Follow Me Quietly
Encyclopedia
Follow Me Quietly is a semidocumentary
film noir
directed by Richard Fleischer
, with support from Anthony Mann
in an uncredited position. The drama features William Lundigan
, Dorothy Patrick
, Jeff Corey
, and others.
Detective Harry Grant (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.
Police finally break the case after receiving an important clue. 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."
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. In it, William Lundigan, playing a blue-print detective role, takes forever, it seems, to uncover a mystery murderer labeled "The Judge." When he finally does encounter this conspicuously unattractive gent, he chases him into a refinery and destroys him. That's the end of "Judge" and film."
Critic Dennis Schwartz wrote of the film, "Follow Me Quietly is patterned after He Walked By Night
. In this obsessive film noir, one oddly enough without a femme fatale, the police are the good-guys who take the viewer on a tour of a dark and cynical underworld that opened up in the postwar period. Fleischer leads us into this perverse noir world, but it only dallies with its noir atmosphere and instead turns into a straight mystery story—effectively filmed in a semi-documentary style that emphasizes police procedures over character studies or creating suspense over suspects."
Semidocumentary
Semidocumentary is a form of book, film, or television program presenting a fictional story that incorporates many factual details or actual events, or which is presented in a manner similar to a documentary...
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Richard Fleischer
Richard Fleischer
-Early life:Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie and animator/producer Max Fleischer. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman series.His live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO...
, with support from Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns.-Biography:...
in an uncredited position. The drama features William Lundigan
William Lundigan
William Lundigan was an American film actor. His films include Dodge City , The Fighting 69th , The Sea Hawk , Santa Fe Trail , Dishonored Lady , Pinky , Love Nest with Marilyn Monroe, The House on Telegraph Hill , I'd Climb the Highest Mountain and Inferno...
, Dorothy Patrick
Dorothy Patrick
Dorothy Patrick, was an American film actress and a John Robert Powers model.-Early Life:...
, Jeff Corey
Jeff Corey
Jeff Corey was an American stage and screen actor and director who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s.-Biography:...
, and others.
Plot
A mysterious killer, known only as "The Judge," kills anyone he considers worthless.Detective Harry Grant (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.
Police finally break the case after receiving an important clue. 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 LundiganWilliam LundiganWilliam Lundigan was an American film actor. His films include Dodge City , The Fighting 69th , The Sea Hawk , Santa Fe Trail , Dishonored Lady , Pinky , Love Nest with Marilyn Monroe, The House on Telegraph Hill , I'd Climb the Highest Mountain and Inferno...
as Police Lt. Harry Grant - Dorothy PatrickDorothy PatrickDorothy Patrick, was an American film actress and a John Robert Powers model.-Early Life:...
as Ann Gorman - Jeff CoreyJeff CoreyJeff Corey was an American stage and screen actor and director who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s.-Biography:...
as Police Sgt. Art Collins - Nestor PaivaNestor PaivaNestor Paiva was an American actor of Portuguese descent who portrayed the innkeeper on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro by ABC and its feature film The Sign of Zorro which was shot in Burbank's Walt Disney Studios.-Career:Nestor appeared in motion pictures and television shows...
as Benny - Charles D. Brown as Police Insp. Mulvaney
- Paul GuilfoylePaul Guilfoyle (actor born in 1902)Paul Guilfoyle was an American stage, film, and television actor...
as Overbeck - Edwin Max as Charlie Roy aka The Judge
- Frank FergusonFrank FergusonFrank Ferguson was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Perhaps his best known role was as the ranch handyman, Gus Broeberg, on the CBS television series, My Friend Flicka, based on a novel of the same name...
as J.C. McGill - Marlo DwyerMarlo DwyerMarlo Dwyer was an American actress, who began her acting career named Wilma Francis. She started as a chorus girl for Warner Bros. She appeared, usually as a second lead or uncredited, in a number of films including Crossfire , Follow Me Quietly , and The Sniper .-External links:...
as Waitress - Archie Twitchell as Dixon
- Douglas SpencerDouglas SpencerDouglas Spencer was an American film actor. Starting in the mid 1930's and going through the 40's, he appeared in dozens of films as an extra, then cameo roles and uncredited roles. He worked as a Stand-In and in Production Departments...
as Phony Judge
Critical reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
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. In it, William Lundigan, playing a blue-print detective role, takes forever, it seems, to uncover a mystery murderer labeled "The Judge." When he finally does encounter this conspicuously unattractive gent, he chases him into a refinery and destroys him. That's the end of "Judge" and film."
Critic Dennis Schwartz wrote of the film, "Follow Me Quietly is patterned after He Walked By Night
He Walked by Night
He Walked by Night is a black-and-white police procedural film noir, crediting Alfred L. Werker as director. The film, shot in semidocumentary tone, was loosely based on newspaper accounts of the real-life actions of Erwin "Machine-Gun" Walker, a former Glendale police department employee and...
. In this obsessive film noir, one oddly enough without a femme fatale, the police are the good-guys who take the viewer on a tour of a dark and cynical underworld that opened up in the postwar period. Fleischer leads us into this perverse noir world, but it only dallies with its noir atmosphere and instead turns into a straight mystery story—effectively filmed in a semi-documentary style that emphasizes police procedures over character studies or creating suspense over suspects."
External links
- Follow Me Quietly at DVD Beaver (includes images)