L'incredibile spia

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.

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.

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.

I had a Friday afternoon off, so to relax I turned on the Turner Classic Movies channel and saw that a film called "13 Frightened Girls!" was about to come on. I had never heard of it, and from the title it sounded like it might be a cult-favorite B movie directed by somebody like Roger Corman. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a Cold War era spy flick with lots of hot girls from 1963. Innocent though, mind you; the film has a strong feel of the way live-action Disney movies like the original "That Darn Cat!" used to be, except this is a Disney-like movie where people actually get killed!

Our sixteen-year-old heroine, Candace "Candy" Hull, reminded me of what Nancy Drew would be like if she opted to be an amateur international spy instead of an amateur detective. The film seems aimed at the age group that would enjoy reading Nancy Drew books, but it has material that adults can enjoy too. As for the reference to thirteen girls and why they are frightened, the beginning of the movie takes them on a very dangerous bus ride, but an even greater reason for their fear is not revealed until near the end. Most of the plot deals with the exploits of Candy and her Chinese friend Mai-Ling as they probe the liquidation of a foreign agent, then attempt to prevent a revolution, and that's just for starters. Interestingly, the part of Mai-Ling's mysterious uncle is played by Khigh Dhiegh, later known for his recurring role as the archvillain Wo Fat in the original version of the television series "Hawaii 5-O".

The film seemed uneven in a few places, but not enough to interrupt my involvement in the story. I was just relaxing, wasn't trying to pick it apart and suspended disbelief, so I had lots of fun with this movie and I'm very glad I was given the opportunity to see it. It's from a different era and doesn't fit with today's jaded mind-set, but for those who appreciate values beyond those of our present culture, watching this film just might be eighty-nine minutes well spent.