and figures of this era, I can assure you that it’s been proven that these two figures likely never came face-to-face – there’s even some argument suggesting that Capone most likely couldn’t have picked Ness out of a police line-up were one held – and yet De Palma’s story would have to believe the exact opposite was reality!
Still, The Untouchables is undoubtedly great moviemaking precisely because it does what Hollywood does so well: it seizes the right dramatic elements, spins them together alongside some winning fictional commentary, and reshapes history well enough to encourage the audience to pay close attention. It may not be the right thing to do, but it happens almost every time these dynamic purveyors of drama try to give viewers something compelling to enjoy. They take a little bit of artistic liberty in order to dramatize such adversarial relationships, and only those of us who resist being ‘none the wiser’ truly know otherwise.
Another great example worthy of consideration is 1951’s The Tall Target, a Film Noir inspired Crime Thriller exploring the facts and possible fantasy involving one of the earliest assassination attempts befalling Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States of America. Directed by Anthony Mann from a story by George Worthing Yates, Daniel Mainwaring, and Art Cohn, the film stars Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson, and Ruby Dee in prominent roles. Set almost entirely aboard the train racing to get the new President-elect to Washington D.C. for his inauguration, the tale brings to life a chapter in American history that many experts suggest never took place … or, at least, never quite took place.
You be the judge.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A New York City detective, traveling by train between New York and Baltimore, tries to foil an on-board plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln before he reaches Baltimore to give a major pre-Inauguration speech in 1861.”
Any student of American History can confirm that it was Abe Lincoln who, sadly, was the first President assassinated.
The truth to the matter – if one spends a bit more time investigating his Presidency – suggests that he was often considered ‘at risk’ for assassination. These were volatiles times – what with the country split into North and South factions – and these states were at war in situations wherein it’s been said that families had turned against families in the national bid to resolve the crisis surrounding slavery. A fair amount of reading into the Lincoln years examines some of these lesser-known attempts, and great number of experts – on both sides of the political spectrum – agree that Honest Abe may’ve been at risk; but there’s vast disagreement over the prospect of just how authentic that peril may’ve been.
One of the greater instances involves what’s been called the ‘Baltimore Plot.’
As I’ve come to understand the facts of this case, detective Allan Pinkerton was hired by railway magnate Samuel M. Felton to ensure Lincoln’s safety while traveling by train to the nation’s capital for the inauguration ceremonies. Apparently, Felton had been made aware that there were ne’er-do-wells hoping for a chance at any number of stops wherein the President-elect would be stopping to address the citizens of various cities along the way; and the company officer – as well as being a patriot – didn’t want to risk the chance of having his establishment being associated with a possible dark incident of history. It’s been said that Pinkerton and his associate – detective Kate Warne – uncovered evidence of multiple assassination plots specifically planned for the stop in Baltimore, forcing the head of security to consider measures to further safeguard the elected leader. Still – as history shows – Lincoln and his party successfully passed through the city a few days later without so much as a shot being fired.
Proving that Hollywood loves a good conspiracy, The Tall Target glamorizes several of the facts surrounding the alleged conspiracy to kill a President.
First, instead of crediting the Pinkertons with uncovering foreknowledge of the whole affair, the script invents a New York City homicide detective named – get this – John Kennedy (played by Dick Powell) who gets wind of the plan and takes the law into his own hands to singlehandedly board the train and track down the culprits before they can do the deed. (Wikipedia.org denotes that there was a NYPD officer named John Alexander Kennedy who claimed to have originally grown wise to the plot, but, alas, there’s no way he could’ve done anything more than factually alert his superiors.) Naturally, he’s portrayed as having a heart of gold, willing to sacrifice his career to protect Mr. Lincoln, and it’s all the stuff of great cinema.
Second, the story exponentially expands on known facts to give Kennedy a bit more to do than sit-and-wait for the criminal or criminals to act. According to the script, supporters and secessionists alike boarded the train with hopes of giving the new President a piece of their minds; and this conveniently grants the big city detective plenty of ‘the usual suspects’ to loosely ‘interview’ and ‘shadow’ in his hopes to snoop out the real culprit before the last reel. The conspiracy expands to involve even possible members of the U.S. military stationed onboard to participate in the inauguration ceremonies along the way; and the script even makes room for other theories – a Corsican barber named Ferrandini was also spied to possibly be the puppet master owed to his ties to a pro-Confederate movement at the time – to spend a little time in the limelight.
The truth to the matter – if one spends a bit more time investigating his Presidency – suggests that he was often considered ‘at risk’ for assassination. These were volatiles times – what with the country split into North and South factions – and these states were at war in situations wherein it’s been said that families had turned against families in the national bid to resolve the crisis surrounding slavery. A fair amount of reading into the Lincoln years examines some of these lesser-known attempts, and great number of experts – on both sides of the political spectrum – agree that Honest Abe may’ve been at risk; but there’s vast disagreement over the prospect of just how authentic that peril may’ve been.
One of the greater instances involves what’s been called the ‘Baltimore Plot.’
As I’ve come to understand the facts of this case, detective Allan Pinkerton was hired by railway magnate Samuel M. Felton to ensure Lincoln’s safety while traveling by train to the nation’s capital for the inauguration ceremonies. Apparently, Felton had been made aware that there were ne’er-do-wells hoping for a chance at any number of stops wherein the President-elect would be stopping to address the citizens of various cities along the way; and the company officer – as well as being a patriot – didn’t want to risk the chance of having his establishment being associated with a possible dark incident of history. It’s been said that Pinkerton and his associate – detective Kate Warne – uncovered evidence of multiple assassination plots specifically planned for the stop in Baltimore, forcing the head of security to consider measures to further safeguard the elected leader. Still – as history shows – Lincoln and his party successfully passed through the city a few days later without so much as a shot being fired.
