I Married a Communist (film)
Encyclopedia
I Married a Communist is a 1949 film drama produced by RKO Radio Pictures
. Due to audience resistance to the title, RKO re-released the film as The Woman on Pier 13 and Beautiful But Dangerous.
in New York while a stevedore
during the Depression. Shortly after returning home following their honeymoon, the couple meet Christine Norman (Janis Carter
), an old flame of Collins, whose wife Nan Lowry Collins (Laraine Day
) takes an instant dislike to.
Collins becomes the target of a Communist cell and its leader, Vanning (Thomas Gomez
), who orders the murder of an alleged FBI informer drowned after a brief interrogation. After threatening to reveal Collins' responsibility for a murder as well as his communist past, Vanning orders the executive to sabotage the shipping industry in the San Francisco Bay
by resisting union demands in a labor dispute. He claims it is impossible to leave the Communist Party. Meanwhile Norman, bitter over Collins earlier rejection, is ordered to become closer to his brother-in-law Don Lowry (Agar) by indoctrinating him with their (communist) world view. Norman though genuinely falls in love with Lowry, with Vanning claiming that she is not meant to be so emotional.
A friend of Collins and former boyfriend of Nan, union leader Jim Travers (Richard Rober
) cannot understand why Collins has become unreasonable to deal with. Travers is concerned about the possibility of the small number of commnunists in the union being able to take it over, and suspects Norman of being a communist, or at least a fellow traveler. He discusses this with Lowry who is a new colleague. Lowry denies Norman's politics, apparently still free of communist ideology, or an awareness of where his, by now, future wife's friend's are coming from politically. She confesses when confronted, but after Lowry rejects her she shows him a photograph of herself with Collins/Johnson and reveals his communist past. Vanning interrupts them. Angry with Christine for breaking orders, she was supposed to be in Seattle for another two days on her day job as a photographer, he tries to lean on Lowry because he is now able to expose the influence the party has regained over Collins.
Lowry travels to the Collin's residence to inform them of what he has learned, but is run over by a car driven by the communist hit man J.T Arnold (Paul E. Burns) who had observed the earlier killing with Collins. Nan previously informed by Norman that her brother is in danger, tries to convince her husband that Lowry's killing was not an accident. He pretends to be unconvinced. Confronting Christine, Nan is told of her husband's past, and Christine (falsely, though he was with Arnold) informs her that Bailey (William Talman) was probably responsible for Lowry's death. Preparing a suicide note, Christine is interrupted by Vanning, who thinks this is a good solution, but wishes to keep politics out of it, and destroys her confession of communist involvement. It is unclear if she does commit suicide, or whether she is thrown out of the high window.
Intent on revenge, Nan befriends Bailey at the fairground where he has legitimate employment, and goes off with him. The hit man is saved when she is identified, and Nan is kidnapped and taken to the hidden local communist headquarters in Arnold's warehouse. Collins tracks his wife down to this location, and by threatening Arnold with a gun, is able to gain admittance. In a shootout, Bailey and Vanning are killed, and Collins fatally injured. In his last moments Nan says she still loves him.
offered the script to directors as a test of their patriotism. Thirteen directors, starting with Joseph Losey
, turned down the film before it was finally made under the British director Robert Stevenson
.
propaganda
. British critic Tom Milne
in the Time Out Film Guide notes: "The sterling cast can make no headway against cartoon characters, a fatuous script that defies belief, and an enveloping sense of hysteria. Nick Musuraca's noir-ish camerawork, mercifully, is stunning."
mockumentary C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
.
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
. Due to audience resistance to the title, RKO re-released the film as The Woman on Pier 13 and Beautiful But Dangerous.
Plot
Brad Collins (Ryan), a San Francisco shipping executive (real name Frank Johnson) newly married after a brief courtship, had been involved with CommunismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in New York while a stevedore
Stevedore
Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....
during the Depression. Shortly after returning home following their honeymoon, the couple meet Christine Norman (Janis Carter
Janis Carter
Janis Carter was a film and television actress working in the 1940s and 1950s.After attending Mather College in Cleveland, Ohio, Carter headed to New York in an attempt to start an opera career. Although unsuccessful in opera, she was working on Broadway where she was spotted on stage by Darryl F...
), an old flame of Collins, whose wife Nan Lowry Collins (Laraine Day
Laraine Day
Laraine Day was an American actress and a former MGM contract star.-Career:Born La Raine Johnson in Roosevelt, Utah, to an affluent Mormon family, she later moved to California where she began her acting career with the Long Beach Players...
) takes an instant dislike to.
Collins becomes the target of a Communist cell and its leader, Vanning (Thomas Gomez
Thomas Gomez
Thomas Gomez was an American actor.Born Sabino Tomas Gomez in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater during the 1920s and was a student of the actor Walter Hampden...
