ShangLuda Admirable film.

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

LeonLouisRicci Heavy Handed Propaganda that has the Communist Party Monstrously displayed as Pure Evil with a completely Inhuman and Soul Less "Stereotype". No shades of Grey and no concern for Anything or Anyone but the "Party", a term often Repeated in this Screenplay written at the Cusp of the "Mccarthy Era" and the HUAC "Witch Hunt" that would Ironically Indite Hollywood for being "Un-American".This Picture is actually just the Opposite, and uses Film for the most Blatant Anti- Communist Rhetoric found in the "Red Scare" Period coming out of Hollywood.Robert Ryan is Great as a Man trying to Escape His "Depression" and Hide the Fact that He joined the "Party" in His Youth suffering from Broken Dreams and Unemployment. He now has to Cover-Up the Indiscretion, changed His Name, tore up the Communist Card, and has become a Respected Citizen Haunted by the Past and the "Party".Lorraine Day, who figured in the Film's Original Title, "I Married a Communist", Plays the Wife. She is pushed to the Background most of the time as Her Husband fights the Blackmailing Thugs who Threaten Exposure, Intimidation, and Murder.The Third Act is a Dark and Shadowy Nightmarish Visual Vista complete with a Downbeat Ending fitting the most Cynical of Film-Noir. The Ridiculous Display of the "Reds" can be Overlooked because the Movie has so much More to Offer Fans of Noir and Students of Political Manipulation in the Post-War Cycle.

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.

imogen.chiv 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.

jcappy One understands why Nicholas Ray turned this picture down. Yet, the final product could have been worse: the Communist Party could have been portrayed as something less attractive than a waterfront mob. Remember that audiences are and were used to identifying with glamorous gangland and this mob is not lacking in muscle, molls, and even a certain coolness (they have social parties and are intellectual). And the finale scene nearly matches some of best film noirs. To boot, the great Robert Ryan, whose character can no more divorce himself from the Party as from the Mob, somehow lends, by his association alone, even more draw to these American Reds. Apart from all this, the movie's worth a look if only for Ryan and Lorraine Day (some faces).