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

Great for Robert Ryan fans !

A film for Robert Ryan fans, for this shows how handsome he was. Fit and virile, and before smoking began to take its toll. He was 40 yrs old by the time he made this film. He got the chance to be something of a hero for a change. He does some pretty good acting, for him, and romantics everywhere will love the way he desperately tries to save his wife in dramatic scenes. This movie pushes home the paranoia of anti-communist views as it was in the 50's. People scoff at the fear of communism in todays climate, but things were different then. People have forgotten how men died because of communist spies. British soldiers and some Americans and Polish too, died at the hands of communist spies such as Guy Burgess, Kim Philby and Anthony Blunt. They mainly operated from Whitehall, London, and spilled secrets to Russian Communists in the 40's during the war. They leaked details of planned operations that got back to the Russians. When they started being discovered by the British and American Intelligence they fled to live in Russia and they died in the 70's. However, this film expresses a fear and nothing more than that of dark forces at work among men. Essentially a "B" movie but certainly adequate and worth a look for Robert Ryan alone, and probably as a history lesson for movie makers.

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