Follow Me Quietly (1949)

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is the kind of thing that Hollywood hasn't made in decades - a solid, well written, well acted, well directed "B" Movie. With a running time just seconds under an hour there is no wasted time in this movie, and yet nothing feels rushed, either. The main plot is revealed very quickly, and a lengthy set up is not the least bit missed. By going straight into the main story about 10 or 15 minutes of character introductions and set up for the plot are avoided. We get to know the characters right away, and we find out what the story is all about in the first 5 minutes. And what a creative story, too! Legendary director Anthony Mann had a hand in writing the story, and his flair for Noir shines through (or, maybe I should say his shadows fall on the story).William Lundigan is well cast as the lead (a detective still trying to break a months old serial murder case), and Dorothy Patrick does an equally good job as a tabloid reporter trying to get a scoop. Jeff Corey is particularly good, too, as Lundigan's detective partner.Bottom line? Follow Me Quietly is a very good, well made thriller on the outskirts of Film Noir that feels just right in it's one hour running time. It's not rushed, but absolutely nothing drags, either. And there aren't any unresolved plot points, either. It's a shame that Hollywood doesn't make movies like this anymore (low budget, short run time, taut, well made thrillers). But I guess that kind of thing went to TV in series form. (But a 44 minute TV episode doesn't quite do as good a job of telling this kind of story as a 60 or 70 minute movie could.)

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

William Lundigan (Lt Harry Grant) is on the case of a killer who strangles his victims from behind but with the added curiosity that he only strikes when it rains. The victims seem random. Dorothy Patrick (Ann) plays a journalist who is likable enough but prone to sticking her nose everywhere in order to get a story.There are memorable scenes that include Lundigan talking to a life-size dummy of the murderer, and the moment that the murderer suspects he has been rumbled, although I think it was a shame to make him start running at that moment. The film starts well with an opening scene of Dorothy Patrick waiting in the rain and we also have the anticipated face to face moment at the end of the film between Lundigan and the killer.While Lundigan comes across at times as monotone and some of the dialogue between him and his police colleague Jeff Corey is rather wooden, it doesn't detract from the story, and the best acting comes from Paul Guilfoyle as the husband of a murder victim. Unfortunately, not enough is made of the role of Dorothy Patrick. I would have liked to see her more involved in the unravelling of the mystery and maybe have a confrontation between her and the murderer. As it is, she has a very fluffy role and is given an irritating, cutesy answer to everything when she repeats the word "connections".This film runs its course but unfortunately lacks any real suspense. While there are many good moments, you feel that better use could have been made of them in the development of the story and ultimately, the film comes across as routine. Nice idea about having a psychopath whose trigger is rainfall, though.

This is a B-movie that up until the end really hooked me. While the film had no stars, it was a wonderful example of very snappy Film Noir dialog. Again and again, the cops used incredibly colorful language, such as calling a mental hospital "the bug house". Because of the way the cops talked, it really had me hooked. Too bad, then, that the film ended in such an anticlimactic manner.The film is a cop's eye view of the investigation of a serial killer who calls himself 'The Judge'. This nut has been killing for sometime and his m.o. is strangulation as well as always leaving a note signed with his moniker. While you'd think they'd soon catch up to him, after six months the investigation is still stalled. So, the detective inspector in charge tries a new strategy--hoping to FINALLY get somewhere in the case. Along for the ride is a pretty reporter who at first is more of a nuisance than anything else, though she isn't the stereotypical reporter, thankfully.As I said, the ending was a real bust. Despite the wonderful mood, finding this elusive guy at the end seemed like a big disappointment. To make things worse, when the police are about to apprehend him (though they have no real evidence linking the man to any crimes), he inexplicably runs--thereby incriminating himself. Additionally, once he is caught, the previously smart detective behaves like an idiot and nearly gets himself killed. It seemed as if they were simply running out of film and quickly slapped a contrived ending on the film in order to keep it to the trim 60 running time!