Follow Me Quietly

Clocking in at exactly 60 minutes, Richard Fleischer’s Follow Me Quietly is a serial killer noir that packs plenty of action into a taut, little script co-written by director Anthony Mann. William Lundigan plays Police Lieutenant Harry Grant, whose pursuit of a killer named “The Judge,” who strangles his victims on rainy nights (the rain excites him to kill), has been unsuccessful, threatening both his reputation and his self-respect. Dorothy Patrick plays Ann Gorman, a reporter for a true crime magazine determined to snag a scoop, even if it means harassing Grant and his colleague, Sergeant Art Collins (Jeff Corey). While the film feels more innocent than many of the bleaker noirs released in the late 40’s, Fleischer effectively creates a studio-bound microcosm of nighttime urban life where cops aren’t so embittered that they can’t fall in love. Note the deftly crafted scene in which the Judge, approaching a townhouse in complete silence, senses something not quite right and flees, leading to a protracted cat and mouse chase with the police through a refinery.