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:

Robert Ryan, Laraine Day, John Agar

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laraine Day	...	Nan Collins
Robert Ryan	...	Brad Collins
John Agar	...	Don Lowry
Thomas Gomez	...	Vanning
Janis Carter	...	Christine Norman
Richard Rober	...	Jim Travis
William Talman	...	Bailey
Paul E. Burns	...	J.T. Arnold
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Ralston
G. Pat Collins	...	Charles Dover
Fred Graham	...	Grip Wilson
Harry Cheshire	...	J. Francis Cornwall
Jack Stoney	...	Garth

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:

damsel in distress | held at gunpoint | title changed during original release | communist agitator | extortion | 

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Taglines:

I can't love a man who is worse than a gangster!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of William Talman.

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Quotes

Vanning: The party decides who's out and when.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story: Dark Victory (1987)

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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

A gripping film Noir, from the height of the cold war.

By today's standards it seems quite dated, but back in 1950, the possibility of this happening seemed very real. The performances of the stars (Robert Ryan and Laraine Day) are solid and the supporting cast is great (especially Janis Carter and William Talman, who is wearing the craziest suit jacket I've every seen!!). The style is very film noir...close ups of faces showing over the top expression, jerky body movements, and odd, minimalist lighting techniques. Remember too, that it's 1950 and acting styles today seem far less "dramatic".

The subject matter seems paranoid, but for those of us old enough to remember the Cold War, the fear of what the "commies" were up to was VERY, VERY real. I remember "duck and cover" and "...we will bury you!". Some of us might still associate communism with the labor unions (which is the salient point of the plot). As silly as this movie will seem to younger people, try to remember from a historical perspective that it was only five years from the end of World War II, and herein were the first clashes of the two "great ideologies". At the time it was either freedom or subjugation (democracy or communism). Subtle, this movie is not...

There are better examples of film noir, but this a very good example. It's not the worst way to blow 70 plus minutes of your day and just for the historical (not hysterical) panorama, it is worth a look.

It has just recently been showing on Turner Classic Movies as "Woman on Pier 13"...that title is much better. Under either title, give it a chance and enjoy an example of a time and film style gone by.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1950 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

I Married a Communist

Filming Locations:

Pacific Avenue, between Montgomery and Stockton Streets, San Francisco, 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