FOLLOW ME QUIETLY and an Hour to Kill

FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (Blu-ray)

1949 / 59 min

Warner Archive Collection

Available at MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😼

There once was a time when a movie could run an hour and still be considered a feature film. Imagine going to a theater today and paying for something slightly longer than a television episode. But back when moviegoers weren’t charged an arm, a leg and their firstborn to enjoy a show, an hour was perfectly fine, especially since they often got cartoons, newsreels and a co-feature for their hard-earned change.

Besides, some movies obviously don’t need to be any longer than an hour. Case-in-point, 1949’s Follow Me Quietly runs a scant 59 minutes, and even then, it occasionally struggles to maintain interest. The basic story is pretty good, that of Detective Harry Grant (William Lundigan) on the trail of a zealous serial killer simply known as “The Judge.” Grant also frequently clashes with ambitious reporter Ann Gorman (Dorothy Patrick).

As usual, Harry is left with the check.

Contrary to Leonard Maltin’s assessment (quoted on the back cover of this disc), I don’t think Follow Me Quietly really qualifies as film noir. It’s mostly a police procedural, and when focused on the investigation, the story isn’t all that remarkable, but fairly engaging in the moment. Less effective is the quasi-antagonistic relationship between Grant and Gorman, which seems manufactured to pave the way for the film’s sappy ending. Conversely, renowned character actor Jeff Corey has his share of amusing moments as Grant’s partner.

From a historical perspective, Follow Me Gently is noteworthy for being an early effort by Richard Fleischer, with a story co-conceived by Anthony Mann, two legends who’d obviously go on to much bigger things. The film itself is little more than a Hollywood footnote, but an agreeable way to kill an hour.

EXTRA KIBBLES

DARK SHADOWS - Another short in the “Crime Does Not Pay” series, and a bit better than most.

TRAILER

LAW & ORDER: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES: TV's Greatest in One Big Box

LAW & ORDER: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES (DVD)

1990-2010

20,718 min (20 Seasons; 456 Episodes; 104 discs)

Universal

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Carl, the Couch Potato😸

The original Law & Order gets my vote for the greatest TV series of all time. Even if one doesn’t concur, you’d be hard pressed to name another show that remained so remarkably consistent after 20 years, while surviving countless casting changes. Ratings may have dipped in later years, but in terms of new stories, the quality of writing and an uncanny knack for introducing viable new characters to replace departing ones, it never wore out its welcome. Not bad for a series where the narrative structure of every episode was almost identical.

Not to date myself, but I remember getting hooked on the show back in the 90s, when it aired on Thursdays at 10:00. Juggling both work and college at the time, this was the only weeknight I was compelled to stay up a bit later. Sure, I’d be a little groggier on Friday, but these stories (“Ripped from the Headlines!”) were almost always worth the need for that extra cup of coffee the next morning. 

Syndication was a godsend, since many of the cable networks picking up the show knew its bingeworthiness before binging became commonplace, and there was nothing better than a Law & Order marathon on TNT or A&E. On another personal note, a life-threatening illness once put me in the hospital for three months, and during those endless hours & days between tests and procedures, those marathons (which seemed to air almost daily) were some of the few bright spots of those dreary, bedridden days. It didn’t matter that I’d seen most of the episodes before, because they were almost always rewatchable, and as it turns out, timeless. Today, it’s still hard not to get sucked into an old episode when it shows up on TV. Even my two daughters, who weren’t even alive when it first aired, have gotten into it.

What’s ultimately great about having all 20 seasons of the original Law & Order on DVD is you’re not subjected to the scheduling whims of whatever network is currently airing re-runs, to say nothing of having to sit through commercials. Better yet, no streaming service required! But best of all, it turns out that even after 35 years, I still hadn’t seen every episode ever produced, and it wasn’t until now that I finally caught the series pilot, “Everybody’s Favorite Bagman” (which didn’t actually air until episode six of Season One). In fact, there were quite a few episodes during the first couple of seasons that were new to me, probably because it was during the Jerry Orbach era (starting Season Three) that I originally got hopelessly hooked (and it doesn’t seem like those earlier years show up in reruns quite as often).

