The party decides who’s out and when.
Hello to all of the classic people that are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. As a technical note, references and citations are listed for each show on the site at classicmovierev.com. Today on Classic Movie Rev, we are taking on Film Noir, The Woman on Pier 13 (1949). This movie premiered under the name I Married a Communist (1949), but it was changed before the general release[1].
Before we get going, I want to remind you to follow the link in the show notes or from the site to visit our store. I have a resource page with a lot of useful information. Check it out at classicmovierev.com/resources.
When I recently watched this movie, I was in a flush after seeing Janis Carter playing the sadomasochistic Femme Fatale, Jill Merrill in Night Editor (1946). I wanted to see as much venom here, but her part did not have the other film’s heft.
The Woman on Pier 13 (1949) had enough star power to be the greatest Film Noir of all time. However, this group of actors was wasted on a plot and script that didn’t live up to their talent. I will talk about one of the reasons why in the Summary.
Today’s film is rated a paltry 6.0 on iMDB.com.[2] On rottentomatoes.com, it has a pitiful 20 percent on the Tomatometer and only 42 percent audience approval[3].
Variety magazine reviewed the film at the time of its release and said:
“As a straight action fare, I Married a Communist generates enough tension to satisfy the average customer. Despite its heavy sounding title, [the] pic hews strictly to tried and true meller formula [melodrama] … Pic is so wary of introducing any political gab that at one point when Commie trade union tactics are touched upon, the soundtrack is dropped.”[4]
Steve-O at Film Noir of the Week said most noir with a message don’t do much for him followed by:
“The Woman on Pier 13 is the one exception. Originally titled “I Married a Communist” by RKO chief Howard Hughes, the film is possibly the first attempt at an anti-Communist film from Hollywood. Thankfully, the Communists are depicted as basically gangster thugs so the movie works as a solid crime thriller even though it’s trying to be propaganda. “It’s a pity that some of our members don’t understand…they can never leave the Party…until the Party’s ready to let them go.” sounds more like something you’d hear in Godfather III than in a piece of pulpy propaganda.” [5]
In his book, “Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist: Reading the Hollywood Reds” 2014, Jeff Smith said the film was an:
“amalgam of propaganda and noir” and it paradoxical “to use film to build political consensus” using “devices and storytelling strategies from the bleakest and most pessimistic films Hollywood ever made.”
So, in essence, it is improving with time.
Actors – The Woman on Pier 13 (1949)
Returning
Robert Ryan is as tough as nails playing Brad Collins, an ex-stevedore that has moved into management and has a secret. Ryan was first covered in Battle of the Bulge (1965).
Thomas Gomez played the head Communist Vanning. He was a real stinker, and his acting was solid. Gomez was first mentioned in Key Largo (1948).
Janis Carter played the role of the Femme Fatale Christine Norman. She was good, but I think the script limited her. Carter was first covered in Night Editor (1946), where she was one of the best Femme Fatales ever.
William Talman played hardened killer Bailey in his first film role. While he will always be Hamilton Burger to me, his brutality rose to the level of The Hitch-Hiker (1953) but without the overt crazy. Talman was first covered in the Film Noir Armored Car Robbery (1950).
John Agar played Nan’s younger brother, Don Lowry. It was kind of interesting to see him try to pull off tough. Agar was first covered in the terrible film The Undefeated (1969).
Paul E. Burns played bad guy J.T. Arnold. Burns was first covered in Night Editor (1946).
New
Laraine Day played the extremely innocent Nan Collins. Day was born in Utah in 1920. In addition to being the mayor, her father was a Ute Indian agent. Day was born on the reservation. Her parents moved to California, and she joined the Long Beach Players. Day graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1938.
Day had her first small film role in 1937. She found a recurring role as Mary Lamont in Calling Dr. Kildare (1939), The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939), Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1940), Dr. Kildare’s Crisis (1940), Dr. Kildare’s Strange Case (1940), Dr. Kildare’s Wedding Day (1941), and The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941).
Other film roles include Foreign Correspondent (1940), Fingers at the Window (1942), Bride by Mistake (1944), Keep Your Powder Dry (1945), Those Endearing Young Charms (1945), Film Noirs The Locket (1946), and The Woman on Pier 13 (1949), and The High and the Mighty (1954).
