''Follow Me Quietly'' is a 1949 semidocumentary

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

/ police procedural film directed by

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though he ...

. The drama features

William Lundigan William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include ''Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), ''Dishonored Lady'' ...

Dorothy Patrick Dorothy Patrick (born Dorothea Davis; June 3, 1921 – May 31, 1987) was a Canadian-American film actress and a John Robert Powers model. Early life Patrick was born on June 3, 1921, in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada, the daughter of Mr. and ...

Jeff Corey Jeff Corey (born Arthur Zwerling; August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s. Life and career Corey attended New Utrecht High ...

, and others.

Plot

A mysterious killer, known only as "The Judge", kills anyone he considers worthless and immoral. Lieutenant Harry Grant (

) 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 (

) 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

as Police Lt. Harry Grant *

as Ann Gorman *

as Police Sgt. Art Collins *

Nestor Paiva Nestor Paiva (June 30, 1905 – September 9, 1966) was an American actor of Portuguese descent. He is most famous for his recurring role of Teo Gonzales the innkeeper in Walt Disney's Spanish Western series ''Zorro'' and its feature film ''The ...

as Benny *

Charles D. Brown Charles D. Brown (July 1, 1887 – November 25, 1948) was an American stage and film actor. Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Brown wrote and directed a single short film in 1914. As an actor, he appeared in more than 100 films, stretching fro ...

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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' was dismissive of the film and wrote, "There is no intelligent reason why anyone should heed the proposal of ''Follow Me Quietly''... r this utterly senseless little thriller is patently nothing more than a convenient one-hour time-killer between performances of the eight-act vaudeville bill." Reviewing it on DVD, Gene Triplett of ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...

'' wrote, " is obscure gem packs a remarkable amount of thrills and dramatic weight into a mere 59 minutes". Paul Mavis of DVD Talk rated it 4.5/5 stars and called it a "strange, unsettling film noir mystery, with a disturbing subtext".

References

External links

* * * *
''Follow Me Quietly''
at DVD Beaver (includes images) * {{Richard Fleischer 1949 films 1940s serial killer films American mystery thriller films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films Film noir Police procedurals RKO Pictures films Films directed by Richard Fleischer 1940s mystery thriller films American serial killer films 1940s American films