Jerry hands Chris his pink slip.

For the sake of expediency, I have not gone through every single episode (yet). That would literally take weeks…without pausing to sleep, eat or go to my day job. So instead, I viewed a few episodes from each era, determined by major casting changes. I’m personally partial to those featuring Sam Waterston, S. Epatha Merkerson, Jesse Martin, Benjamin Bratt, Dennis Farina and, of course, Jerry Orbach, who made Lenny Briscoe the show’s greatest character (losing Orbach was a huge blow, but successor Farina was wonderful in his own right). But there are great episodes from every year, including the last couple (which I felt were the weakest, but still featured solid storytelling). 

In addition to good writing and well-rounded characters, one thing I always liked about the show was its unpredictability. Never afraid to tackle dark (sometimes very dark) subject matter, you never knew whether or not a particular episode was going to end happily, with justice being served. Even the actions and motives of its major characters would occasionally be morally or ethically ambiguous. Much like real life, I suppose. 

Every season has been released on DVD before, but never together in a single massive boxed set. I don’t know if there are any technical upgrades for this one, but the overall picture and sound quality is very good, though the older seasons show some inevitable signs of age. Speaking of which, Law & Order has been around so long that the first four seasons were shot in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which was standard for TV back then (dark days indeed), so I had to adjust my settings. Subsequent seasons widened things up to 1.78:1. Each season comes in its own individual keepcases, all of which are housed in a sturdy, nicely designed box. 

While Law & Order has since been revived with new seasons (and a mostly new cast), this set features only the original series run. That suits me just fine because, while decent, the rebooted series just doesn’t quite have the same punch (or maybe the formula has finally run its course). The twenty seasons featured here (on 104 discs!) represent dramatic television at its very best. If you haven’t already been collecting this stuff on DVD over the years, Law & Order: The Complete Original Series is a must own. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

DELETED/EXTENDED SCENES

CAST PROFILES

SET TOUR 

CROSSOVER EPISODES - Episodes of other NBC shows of the era where L&O characters appeared.

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL - SEASON ONE: Keep An Open Mind

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL - SEASON ONE (Blu-ray)

2024 / 533 min

Universal

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Carl, the Couch Potato😺

For this writer, 1973’s The Day of the Jackal ranks among the greatest thrillers ever made, one of those rare films that’s structurally perfect and leaves zero room for improvement. But I like to remain open minded, and conceptually, the basic premise of the film is certainly conducive to other interpretations without necessarily drawing unfair comparisons. I enjoyed 1998’s The Jackal, the one with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, on its own terms. While some scenes alluded to the original, there were enough narrative and character changes that it was more of a reimagining than a remake.

But a television series? While trying once again to remain open minded, I couldn’t imagine any episodic adaptation of the original movie or Frederick Forsyth’s novel without significantly padding things out or completely rethinking the basic narrative structure. And sure enough, the ten episodes of Season One (with a second one on the way), stretch themselves pretty thin at times. However, certain aspects of the show are excellent.

In this one, the notorious assassin known as The Jackal (Eddie Redmayne) is hired by an organization to kill hotshot tech billionaire Ulle Dag Charles (Khalid Abdalla) before he launches River, a powerful program that’ll render finances worldwide transparent. The series, however, opens with Jackal’s first kill, the assassination of a German politician. This gets British MI6 agent Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch) involved in hunting for the guy capable of such a seemingly impossible shot before he can do it again. 

That’s the basic overall story, the narrative shifting back and forth between The Jackal’s meticulous planning and Bianca’s relentless determination to identify and catch him. When focused on this, as well as an internal MI6 mole hunt, the show really crackles. While updating the basic premise with different characters and a more contemporarily relevant target, there are still plenty of elements and homages to the 1973 film that are pulled off quite nicely. In fact, Redmayne appears to use Edward Fox’s steely performance in the original as the foundation for his own. He succeeds quite well, exuding understated menace. There are moments when he even resembles Fox.