Day was a pin-up favorite during World War II. She set a picture of herself in a negligee to be used as nose art. After 1954, she mostly worked in television until the end of her career in 1986. A strong anti-Communist, she was a member of the right-wing group “Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals,” along with John Wayne, Clark Gable, and Barbara Stanwyck. She died in 2007.
Story – The Woman on Pier 13 (1949)
A car is shown driving along the California coast. The still unseen couple goes into a fancy resort, and the male hand signs the register Bradley Collins and Wife. A female hand slashes out, and wife and adds Mr. and Mrs. to the front.
The newlyweds are Brad Collins (Robert Ryan) and Nan Collins (Laraine Day). They have a big room, and Brad is a good tipper. Nan comments on a vase, and Brad says he can’t be educated. Nan then recounts that she came to redecorate his office, and they decided to get married after only knowing each other for 5-days. He mentions that he stole her from a nice guy.
He wants to get busy, but she is stalling. They kiss, and it goes from day to night. They left the curtains open the entire time.
Brad goes down to the bar and orders drinks for him and Nan, who should be down directly. A woman approached him from the bar. She is Christine Norman (Janis Carter), and they knew each other back in New Jersey. Brad orders her a Ward 8, which is three fingers of bourbon and a beer chaser. Christine needles Brad as Nan arrives. Nan recognizes Christine as a famous magazine photographer. As Christine leaves, she mentions that she is moving to San Francisco.
In San Francisco, Christine and J.T. Arnold (Paul E. Burns) are going over facts about Nan. Christine places a call to Brad and Nan’s home. The call is answered by Nan’s brother Don Lowry (John Agar). Christine has a sheet on Don, and it says he is highly susceptible. After the call, she chews out the man because it doesn’t include the fact that Brad got him a job as a stevedore in the shipyard. She storms into her darkroom to process a file that has come from New Jersey.
Don tells Nan about the call and says he would really like to meet the woman that called. They get a vase from Brad’s boss J. Francis Cornwall (Harry Cheshire), and his wife. Brad says they will only bring it out of the closet when Cornwall visits. Brad sends Don off to work.
On the film roll that Christine is processing are pictures of her with Brad and other information.
At the shipyard, Brad meets with Cornwall, Jim Travis (Richard Rober) from the union, and other executives. The unions want to have a small board to negotiate with the ship owners. Cornwall refuses, but Brad steps up and says he thinks he can make it work. Brad mentioned that he has been on both sides of the fence.
Outside, Brad and Jim talk about the negotiations and the fact that Jim dated Nan for three years before Brad met and married her in a week. There are no hard feels between the two men.
As Brad heads to his office, he is stopped by Vanning (Thomas Gomez), who says he is a reporter. Vanning talks about Brad moving from stevedore to management. Vanning talks about Frank Johnson, who was unsuccessful in life and a part of the lost generation of the 1930s.
Vanning continues that Frank Johnson couldn’t find a job and became a full member of the Communist Party. Damn Commies. Brad says it is dangerous to call a man a Commie. Vanning replies that Christine can prove it.
Brad knows he is caught and asks how much bribery money he wants. Vanning says no, I work for the party. Brad tells him to get out because he won’t deal with the Communists. Vanning leaves Brad an updated party membership card.
Christine gets a call that Brad is coming to her apartment. She immediately makes two Ward 8s. Christine says shes’ still working for the Commies, even though her cover has her living the high life. Brad wants to know why she informed on him. Brad romances her a bit, and she seems to fall for it. But it an act to get him back in the party. He crushes her emotions.
Brad and Nan are having a formal party at their house with the vase out. Brad gets a call from Bailey (William Talman). Bailey says Brad has to leave with them right now to meet with Vanning. Cornwall tells Brad that he will be the chairman of the union negotiation committee. The doorbell rings. Bailey and another man are at the door. Brad goes with them rather than having a scene at the party.
They take Brad to a storage building near the docks. The car is checked and allowed to drive inside. Brad is taken via the freight elevator to Vanning. Vanning is interrogating a member about ratting to the FBI. They take the rat outside.
