The Woman on Pier 13

Fun propaganda piece. Like obvs not Soviet levels of greatness when it comes to it but still if you have to agree with a movie to like it you’re gonna like very little

I thought Robert Ryan was rather great as the reluctant commie. Much helped by Laraine Day being a genuine dame and Janis Carter for being a not so genuine. The atmosphere, the clear characters and because it was a blatant Red Scare propaganda, the focus was tight too. Since it comes from a very specific time in US history, it was a interesting piece of film history. I don't blame people for hating the political reason this was made, but that aspect was part of the reason I found this thrilling.

Tainted by childish propaganda. Otherwise, not bad.

Commies! Commies everywhere! Red-scare doesn't just colour this film's narrative, it's the central engine that provides all of the film's narrative hooks, and as such it's impossible to ignore. Yes Robert Ryan is good, as is the cinematography, and the general narrative works well enough, but none of it is anywhere good enough to make it worth sitting through the simplistic, cartoonish and hateful politics.

It's a shame this movie is clouded by so much Red Scare nonsense, because otherwise it's a top-notch thriller. A tight and compelling series of events, good score, and terrific stylized cinematography. This is very engaging stuff. It handles the "you can't escape your past" motif nicely. Also it's pretty intense for 1949, some really over-the-top kills. Great performances by Ryan, Gomez, Day, Carter and Talman. Still, when the paranoid political rhetoric does creep in, it's hard to overlook.