"I came here to feed the pigeons, and you're scaring them away."

However, a major part of what has always made The Jackal such an intriguing character (in all previous versions) was that little was ever revealed about him beyond his methods and ruthlessness. He remained a nameless enigma, which added to his mystique. But here, not only does the story give him a past (a former military sniper), this Jackal also has a wife, Nuria (Ursula Corbero), a kid and annoying in-laws, all of whom are part of a subplot where his domestic bliss is threatened when Nuria realizes he’s been leading a double life. 

This additional exposition and character development ultimately renders The Jackal more vulnerable, even fallible, and therefore less menacing. It also tends to stall the show’s momentum, as do superfluous scenes depicting how Bianca’s obsession with her job adversely affects her own family life. I understand why both main characters have been fleshed out for the sake of a series, and there are probably plenty of viewers out there who will appreciate the additional melodrama. But these elements are never as engaging as the primary story, which is compelling, increasingly complex and often surprising.

I’m still not sure I like how Season One ends, with a finale that seems more concerned with setting up a second season than satisfactorily wrapping things up. But despite some initial misgivings, The Day of the Jackal works better as a series than I initially thought it would. When staying on-point, the show’s a lot of fun, with good action sequences, some jarring violence and a solid portrayal of the title character by Redmayne. As for those who revere the original film, it helps to stay open minded.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Melon Scene Breakdown is a piece that showcases one of several homages to the original film; Becoming the Jackal is an interview with Eddie Redmayne; Becoming Bianca is an interview by Lashana Lynch.

A Big Helping of RAW MEAT (aka Death Line) in 4K

RAW MEAT aka Death Line (4K UHD)

1972 / 87 min

Blue Underground

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Back in the mid-70s, my friends and I snuck into auditorium #4 of the old Southgate Quad for a double feature consisting of Squirm and Raw Meat (both titles released in the U.S. by American-International Pictures). Killer worms and flesh eating zombies? Sounded like an afternoon well spent. 

At least Squirm delivered as promised. As for Raw Meat…man, talk about false advertising! Sure, there were a few gross bits, but for a thrill-seeking 13-year-old, watching an old, bald, Chatty Cathy cop berate suspects was decidedly less entertaining than the pinball machines in the theater lobby. Which is precisely where we headed after about 30 minutes.

Wisdom may not always come with age, but I eventually wised up to the unscrupulous practice of rebranding movies with gonzo new titles to snooker folks who judge books by their covers (which the likes of AIP and Roger Corman’s New World Pictures often did with films they acquired for the grindhouse crowd). Case in point, Raw Meat was originally called Death Line (still the onscreen title) and was never intended to compete with ravenous worms for a middle schooler’s attention.

While flesh eating is inferred, there are no zombies in Death Line. It’s got a pretty cool premise, though. While the London subway system was being constructed in the late 19th Century, a cave-in trapped several workers who resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. A century later, one of their descendants has been snatching commuters to feed himself and his dying mate. When a prominent MBE member goes missing, Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence) investigates, but spends a lot of his time grilling Alex (David Ladd), the guy who brought it to his attention in the first place. It also turns out a lot of folks have gone missing in the subway lately. 

"I thought I paid this."

Part horror film, part police procedural, Death Line is atmospheric and well made on a low budget, with good direction by Gary Sherman (who’d later go on to helm Dead & Buried, one of the best underseen movies of the ‘80s). But it's Pleasance who steals this one. His amusing performance suggests he had great fun playing his character, which I didn’t fully appreciate as a kid, but now think he’s the best part of the entire movie. And while not nearly as gory as it’s reputed to be (or as we were expecting back in the day), some of the violence is pretty potent.

Blue Underground has given the film an impressive 4K facelift with a nice video restoration. There are also four audio options to choose from, including a new Dolby Atmos track. With the exception of a new audio commentary, the bonus features (mostly interviews) are all carried over from the original Blu-ray release, and they provide a revealing look back at the production. 

