Follow Me Quietly (1949)

An obsessed cop tracks an elusive serial killer who strangles his victims on rainy nights.

Director:

Richard Fleischer (as Richard O. Fleischer)

Writers:

Lillie Hayward (screenplay), Francis Rosenwald (story)

Stars:

William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey

Cast

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

Storyline

For six months, a strangler has terrorized the city. Calling himself The Judge, he's a self-appointed destroyer of 'evil' who only strikes on rainy nights. Police Lieut. Harry Grant is obsessed with catching him but has failed so far, despite varied clues. And now Harry is further hampered by attractive tabloid reporter Ann Gorman dogging his footsteps. Compactly crafted film with some effective thrills.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | reference to jack the ripper | reference to bluebeard | police partner | police procedural | 

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Taglines:

Police baffled by the FACELESS KILLER!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to an article in the June 28, 1948 edition of the Los Angeles Times, Kent Smith was announced as the male lead in this picture.

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Goofs

When McGill is recounting the event that led to him being thrown out of his office window; during the flashback, you can see through the window a heavy downpour of rain. But on the cuts of him lying on the ground and talking to the Detectives; there are no signs of that it has been raining anywhere including the streets and on McGill's clothes.

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Quotes

Police Lt. Harry Grant: We struck pay dirt.
Police Sgt. Art Collins: Yeah, if he buys his magazines here, he probably lives somewhere nearby.
Police Lt. Harry Grant: Well, we'll check the laundries, poolrooms, markets, saloons.
Police Sgt. Art Collins: It's a cinch. All we have to do is turn the neighborhood upside down, then shake all the buildings until he falls out of one of them.
Police Lt. Harry Grant: Let's start shaking.

User Reviews

Funny thing how he always strikes in the rain.

Follow Me Quietly is directed by Richard Fleischer (with uncredited help from Anthony Mann) and adapted to screenplay by Lillie Hayward from a story written by Mann and Francis Rosenwald. It stars William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey, Nestor Paiva and Paul Guilfoyle. Music is by Leonid Raab and cinematography by Robert De Grasse.

A serial killer known as "The Judge" is stalking the city, his modus operandi is to strike when it rains and to kill by strangulation. The police have loads of little clues but nothing solid to go on. The strain is starting to weigh heavy on Lt. Harry Grant (Lundigan), but he comes up with a genius idea to help catch the killer - a mannequin!

Not widely known, but once released to MOD home format it got more noticed and has been keenly sought out by fans of the great Anthony Mann. It has proved a little divisive so this fawning review should be taken with a little context. Clocking in at just under an hour in length, Fleischer's film is by definition a compact RKO "B" picture, but the quality of story, and the little slices of noir craft, ensure it's got plenty of strengths going for it.

In essence it's an early police procedural dealing with the hunt for a serial killer. There's a babe in the mix, Dorothy Patrick as an intrepid reporter who announcers herself to the film wearing a see through mackintosh, which of course is splendid. She teams up with Grant, not as a fatale, but as a sort of wry cohort, suggestion is evident, sexual tension even, but nothing is shoe-horned in to the pic. The cops are all stoic types, splendidly attired for period delights, but it's with Lundigan's head of investigations where the film gets its pulse beat. He gets in deep with the psychological aspects of the case, thinking like the killer, talking to the faceless mannequin that has been constructed out of clues left by the killer, the mirror images of the killer and mannequin are not exactly a million miles away from Lundigan himself. Cheeky is that.

Mann's stamp is all over the film, but Fleischer's work is evident for sure, an economical purist meets the crafty auteur, a fine match. Robert De Grasse (The Body Snatcher/Born to Kill) is a key component, operating with angles and shades when required, there's a distinct uneasy feel to proceedings. A few scenes grab the attention with full effect, akin to a spider inviting a fly to dinner, which all builds to a head, culminating in a blunderbuss finale at an oil refinery - cum - power plant. Only where White Heat (also 1949) went nighttime for its coup de grace, Follow Me Quietly did it in daylight. Cheeky is that.

It's not perfect. Some logic holes are there as regards the water effect with the killer, which also leads us to lament a lack of reasoning and understanding with the perpetrator. There's also a couple of instances where the mannequin is played in a rear shot by a real actor, why? I have no idea. While the best scene in the film, as Lundigan chats to the dummy in a darkened room - and the rain falls hard on the windows - brings about a reveal that makes no sense what so ever. Especially once "The Judge" is revealed. However, this is easy to recommend to noir heads and fans of police procedurals, and I loved it. 8/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Follow Me Quietly

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1