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13 Frightened Girls

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13 Frightened Girls
Directed byWilliam Castle
Screenplay byRobert Dillon
Story byOtis L. Guernsey Jr.
Produced byWilliam Castle
Starring
CinematographyGordon Avil
Edited byEdwin H. Bryant
Music byVan Alexander
Production
company
William Castle Pictures
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • March 1963(1963-03)(Australia)
[1]
  • August 28, 1963(1963-08-28)(Los Angeles)
[2]
  • September 11, 1963(1963-09-11)(New York)
[3]
Running time
89 minutes
Trailer for the film

13 Frightened Girls(also known as13 Frightened Girls!andThe Candy Web) is a 1963PathécolorCold Warspy filmdirected and produced byWilliam Castle.Kathy Dunn stars as a teenage sleuth who finds herself embroiled in international espionage.

Castle, who was famous for promoting his films with gimmicks, generated publicity by advertising for girls from 13 countries to compete for parts as daughters of diplomats. However, not all of the 15 actresses were from the countries that they represented in the film; for example, AmericanJudy Paceplays aLiberian.

Plot

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After a 16-year-old girl Candy Hull develops a crush on intelligence agent Wally Sanders inLondon,she helps him to uncover a communist plot against the United States.

Cast

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The other diplomats' daughters:

  • María Cristina Servera (Argentina)
  • Janet Mary Prance (Australia)
  • Penny Anne Mills (Canada)
  • Alexandra Bastedoas Alex (United Kingdom) as Alexandra Lendon Bastedo
  • Ariane Glaser (France)
  • Ilona Schütze as Ilona (Germany)
  • Anna Baj (Italy)
  • Aiko Sakamoto (Japan)
  • Gina Trikonis as Natasha (Russia)
  • Judy Pace(Liberia)
  • Luz Gloria Hervias (Mexico)
  • Marie-Louise Bielke (Sweden)
  • Ignacia Farias Luque (Venezuela)
  • Lynne Sue Moonas Mai-Ling (China)

Release

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13 Frightened Girlswas first released in Australia asThe Candy Webin March 1963.[1]

In April 1963, the film's title was changed to13 Frightened Girlsin preparation for its American release.[4]The world premiere of13 Frightened Girlswith its new title was held at theCircle TheatreinIndianapolison June 13, 1963.[5]An advance screening at other Indiana theaters had taken place on June 11.[6]The film premiered in Los Angeles on August 28, 1963 and in New York on September 11, 1963.[3]

In many American markets,13 Frightened Girlswas released as a second feature along withGidget Goes to Rome.[2]

Reception

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Contemporary critical reviews were generally negative and panned the film for its implausible plot.

TheNews & Observerwrote: "The incredibly contrived goings-on that occur in '13 Frightened Girls' and dramatic absurdities of the production are more that can be tolerated by any but the most puerile audiences. The picture fluctuates between comedy and suspense melodrama. Incidents are built up, then dropped like hot political potatoes whenever explanations and resolutions are in order."[7]

Carol Taylor of theFort Worth Star-Telegramwrote: "'13 Frightened Girls'... is something of a misleading title. Most of the time there's just one frightened girl.... With all the energy and vivacity of any death-defying 16-year-old, she plays tennis, attends parties, bewitches boys and digs up startling bits of classified information simultaneously."[8]

InThe New York Times,critic Louis Calta wrote: "The youngMata Hariis vigorously played by pretty Kathy Dunn, who was one of theTrapp childreninThe Sound of Music.If only young Kathy could have raised her voice in song instead of playing detective, things might have been different at the United States Embassy. "[3]

Home media

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The film was released onDVDin 2009 as part of the William Castle Film Collection.[9]Sony also released a DVD of the film by itself. The film was released onBlu-rayin 2016 by Mill Creek Entertainment as part of a double-feature disc with the 1960 Castle film13 Ghosts.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"The Candy Web (Advertisement)".The Age.Melbourne, Australia.1963-03-22. p. 21.
  2. ^ab"Third 'Gidget' Movie Will Head Double Bill".Los Angeles Times.1963-08-23. p. 10, Part IV.
  3. ^abcCalta, Louis (1963-09-12). "Screen: Leave It to the Girls".The New York Times.p. 32.
  4. ^Glazer, Barney (1963-04-23). "Out of This Sho-World".The Van Nuys News.p. 23.
  5. ^Hoppes, Stephanie (1963-06-14). "Film Mystery Delightful for Teens".The Indianapolis Star.p. 28.
  6. ^Phillips, Lucile (1963-06-09). "Comedy, Spine-Tingler on Marion Theater Screens".Chronicle-Tribune.Marion, Indiana.p. 29.
  7. ^"Movies: 13 Frightened Girls".The News & Observer.Raleigh, North Carolina.1963-07-26. p. 26.
  8. ^Taylor, Carol (1963-08-02). "Girls? Frightened; Story? Implausible".Fort Worth Star-Telegram.p. 4, Section 3.
  9. ^Mike Clark (November 1, 2009)."New on DVD: 'Z,' 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame' and 'Easy Rider'".USA Today.
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