Follow Me Quietly

1950 film by Anthony Mann, Richard Fleischer
  • Richard Fleischer
Screenplay byLillie HaywardStory by
  • Anthony Mann
  • Francis Rosenwald
Produced byHerman SchlomStarring
  • William Lundigan
  • Dorothy Patrick
  • Jeff Corey
CinematographyRobert De GrasseEdited byElmo WilliamsMusic by
  • Leonid Raab
  • Paul Sawtell
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • July 7, 1949 (1949-07-07) (New York City)[1]
  • July 14, 1949 (1949-07-14) (United States)[1]
Running time
60 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Follow Me Quietly is a 1949 American semidocumentary film noir / police procedural film directed by Richard Fleischer. The drama features William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey, and others.

Plot

A mysterious killer, known only as "The Judge", kills anyone he considers worthless and immoral. Lieutenant Harry Grant (William Lundigan) is assigned to track him down. With just a handful of clues, Grant constructs a faceless dummy to help his men conduct their investigation. Meanwhile a persistent young female reporter (Dorothy Patrick) for a tabloid magazine is dogging Grant for a story on the killings, much to his annoyance.

Police finally break the case after receiving an important clue, the significance of which they realize only after the reporter explains it to them. Finally, after cornering the killer during a chase on the catwalks of a refinery, the killer is revealed to be a middle-aged man whose cruel disposition and unattractive appearance lead him to become "The Judge".

Cast

  • William Lundigan as Police Lt. Harry Grant
  • Dorothy Patrick as Ann Gorman
  • Jeff Corey as Police Sgt. Art Collins
  • Nestor Paiva as Benny
  • Charles D. Brown as Police Insp. Mulvaney
  • Paul Guilfoyle as Overbeck
  • Edwin Max as Charlie Roy aka The Judge
  • Frank Ferguson as J.C. McGill
  • Marlo Dwyer as Waitress
  • Archie Twitchell as Dixon
  • Douglas Spencer as Phony Judge

Reception

The New York Times was dismissive of the film and wrote, "There is no intelligent reason why anyone should heed the proposal of Follow Me Quietly...[f]or this utterly senseless little thriller is patently nothing more than a convenient one-hour time-killer between performances of the eight-act vaudeville bill."[2] Reviewing it on DVD, Gene Triplett of The Oklahoman wrote, "[T]his obscure gem packs a remarkable amount of thrills and dramatic weight into a mere 59 minutes".[3] Paul Mavis of DVD Talk rated it 4.5/5 stars and called it a "strange, unsettling film noir mystery, with a disturbing subtext".[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Follow Me Quietly: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  2. ^ The New York Times. Film review, July 8, 1949. Last accessed: February 7, 2008.
  3. ^ Triplett, Gene (August 19, 2011). "DVD review: 'Follow Me Quietly'". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  4. ^ Mavis, Paul (August 15, 2011). "Follow Me Quietly (Warner Archive)". DVD Talk. Retrieved February 20, 2015.

External links

  • v
  • t
  • e
Films directed by Richard Fleischer