Vanning tells Brad he is still in the party, and 2/5 of his salary will be diverted to another account for party use. Vanning says they will have meaningful work for Brad. Brad kicks a bit, saying he will not take orders. Vanning dismisses him.
J.T. shows Brad the way out. He is taken outside, where he is shown the rat being bound and dropped in the ocean. He sleeps with the fish. Bailey smiles as the man drowns. Brad says for the man to tell Vanning he saw what they wanted him to see.
Brad goes directly to a phone to call the police. As he starts dialing, Vanning is right behind him. Vanning reminds Brad that he killed a man at a protest. Brad had made a handwritten report to the party about the murder.
At home, Brad burns the copy Vanning has given him. Brad looks at the sleeping Nan and knows he is stuck.
Vanning is in Christine’s apartment. She is talking on the phone to Don, who she is now dating. Vanning rags on her about emotionally gigging Brad by dating his brother-in-law.
Nan and Brad go out for their one-month anniversary. Don comes in with Christine. He is now drinking Ward 8s. Poison is dripping from Christine’s fangs. Nan and Don dance and she says Christine is too experienced for him. That’s a very nice way to say that word. Brad says the kid is nice, and he wants Christine to leave him alone.
Christine and Don are making out in the back of a cab. He is all in. She tells him she is having a party the next night. He doesn’t know it is a Communist party.
Vanning takes Christine into the darkroom to process some film he has brought. The party guests slowly work on Don with Communist ideology and the role of labor unions. After Vanning sees the film, he reverses his attitude about Christine seeing Don. He tells her to get him ready.
On the way out, Vanning tells J.T. to bring Brad and alert the waterfront cells for 11 A.M.
Christine saves Don from his political education class. He can’t understand the dialectic, so he feels dumb. Christine sets the hook deeper.
Vanning briefs his men that the orders say to shut down the waterfront for 60-days. One of the men from the union meeting is a Communist. Brad is brought into see Vanning. Brad is ordered to sabotage the meetings regardless of the personal cost to Brad. Vanning say if he doesn’t cause the strike, they will have him arrested for murder. Brad lunges for Vanning, and one of the goons fires a shot that grazes Brad’s hand.
When Brad gets back, Nan is concerned. Brad orders her back to bed. Yeah, you knew him for a week, and now he’s changed.
Newspapers show that the labor negotiations have begun. In the montage, Brad is shown doing his Commie work. Vanning is happy. Christine works with Don, and party members spread hate. Don now speaks out at the union meets against a deal.
Brad is discussed by what he has done. Christine has to go to Seattle for her cover job. Vanning gives her extra party work to do and tries to extend her trip. Vanning wants her away from Don because she can’t control her emotions.
Don is waiting at the airport to see Christine off. She is in love, and Don wants to marry her. She has to leave. Don calls the news into Nan. Nan is 100 percent against the marriage.
Jim from the union comes to see Brad. Jim wants to try to start the negotiations again. Brad gets snotty with Nan. Jim picks up a stevedore hook, and I expect that it will be used to murder someone later.
Nan expresses that she is worried about Don. Jim is shocked that he is going to marry Christine. Jim tells them that Christine is a Commie. Brad throws him out.
Nan asks Brad if Christine is a Communist. He changes the subject. They have been married for three months.
Don is working on the dock and is pretty nasty to his fellow workers. Jim talks to Don about being influenced by the Commies. Jim says Don is being used as a stooge. Jim says Christine has used plenty of others like Don. Don tries to hit Jim but is blocked. Jim tells him to go ask her if he is not afraid of the answer.
When Christine returns to her apartment, Don is there waiting for her. Don tells her that Jim said she was a Communist. Christine pledges her love and says politics don’t matter. She pulls out the file on Brad, and he sees the photograph of Brad and Christine together.
Vanning walks in and tells Don had he better forget everything he has heard. Don decks Vanning before leaving. Vanning orders Christine to stay in the apartment while he goes to take care of Don.
J.T. goes down to the midway, where Bailey is running a shooting gallery. The kind with guns and not heroin needles. He also macks on all the females.
Against orders, Christine repeatedly calls, looking for Don. Don drives his car to Nan’s apartment. J.T. and Bailey follow in another car. J.T. leaves, and Bailey runs Don down after he gets out of his car. Brad has to identify Don’s body. Nan tells Brad that Christine called, and she believes it was murder. Brad won’t let Nan call to find out why Don was killed.