But, alas, the deceptive advertising continues even today. While Christopher Lee is featured along with Pleasance above the title on the cover, he appears in only one scene…for about two minutes. Other than that bit of deception, Raw Meat/Death Line is an entertaining slice of ‘70s British horror that has certainly aged better than Squirm.

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K & BLU-RAY COPIES

FEATURETTES - Tales from the Tube is an entertaining conversation between director Gary Sherman and executive producers Jay Katner & Alan Ladd Jr.; From the Depths is an interview with actor David Ladd and producer Paul Maslansky; Mind the Doors is an interview with actor Hugh Armstrong.

2 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By director Gary Sherman, producer Paul Maslansky and AD Lewis More O’Ferrall; 2) By historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troyhowarth.

TRAILERS, TV & RADIO SPOTS

POSTER & STILL GALLERY

REVERSIBLE COVER - With the original title, Death Line.

NCIS: ORIGINS: As Reliable As Oregon Fireworks

NCIS: ORIGINS Season One (DVD)

2024-2025 / 776 min (18 episodes)

Paramount

Review by Carl, the Couch Potato😺

Watching the NCIS franchise is kind of like buying Oregon fireworks.

I don’t know what it's like in your neck of the woods, but in Oregon, the type of fireworks that have would-be pyromaniacs rushing to the ER with blown-off appendages are illegal. Instead, the stands that pop-up in stripmall parking lots every summer are filled with fireworks that all do essentially the same thing. The size, shapes and colors may be different, but for the most part, we celebrate the 4th of July with glorified sparklers.

I was never a dedicated NCIS viewer, though there have been plenty occasions when I’ve entered the room while my wife was watching either the original series or one of the half-dozen spin-offs, and the episode was intriguing enough to prompt me to plop on the sofa with her. But unless Mark Harmon showed up as curmudgeonly Special Agent In-Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I had no idea if we were watching NCIS: New Orleans or NCIS: Los Angeles or NCIS: Hawaii, etc.

That’s because, aside from the casts and subplots involving them, the narrative differences between these shows are like red sparklers versus yellow sparklers. That’s not necessarily a slam against the franchise either. It’s been a successful formula for a quarter-century, so if it ain’t broke, why fix it? The latest one, NCIS: Origins, is no exception.

"Sorry, sir...we've exhausted all our resources and still can't find your hat."

As the subtitle suggests, Origins is a prequel of sorts, chronicling a younger Agent Gibbs as the newest recruit to the Naval Investigative Service (NIS). As played by Austin Stowall, he reminded me more of Alan Ritchson’s depiction of Jack Reacher than the character made famous by Mark Harmon, though he carries a lot more emotional baggage. Recently discharged from the Marines, Gibbs is having trouble coming to terms with the death of his family, murdered by someone who’s still at-large. Many of the narrative detours (and flashbacks) are related to this aspect of Gibbs’ past and how it adversely affects his current job.

Beyond that recurring plot thread (which is sporadically interesting), it’s business as usual. Gibbs joins an eclectic team led by Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), a hardnosed, rednecky agent with good reasons for recruiting the troubled young ‘Probie.’ While Franks is easily the show’s most best character, “Lala” Dominguez (Mariel Molino) is also pretty interesting as a feisty agent working hard to stand-out in a male-dominated environment. 

Elsewhere, individual episodes adhere to the mystery/police procedural structure that has served the franchise well. There’s no attempt to break new ground by tweaking the formula, but it still works. I initially sat down to check out an episode or two and wound up binging seven, which makes it the most NCIS I ever intentionally took-in at one time. Some stories are more compelling than others, but longtime fans of the show should have no complaints. After all, Oregon fireworks are still kind of fun, and even if they're just different colored sparklers, I've never lit one that turned out to be a dud.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - NCIS: Origins Season 1 - The Story Behind the Story; Retro Crime-Solving - The Sets and Styles of NCIS: Origins.

GAG REEL