The Woman on Pier 13

Robert Ryan and Laraine Day star in "The Woman on Pier 13," along with Thomas Gomez, John Agar, Janis Carter, and William Talman. Ryan plays Brad Collins, who falls for lovely Nan practically the moment he meets her. They marry quickly, without knowing much about one another.

One of the things Nan doesn't know is that Brad used to be Frank Johnson, a member of the Communist party. His ex-girlfriend (Carter) is still one, and she is working to recruit Nan's brother (Agar). Meanwhile, Brad is blackmailed into stalling union negotiations on the waterfront.

This is an okay film, with Robert Ryan looking great and doing his usual fine acting job. It's interesting that while he looked taller than the other actors, he really didn't tower over them. He was 6'4" and actually had special furniture in his home to accommodate it. Here he is robust and not playing a meanie as he usually did. MGM never knew what to do with Day, so she was lent out constantly. I think she was underrated.

This film really draws you in. The acting is very good, and the cinematography is great.

Communism, of course, was a hot subject back in the late '40s and '50s. On paper, it sounds like it might work, which is what drew so many young people to it during the Depression years.

During the blacklisting years, the fear of Communism got out of control, and people who had attended one meeting in 1935 found themselves blacklisted. Lee Grant went to the funeral of someone who was thought to be a Communist, and she didn't work for 19 years.

Consequently there are many anti-Communist films. This is one, with a solid cast and some good production values.

I have just watched my second Robert Ryan movie of the week, and it was another goodie. The movie in question was 1950's "I Married a Communist," which was later given the more meaningless title "The Woman on Pier 13." In the film, Ryan stars as a successful San Francisco shipping executive who has just been married to Laraine Day. As a youth, he had briefly belonged to the Communist Party, and now, the thugs and goons from the party have returned to blackmail him and coerce him to do their bidding. They send a very attractive blonde member to corrupt his brother-in-law (John Agar, in one of his earliest roles), and things get very nasty before the film's taut 73 minutes are done. Thomas Gomez and William Talman add effortless slimy support as the Commie cell leader and hit-man, respectively, and director Robert Stevenson keeps things moving crisply. (Hard to believe that Stevenson later went on to direct such kiddie fare as "The Absent-Minded Professor," "Son of Flubber," "Mary Poppins," "That Darn Cat" and "The Love Bug," given the nature of this film!) The picture is beautifully, noirishly shot and features some surprisingly effective bursts of violence. My stomach was in knots with this one, I must tell you; it is a very effective exercise in suspense. Yes, the Commies ARE represented as ridiculously slimy hoods, but one must remember the time period in which this thing was created, by ardent Commie hater Howard Hughes. In all, a pretty underrated entertainment, and much recommended!

Caution: there is a sickening amount of propaganda in this film.

Another caution: this a below-average time filler.

However, if you love film noir like I do, then this film is a must-see.

There is some good lighting in the exterior shots and no matter how average a film is (this is about a 6 on a 1-10 scale); if Robert Ryan and Laraine Day are in it, it's going to scream "noir". And Ryan does a good job here, but has a bad script to work with. The subject of the film is way out of date; yet, it's still an intriguing time machine.

As I recall, this film is very short (maybe 62-67 minutes long?) and thus, isn't listed in most film guides. I had no idea what I was getting into when I watched it the first time. Don't miss it if you like film noir/crime types.

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.

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!