Vanning pays Bailey $1,000 for the hit. Christine calls, and Vanning won’t talk to her. Brad comes back from the morgue, and Nan is gone.
Nan goes to Christine’s apartment and tells her that Don is dead. Christine won’t reveal the murderer. The phone rings and Christine refuses to take the call. She tells Nan that it was Nan’s husband, and Don was killed because of him. Christine also tells Nan where she can reach Bailey. Christine tells Nan that Brad is a Commie, and she shows the pictures.
As Nan goes by the switchboard, the operator tells her that her husband has been calling for her. She asks for a taxi.
Vanning comes into Christine’s apartment, and she is writing a suicide note. He burns her note before he throws her out the window. Christine hits with a thud and the sound of breaking glass.
Brad runs into the building and asks the switchboard operator if his wife is still in the building. The operator says she headed for Bailey’s Shooting Gallery. Nan goes to the shooting gallery, and Bailey starts hitting on her.
He takes her to his usual place. They go to a small joint with a stage show. Bailey wants to know why a high-class dame came looking for him. Nan says her “friend’s” husband beats her and has a lot of insurance.
Brad shows up at the shooting gallery and is trying to force Bailey’s location out of the guy operating the shooting gallery. Bailey’s friend from the farrow wheel leaves to put in a call to Vanning. Vanning gives him instructions. The man says he will take Brad to where Bailey and his wife are located.
A man asks to cut in on a dance between Nan and Bailey. Bailey punches him a couple of times and drops him to the ground. Nan says the tough stuff won’t work, and she needs an accident to get the insurance money. Bailey tells how he steals a car and does a hit and run.
J.T. comes in to get Bailey. The farrow man leads Brad on a wild goose chase. Finally, Brad pushes him into an alley and slugs him. Brad beats the guy down.
Bailey gets chewed out by J.T. J.T. tells Bailey what to do. Bailey leaves with Nan. J.T. calls to say that the shipment is on the way. Brad comes up and pokes a gun in his back. They leave for the warehouse.
J.T. and Brad arrive at the warehouse and are admitted. Bailey and Nan are already inside with Vanning. In the elevator, J.T. switches the lights off, hollers for help, and attacks Brad. Brad beats J.T. down.
Brad comes in the window as Vanning gives the entire plan to Nan. Bailey is ordered to kill Nan. Brad comes through the door and gets his wife to safety. He has her calling the police in the inner office. Vanning pulls out a gun and shoots at Brad. Brad and Nan flee as another man with a gun, chases them through the warehouse.
The three bad guys start moving through the warehouse where Brad and Nan are trapped. Brad runs to the other side and draws the fire away from Nan. He kills the unidentified bad guy. Vanning starts moving towards Nan. Brad kills Bailey.
Brad sees Vanning about to kill Nan. Because he is out of bullets, Brad charges at Vanning like a linebacker. Vanning shoots Brad in the chest a couple of times. The gun flies over the railings, and Brad uses a stevedore hook to finish off Vanning.
The police and Jim arrive. Brad tells where the evidence is, and he tells Nan that Jim is the right man for her as he dies.
I’ll be right back with conclusions and the World-Famous Short Summary following a word from our sponsors.
Summary – The Woman on Pier 13 (1949)
Looney millionaire Howard Hughes bought RKO in 1948. According to iMDB.com, the writer of Out of the Past (1947), Daniel Mainwaring, said Hughes offered this crappy anti-Communist script to many people. Any writer, director, or actor that refused was fired as a means of clearing Commie sympathizers from the studio.[6]
Do you know why I hate Commie so much? I had to spend three years tramping around in the snow because of those guys.
World-Famous Short Summary – Once a Commie, always a Commie, and don’t name names.
Beware the moors
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_on_Pier_13
[2] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041495/
[3] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_married_a_communist
[4] https://variety.com/1948/film/reviews/i-married-a-communist-1117791897/
[5] http://www.noiroftheweek.com/2012/11/the-woman-on-pier-13-1949.html (Broken 2023)
[6] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041495/trivia
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.