), who orders the murder of an alleged FBI informer drowned after a brief interrogation. After threatening to reveal Collins' responsibility for a murder as well as his communist past, Vanning orders the executive to sabotage the shipping industry in the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
by resisting union demands in a labor dispute. He claims it is impossible to leave the Communist Party. Meanwhile Norman, bitter over Collins earlier rejection, is ordered to become closer to his brother-in-law Don Lowry (Agar) by indoctrinating him with their (communist) world view. Norman though genuinely falls in love with Lowry, with Vanning claiming that she is not meant to be so emotional.
A friend of Collins and former boyfriend of Nan, union leader Jim Travers (Richard Rober
Richard Rober
Richard Rober was an American film actor known for his rugged roles in films. Rober died in an auto accident in 1952 at age 42. He appeared many B-movies and film noir-type films including Call Northside 777 , Sierra , and The Well .-Filmography:-External links:...
) cannot understand why Collins has become unreasonable to deal with. Travers is concerned about the possibility of the small number of commnunists in the union being able to take it over, and suspects Norman of being a communist, or at least a fellow traveler. He discusses this with Lowry who is a new colleague. Lowry denies Norman's politics, apparently still free of communist ideology, or an awareness of where his, by now, future wife's friend's are coming from politically. She confesses when confronted, but after Lowry rejects her she shows him a photograph of herself with Collins/Johnson and reveals his communist past. Vanning interrupts them. Angry with Christine for breaking orders, she was supposed to be in Seattle for another two days on her day job as a photographer, he tries to lean on Lowry because he is now able to expose the influence the party has regained over Collins.
Lowry travels to the Collin's residence to inform them of what he has learned, but is run over by a car driven by the communist hit man J.T Arnold (Paul E. Burns) who had observed the earlier killing with Collins. Nan previously informed by Norman that her brother is in danger, tries to convince her husband that Lowry's killing was not an accident. He pretends to be unconvinced. Confronting Christine, Nan is told of her husband's past, and Christine (falsely, though he was with Arnold) informs her that Bailey (William Talman) was probably responsible for Lowry's death. Preparing a suicide note, Christine is interrupted by Vanning, who thinks this is a good solution, but wishes to keep politics out of it, and destroys her confession of communist involvement. It is unclear if she does commit suicide, or whether she is thrown out of the high window.
Intent on revenge, Nan befriends Bailey at the fairground where he has legitimate employment, and goes off with him. The hit man is saved when she is identified, and Nan is kidnapped and taken to the hidden local communist headquarters in Arnold's warehouse. Collins tracks his wife down to this location, and by threatening Arnold with a gun, is able to gain admittance. In a shootout, Bailey and Vanning are killed, and Collins fatally injured. In his last moments Nan says she still loves him.
Cast
- Laraine DayLaraine DayLaraine Day was an American actress and a former MGM contract star.-Career:Born La Raine Johnson in Roosevelt, Utah, to an affluent Mormon family, she later moved to California where she began her acting career with the Long Beach Players...
as Nan Lowry Collins - Robert RyanRobert RyanRobert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
as Brad Collins, aka Frank Johnson - John AgarJohn AgarJohn George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
as Don Lowry - Thomas GomezThomas GomezThomas Gomez was an American actor.Born Sabino Tomas Gomez in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater during the 1920s and was a student of the actor Walter Hampden...
as Vanning - Janis CarterJanis CarterJanis Carter was a film and television actress working in the 1940s and 1950s.After attending Mather College in Cleveland, Ohio, Carter headed to New York in an attempt to start an opera career. Although unsuccessful in opera, she was working on Broadway where she was spotted on stage by Darryl F...
as Christine Norman - Richard RoberRichard RoberRichard Rober was an American film actor known for his rugged roles in films. Rober died in an auto accident in 1952 at age 42. He appeared many B-movies and film noir-type films including Call Northside 777 , Sierra , and The Well .-Filmography:-External links:...
as Jim Travers - William Talman as Bailey, younger henchman
Production
RKO chief Howard HughesHoward Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
offered the script to directors as a test of their patriotism. Thirteen directors, starting with Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
, turned down the film before it was finally made under the British director Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (director)
Robert Stevenson was an English film writer and director. He was educated at Cambridge University where he became the president of both the Liberal Club and the Cambridge Union Society....
.
Reaction
Most reviews find the film to be a clear attempt at anti-communist Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
. British critic Tom Milne
Tom Milne
Tom Milne was a British film critic.After war service, he studied English and French at Aberdeen University and later at the Sorbonne...
in the Time Out Film Guide notes: "The sterling cast can make no headway against cartoon characters, a fatuous script that defies belief, and an enveloping sense of hysteria. Nick Musuraca's noir-ish camerawork, mercifully, is stunning."
Parody
The film was parodied as I Married an Abolitionist in the 20042004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
mockumentary C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America is a 2004 mockumentary directed by Kevin Willmott. It is a fictional "tongue-in-cheek" account of an alternate history, in which the Confederates won the American Civil War, establishing the new Confederate States of America...
.