JohnHowardReid Robert Ryan (entrapped hero), Laraine Day (unsuspecting wife), Janis Carter (title femme fatale), John Agar (youth), Thomas Gomez (ruthless Communist), Richard Rober (Jim), William Talman (Red sadist), Paul J. Burns (another super-evil Red henchman), Paul Guilfoyle (victim), Fred Graham (Grip), Harry Cheshire (avuncular boss), Iris Adrian (waitress).Director; ROBERT STEVENSON. Screenplay: Charles Grayson, Robert Hardy Andrews. Story: George W. George, George F. Slavin. Film editor: Roland Gross. Photography: Nicholas Musuraca. Art directors: Albert S. D'Agostino and Walter E. Keller. Producer: Jack J. Gross.Copyright 28 September 1949 by RKO. U.S. release: 8 Oct. 73 minutes.COMMENT: Is this movie a fantasy disguised as film noir or a film noir disguised as a fantasy? Take your pick. Me? I don't see any reason why a fantasy cannot also claim the mantle of film noir if it has a suitable atmosphere and appropriate themes. Look at "La Belle et La Bete" ("The Woman and the Beast") for instance. So to my mind, this one qualifies as both outrageous fantasy and gripping film noir. Mind you, Howard Hughes saw the film as a "melodrama" exposing members of the Communist Party as mobsters using blackmail and murder to start a West Coast shipping strike. I once had a still in which Robert Ryan (a reluctant Beast) and Laraine Day (ever a graceful Beauty) do not seem too worried about the various plot developments.

mark.waltz Typical anti-red propaganda, made at the height of Hollywood's scary blacklisting chapter in its history. It's all because a promising businessman (Robert Ryan), once a registered communist under a different name, has been located by an old girlfriend (Janis Carter) and exposed to the big man (Thomas Gomez), even though he wants no part of them. Carter is now involved with the brother (John Agar) of Ryan's fiancée (Laraine Day) and is trying to convert him, even though he's a staunch democrat even if he is a bit liberal.This is actually pretty enjoyable even if the motivations in making it are extremely obvious. The commies are actually identifiable as human beings, not cartoonish like other anti-Communist films (in particular "The Red Menace" and "Big Jim McLain") where the message comes at you like a 3-D movie monster. There's some really horrific violence, pretty taut for a film made during the studio era, a sign that the production code was slowly loosing steam.

chuck-reilly This film was made at the height of the Communist scare (1949) so its theme is thickly padded with plenty of political hysteria which may be a bit foreign to modern-day viewers. That said, it's still highly effective in its depiction of the "Commies" being thoroughly evil and it pulls no punches. John Agar plays a union leader who unknowingly is under the influence of a good-looking blonde (Janis Carter) who just happens to be a communist "plant." Robert Ryan, however, is the star of the film as a man torn between both worlds who inevitably does the "right thing." Along the way, there's plenty of despicable communists to jeer at including Thomas Gomez as a ruthless ringleader and union infiltrator. For fans of early network TV, William Talman (District Attorney Burger from the old "Perry Mason" series) plays a commie henchman who gets what's coming to him. He's so rotten that you'll want to throttle him yourself. On the good side, Laraine Day plays Ryan's loving and understanding wife who's trapped in the convoluted plot.Whatever one's political leanings, there's more than enough propaganda here to nearly sink this movie, but the performances of the talented cast keep it afloat. Ryan made a career out of playing hard-boiled types and he earned his money for this one. Agar never became the big star many predicted but he's effective in this role and quite sympathetic, even if his character is a bit too naive. Today, he's best remembered for being Shirley Temple's first husband. On the definite "plus side" for "The Woman on Pier 13" is Laraine Day. She looks better than ever and that should be enough to sustain anyone's interest in this film.

Bucs1960 RKO studio was making some terrific noir films during the late 40's and used that same formula in this 1950 thriller. The problem with the film arises because of the Red scare propagated by Senator Joseph McCarthy who saw "commies" behind every tree. The Red scare theme dates the story to the point that it is almost embarrassing........but it is still worth seeing.Robert Ryan, who was such a powerful actor, stars as a successful man who once was a Communist, lured by his then-mistress, played by Janis Carter. He has now moved on with his life, married to Laraine Day and has learned to love the "American way". Trouble rears its ugly head as labor union troubles bring his old cronies out of the woodwork and the fun begins.This film played on the fears of 1950's audiences and it is hard to relate to those feelings now; however, the craftsmanship of the film is quite good and the players are up to their usual standards. Of course, the exception is John Agar,who as always is bad, bad, bad. So for a look at another time when people built bomb shelters and suspected their neighbors of being "fellow travelers", take a gander at this film. It's a time capsule unto itself.