Proving that Hollywood loves a good conspiracy, The Tall Target glamorizes several of the facts surrounding the alleged conspiracy to kill a President.
First, instead of crediting the Pinkertons with uncovering foreknowledge of the whole affair, the script invents a New York City homicide detective named – get this – John Kennedy (played by Dick Powell) who gets wind of the plan and takes the law into his own hands to singlehandedly board the train and track down the culprits before they can do the deed. (Wikipedia.org denotes that there was a NYPD officer named John Alexander Kennedy who claimed to have originally grown wise to the plot, but, alas, there’s no way he could’ve done anything more than factually alert his superiors.) Naturally, he’s portrayed as having a heart of gold, willing to sacrifice his career to protect Mr. Lincoln, and it’s all the stuff of great cinema.
Second, the story exponentially expands on known facts to give Kennedy a bit more to do than sit-and-wait for the criminal or criminals to act. According to the script, supporters and secessionists alike boarded the train with hopes of giving the new President a piece of their minds; and this conveniently grants the big city detective plenty of ‘the usual suspects’ to loosely ‘interview’ and ‘shadow’ in his hopes to snoop out the real culprit before the last reel. The conspiracy expands to involve even possible members of the U.S. military stationed onboard to participate in the inauguration ceremonies along the way; and the script even makes room for other theories – a Corsican barber named Ferrandini was also spied to possibly be the puppet master owed to his ties to a pro-Confederate movement at the time – to spend a little time in the limelight.
Lastly, the storytellers concoct a bit of extra espionage suggesting that Kennedy’s activities were so well known to sympathizers that they even went to such great lengths to impersonate the man aboard the train, though I’m at a loss to figure out precisely what purpose such an impersonation could’ve ultimately served. Yes, it gives our hero an initial mystery and some protracted action that requires his much-needed attention – he can’t get a ticket in his name because it’s already been issued and occupied by someone else – but it feels as like screen trickery. It devolved into a convenient subplot on the part of the imaginative writers to ramp up the intrigue when the plot to kill a President really should’ve been ample enough.
Still, none of these reservations do all that much of a disservice to The Tall Target.
What emerges is a tightly wound yarn wherein not only the lives of a few men remain in jeopardy but also the fate of a still-emerging nation. Target goes to great pains to clarify the stakes of its time and place – America was only on the cusp of falling into one of the bloodiest campaigns in all human existence, namely the Civil War – and these tensions simmer appreciably in almost every scene. Though history remembers Abraham Lincoln with some much-deserved grace, he was a man of some controversy when he was alive; and this makes for a great deal of the film’s continued relevance. It’s never easy changing the hearts and minds of a nation, and such efforts should always be worth revisiting: thankfully, Target emerges as good a Hollywood effort as it could be, and that’s saying something given how it still plays a bit fast and loose with the facts.
The Tall Target (1951) was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights-and-sounds to be exceptional across the picture’s running time of 78 minutes. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, there are a few items on here – cartoons and a radio drama – but there’s nothing truly specific to the film, and, yes, that’s a miss as I would’ve liked to have known much more about this wonderful production.
Highly Recommended.
While I have read that The Tall Target (1951) was a verified miss at the box office, that shouldn’t deter those interested at what entertainment and history effectively co-existing in a picture should look like. Powell gives a great leading performance – he was a reliable talent for his era – and he imbues the whole caper with the proper degree of ‘what if?’ given that, historically, audiences already know going in that Abraham Lincoln wasn’t felled by a sniper’s bullet in Baltimore, Maryland before he rose to the highest elected office in the land. Plus, there are enough subplots to keep viewers riveted even though it becomes clear fairly early on who the real mastermind is. Though this one failed in its day, it truly deserves a second brush with history.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Tall Target (1951) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Still, none of these reservations do all that much of a disservice to The Tall Target.
What emerges is a tightly wound yarn wherein not only the lives of a few men remain in jeopardy but also the fate of a still-emerging nation. Target goes to great pains to clarify the stakes of its time and place – America was only on the cusp of falling into one of the bloodiest campaigns in all human existence, namely the Civil War – and these tensions simmer appreciably in almost every scene. Though history remembers Abraham Lincoln with some much-deserved grace, he was a man of some controversy when he was alive; and this makes for a great deal of the film’s continued relevance. It’s never easy changing the hearts and minds of a nation, and such efforts should always be worth revisiting: thankfully, Target emerges as good a Hollywood effort as it could be, and that’s saying something given how it still plays a bit fast and loose with the facts.
The Tall Target (1951) was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights-and-sounds to be exceptional across the picture’s running time of 78 minutes. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, there are a few items on here – cartoons and a radio drama – but there’s nothing truly specific to the film, and, yes, that’s a miss as I would’ve liked to have known much more about this wonderful production.
Highly Recommended.
While I have read that The Tall Target (1951) was a verified miss at the box office, that shouldn’t deter those interested at what entertainment and history effectively co-existing in a picture should look like. Powell gives a great leading performance – he was a reliable talent for his era – and he imbues the whole caper with the proper degree of ‘what if?’ given that, historically, audiences already know going in that Abraham Lincoln wasn’t felled by a sniper’s bullet in Baltimore, Maryland before he rose to the highest elected office in the land. Plus, there are enough subplots to keep viewers riveted even though it becomes clear fairly early on who the real mastermind is. Though this one failed in its day, it truly deserves a second brush with history.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Tall Target (1951) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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