The Woman on Pier 13 (1949)

Successful, newly married Brad Collins once belonged to the Communist Party of the USA, and now the Party will stop at nothing to use him.

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Charles Grayson (screen play), Robert Hardy Andrews (screen play),

Stars:

Laraine Day, Robert Ryan, John Agar

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laraine Day	...	Nan Lowry Collins
Robert Ryan	...	Bradley Collins / Frank Johnson
John Agar	...	Don Lowry
Thomas Gomez	...	Vanning
Janis Carter	...	Christine Norman
Richard Rober	...	Jim Travers
William Talman	...	Bailey
Paul E. Burns	...	J.T. Arnold
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Ralston
G. Pat Collins	...	Charlie Dover
Fred Graham	...	Grip Wilson
Harry Cheshire	...	J. Francis Cornwall
Jack Stoney	...	Garth
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bess Flowers	...	Secretary (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Brad Collins, former stevedore, is rising fast in a shipping company when local communist agitators use his former Party affiliation to extort his help in stirring up trouble. When Brad resists, communist femme fatale Christine works through his brother-in-law Don. But Brad's new wife Nan sees that her husband and brother are under pressure; when she investigates on her own, party boss Vanning takes ruthless action.

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Plot Keywords:

party | shipping company | communist party | murder by drowning | red scare | 

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Taglines:

Nameless, Shameless Woman!

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Genres:

Film-Noir

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1950 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Casada con un comunista

Filming Locations:

Montecito Apartments - 6650 Franklin Ave., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Daniel Mainwaring, author of the beloved noir "Out of the Past," RKO head Howard Hughes used the film "I Married a Communist" to get rid of a lot of writers, directors and actors. If you refused to work in this project, you got fired from the studio.

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Soundtracks

"I Haven't a Thing to Wear"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Revel
Played by the band at the Gay Paree nightclub

User Reviews

Propaganda Aside, A Well-Made Thriller

Despite the slightly hysterical anti-Communist tone, this is a well-made and very well-acted thriller with excellent performances from most of the cast, especially Janis Carter and super-villains Thomas Gomez and William Tallman. John Agar and Larraine Day are also excellent in leading roles; the surprise weak link is Robert Ryan, who fails to bring his usual intensity to his part as a blackmailed ex-Red who can't leave the party. The cinematography is dark and moody, with good use of San Francisco backdrops. The script is not bad either, with a certain amount of very bleak humor which does little to soften the harsh view of most of the characters. Put politics aside and enjoy this noir-ish and entertaining movie!