Follow Me Quietly - Film Noir

(aka 'Assassin sans visage')

Directed by Richard Fleischer and Anthony Mann (uncredited)
USA 1949

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.

****

Follow Me Quietly (1949) has a script partly by Anthony Mann, and the film is in the tradition of Mann's He Walked by Night (1948). Both films are semi-documentaries, focusing on the hunt for a lone serial killer. Both films have the regular police as their protagonists. Both films have somewhat similar police work. In both, the police finally get a clue to the killer's identity. This clue is followed up by much legwork. This allows the police to get closer and closer to the killer, progressing through inquiries at various institutions, and finally track him to where he lives. At the finale, the killer escapes the police net at his home, and winds up in a police chase through a Los Angeles industrial location.

Excerpt from The Films of Richard Fleischer located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: July 7th, 1949

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DVD Review: Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	:59:26
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.29 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	French, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Editions Montparnasse Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Serge Bromberg Intro (2:53) in French only DVD Release Date: March 1st, 2006 Transparent Slim Keep Case Chapters: 8

Comments:

A Montparnasse interlaced transfer that is quite sharp and surprisingly contrast levels are acceptably decent. The 'combing' is relatively fine but quite rampant. Audio, although unimpressive, was fairly consistent. No extras save mono-brow Bromberg's usual intro-praise (in French only).

Another instance where the film eclipses the DVD presentation but us Noir devotees will take what we can get. Positives are that the French subs are removable and the compact slim case. I have seen far worse transfers from Montparnasse and on a tube this will look quite acceptable. If you have the Noir bug - this should find a place in your DVD library.