NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner Archive Blu-ray (September 2025): Warner Archive have transferred Anthony Mann's The Tall Target to Blu-ray. The 2009 DVD, reviewed HERE, was fraught with issues; chroma, Cropped, damage and visible cue blips. The 1080P is a substantial improvement as evidenced by the matched screen captures below. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the best available preservation elements, the Blu-ray delivers a sharp and detailed image in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, with solid black levels, organic film grain, and a noirish grayscale that enhances the atmospheric tension. While the majority of the footage appears well-defined and free of print flaws, jagged edges, or haloes, a few segments - such as the opening credits and certain dupey shots - exhibit slight softness or smoothness, reflecting the age and mixed source materials, but overall, the presentation far surpasses previous DVD edition with appealing clarity and depth in shadows. Comparatively - 'highly impressive'.

NOTE: We have added 72 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Warner Archive use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Sound design plays a crucial role in building tension in The Tall Target: subtle effects like footsteps echoing in narrow hallways, muffled conversations through doors, and the distant whistle of the locomotive create a sense of urgency. Bronislau Kaper (Jet Pilot, Key to the City, The Wild North, Lord Jim, 1944's Gaslight, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Swan, Them!, The Naked Spur, Orson Welles' The Stranger) is credited with the music, but his contributions are limited to arrangements of patriotic tunes like "Rally Round the Flag" (music by William B. Bradbury) and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," which appear uncredited and diegetically - emerging from within the scene, such as band performances or passenger hums - to evoke the historical context without overt emotional manipulation. This absence of a non-diegetic score, shared with films like The Narrow Margin, allows the industrial soundscapes of the train to dominate, with the rhythmic clatter of wheels on tracks, hissing steam, and creaking carriages serving as the primary auditory backbone, enhancing the drama and immersion in the confined, mechanical environment. Warner's lossless monaural soundtrack maintains clarity in dialogue despite occasional brittleness in speech, ensuring that verbal exchanges - laden with political debates and accusations - remain crisp and central to the narrative. The track performs solidly in a split two-channel container, ensuring clarity throughout the runtime, and is rated appropriately for its age making it a satisfactory accompaniment to the visuals and a welcome improvement over the original DVD. Warner Archive offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The extras package on the Warner Archive Blu-ray is modest but thematically fitting, starting with the 1949 radio program "Mr. President" (running shy of 1/2 hour), a dramatic broadcast featuring Edward Arnold that offers a twist on the 'Baltimore Plot' while concealing the president's identity until the end, providing historical context and entertainment value. Two 1951, 6 1/2 minute, MGM (Hanna-Barbera) animated shorts in HD add lighthearted contrast: "Jerry's Cousin", where Jerry enlists his tough cousin to fend off Tom, and "Slicked-Up Pup", a chase-filled tale of Tom cleaning up Spike's pup after a tar mishap, both showcasing classic Tom and Jerry antics from the same release year as the feature. Rounding out the supplements is the original theatrical trailer in standard definition.

Anthony Mann's The Tall Target is a compact historical thriller produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, drawing loosely from the real-life Baltimore Plot - an alleged 1861 conspiracy to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln during his pre-inauguration train journey from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington, D.C. Directed by Mann, with a screenplay by George Worthing Yates (Tormented, The Spider, Attack of the Puppet People, Frankenstein 1970, War of the Colossal Beast, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Conquest of Space, Them!,) Daniel Mainwaring - credited as Geoffrey Homes - (Atlantis: The Lost Continent, The Revolt of the Slaves, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Phenix City Story, A Bullet for Joey, The Hitch-Hiker,) and Art Cohn (The Set-Up,) the film transforms this historical footnote into a taut, noir-infused suspense narrative. The film has garnered retrospective appreciation for its efficient storytelling, atmospheric tension, and prescient exploration of political division. It is easy to notice the ironic naming of the protagonist as "John Kennedy," evoking parallels to the later assassination of President John F. Kennedy, adding an unintended layer of historical resonance. At its core, The Tall Target grapples with the fragility of democracy and the perils of political extremism, portraying Lincoln not as a character but as a symbolic "tall target" whose survival represents the Union's precarious hope. Themes of loyalty and betrayal permeate the passenger interactions, reflecting the nation's North-South schism and debates over slavery, as seen in dialogues that pit abolitionist ideals against Confederate sympathies. Overall, the Warner Archive Blu-ray release of The Tall Target is a highly recommended upgrade for fans of Anthony Mann's taut historical thriller, combining a vastly improved audiovisual presentation that polishes the film's noir-infused suspense and period intrigue with a smattering of era-appropriate extras, making it an essential addition to collections despite its relative obscurity. Featuring strong performances by Dick Powell (Johnny O'Clock, Murder My Sweet, It Happened Tomorrow, Christmas in July, Cry Danger, Station West, The Bad and the Beautiful, Pitfall,) Adolphe Menjou (A Woman of Paris, Syncopation, The Front Page, A Bill of Divorcement, State of the Union, Paths of Glory, Mr. District Attorney, A Farewell to Arms,) and Marshall Thompson (Mystery Street, First Man Into Space, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Fiend Without a Face,) who portrays Lance Beaufort, a young West Point cadet from Georgia - he embodies the ideological fervor of Southern secessionists amid the pre-Civil War tensions of 1861. Ruby Dee (Up Tight!, A Raisin in the Sun, The Balcony, No Way Out) delivers a brief but stirring performance as Rachel, the enslaved woman aboard the train who provides crucial assistance to the protagonist while embodying the film's poignant commentary on racial tensions and human dignity in pre-Civil War America. Beyond the immense improvement over the previous SD edition, this Warner Archive Blu-ray offers excellent value for those interested in Film Noir, Civil War-era dramas or train-based mysteries.

Gary Tooze