L'incredibile spia

Several decades later, I still remember it, and wish it were on video or dvd. William Castle had a unique ability when it came to putting children in dangerous adult situations. His other film that comes to mind here is "Let's Kill Uncle," about a 12 year boy whose life is in dangered by his charming, cunning, financially challenged, ex-spy uncle. I think the bad reviews are a reflection of the fact that the film is hard to catagorize. As a pre-teen I found the idea of a group of young girls from different nations and cultures saving the world very appealing. Kinda fit in with my devotion to the Man From UNCLE.

Well this is a weird one. Interesting but weird. A mix of a Gidget type of teenage comedy with a spy spoof. Not sure why it's so hated. Leonard Maltin gave it a BOMB rating, for crying out loud. That's completely unfair. It's a cute and harmless little bit of fluff with some funny moments, especially early on. I liked Kathy Dunn and Lynne Sue Moon. Maybe people hate it because it's from William Castle and has a misleading title that makes it sound like a horror movie? I don't know. Admittedly the fun and cuteness of it wears off after awhile. When it seems to take its spy plot seriously is when things get a little dull. But it picks back up towards the end. I didn't think it was bad at all. Ignore the overly harsh criticisms and judge it for yourself.

Typically humorous , intriguing , tongue-in-cheek William Castle opera with his usual ingredients . Set in Swiss boarding school catering to daughters of diplomats , after trading bits of info they picked up from daddy during the holidays . While attending a school for diplomats' daughters, the teen-aged daughter nicknamed "Kitten", "Candy" (the unknown but very likable Kathy Dunn) of the American ambassador (Hugh Marlowe) uses her access to USA and China embassies to engage in espionage. Candace has a special relationship with Wally Sanders (Murray Hamilton) , who Candy has known all her life and on who she now has a crush despite he being engaged to his colleague nicknamed Soldier (Joyce Taylor) , a code breaking specialist. Candy passes along the information to Wally only under the code name "Kitten". As meddled Candy decides to go off and do spy stuff . While visiting Mai-ling (Lynne Sue Moon) , niece of the Red Chinese ambassador she stumbles into a major political secret, involving a murder. 13 terrified teenagers on the run !. The big fright! The eerie sight!

One Castle's strangest movies , set in a Swiss boarding school and American , Chinese Ambassy , though actually shot in Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, and Lake Arrowhead, San Bernardino National Forest, California . An amusing movie with thrills , tension , intrigue , chuckles , twists and turns . This is an Euro-spy and a teen movie more than a typical spook opera from Castle who often used a lot of gimmicks , this time , only one : spectators in the theater were given lottery cards for a chance to win a gift or a prize . Dealing with thirteen girls and particularly starred by Kathy Dunn as intrusive Candace Hull giving a very sympathetic acting as the meddling teen stirring up serious problem on her vacation as she messes with the diplomatic affairs of their elders and get into trouble when a Russian spy is discovered killed . Castle held a worlwide talent search to find his stars , this time Kathy Dunn , for whom this was first and no doubt last movie. Along other known actors as Murray Hamilton , Hugh Marlowe , with Khigh Dhiegh cleverly cast as a sinister Ambassador , as he played a similar and unforgettable role in The Manchurian candidate . Adding a group of charming adolescents , some of them to be continued a cinematic career as Judy Pace and Alexandra Bastedo .

This juvenile , cute motion picture was professionally directed by William Castle . He was an expert craftsman with some of the all-time great schlock names serving as the producer Sam Katzman and fondness for gimmicks as proved in his successful terror films such as : House of haunted hill , The Tingler , Mr Sardonicus , Strait-jacked , Homicidal , Macabre and 13 Ghosts . Castle emulated Alfred Hitchcock , this included the practice of appearing in the trailers, and even making cameo appearances in his films . Furthermore , he made several Westerns such as : 1955 Duel on the Mississippi , 1955 The Gun That Won the West ,1955 El Americano , 1954 Masterson of Kansas , 1954 The Law vs. Billy the Kid , 1954 Jesse James vs. The Daltons , 1954 Battle of Rogue River , 1953 Fort Ti , 1951 cave of outlaws. Rating : 6/10, acceptable and passable , being one of Castle's weirdest movies . A side-splitting vintage picture awaiting rediscovery.

At a European school for diplomats daughters, Candice Hull (Kathy Dunn) is the American among a wide assortment of nationalities (more than thirteen, none of whom are frightened, despite the title). To help her friend keep his job as a spy, she secretly begins feeding him intelligence.

I have this film as part of thew William Castle Collection, a series of his 1960s horror films. "13 Frightened Girls" is not horror, has no real stars to speak of, and as already mentioned does not have thirteen frightened girls. What it does have is a very juvenile approach to Cold War espionage.

From the beginning, there's commie humor - with the Russia and China girls calling each other "comrades". And we find out that Red China apparently kills people and hides bodies in the embassy's kitchen, with no consequences. In fact, despite all the threats, death and illegal action, no one ever seems to hold anyone at fault. In a sense, it turns espionage into a kind of joke -- the threat of death is played down, even after a foreign spy is murdered. Candy never fully realizes what danger she is in, even when it's really obvious.

There's other oddities. There's an old man seduced by 16-year old Candy, though she ultimately fails. And the film has colors "like a Fauvist threw up all over the place", in the words of another reviewer. I wouldn't have made that connection, but sure enough... Henri Matisse could very well have painted the film cels.

The rumor is that Castle launched a worldwide hunt for the prettiest girls from 13 different countries to cast in the film. Oddly, none of them, even star Kathy Dunn, went on to do anything in the movie business. I'm not sure what this says about the film... how does everyone get overlooked? Anyway, the film is interesting. Not Castle's best work, probably not his worst. But if you want to see something outside the realm of PG-rated horror from Castle, this is the one you want. Geared more towards young adults, but enjoyable for anyone who wants to see a very unique perspective on Cold War spying.

The quick pitch: Candy, the daughter of a US diplomat, uses her position at an all-girls' school to spy on her friends' fathers and the goings on at their respective embassies. What at first seems like harmless fun goes horribly wrong when a Chinese assassin is sent in to put a stop to Candy's shenanigans.

I wouldn't call 13 Frightened Girls all that good, but I wouldn't call it all that bad either. The film kind of feels like Disney took a stab at making a Eurospy film. I could easily see someone like Hayley Mills in the title role. It's all harmless enough fun, but it does lack any real bite. Even when lead-girl Candy is in danger, you know it'll all turn out all right. Take the scene where the Chinese baddies are searching for Candy in the room full of suitcases. It's downright silly. However, I don't think the film is the disaster some reviews would have you believe. I think the movie gets a knock because of the marketing, the title, and the William Castle name. It's nowhere near as lurid or suspenseful as the trailer or poster art would have you believe.

A couple of other things: First, I got a kick out of seeing Alexandra Bastedo (who would later appear in The Champions) in the background as "England". Second, I'm really surprised to see that Kathy Dunn didn't have more of a career in acting. Whether you like the movie or not, I think Dunn did an outstanding job as Candy.