Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

utgard14 Thirteen white women who all went to school together are marked for death by a half-caste woman that they were cruel to as kids. Irene Dunne plays the lead, an early precursor to the Final Girl from slasher movies made decades later. Myrna Loy as the killer is the principal reason to watch. She was cast as Asian or half-Asian a lot in early films. Here, whatever they've done to her makeup-wise works because she's stunning. Ricardo Cortez plays the detective investigating the case. It's nice to see an actual police detective be smart and not bumbling or corrupt. Notable as the only film of Peg Entwistle, a young actress who infamously committed suicide by jumping off of the Hollywood sign. One of the earliest movies with a female ensemble. The racial subject matter is also pretty frank for the time. I mentioned slasher films before. Well, structurally this one is very similar so, in a sense, it's one of the earliest examples of what would become that subgenre. It's a very interesting movie with some good performances, clever direction, and bonus historical value.

dougdoepke No need to repeat points made by others. One unmentioned ingredient the movie sorely lacks is mood, which is usually established by visual style. In short, the movie has no visual style to complement the eerie proceedings. Instead, director Archainbaud films in unimaginative, straightforward fashion, using high-key lighting even in those spooky situations crying out for shadow. That's not surprising since the bulk of the director's career was spent helming undemanding Gene Autry half-hours for early TV. No wonder the pass-off stunt between the two cars in this film is so expertly handled. Archainbaud was an action director and clearly the wrong man to develop a Gothic exercise like Thirteen Women. Think what a great visual stylist like Edgar Ulmer (The Black Cat) or Tod Browning (Dracula; Freaks) could have done with the same dark material. For example, note the weird looking interior constructed for Ursula's two- story abode. It's a real eye-catcher but goes unaccented by Archainbaud's pedestrian style. Think what Ulmer, in particular, would have done with that bizarre set-up. Then too, maybe a more attuned director or producer could have prevented the studio from butchering the contents with its notoriously clumsy deletions and departures. Nonetheless, mood or no mood, cat-eyed Ursula (Loy) can cast a spell on me any day of the week and the proverbial twice on Sunday, that is, if I can manage it.

Bucs1960 There may have originally been 13 women targeted for revenge but the cutting of the film obviously lessened that number considerably. Nevertheless, this story of one woman's mission to do away with the girls who snubbed her for sorority membership is worth watching.Myrna Loy, again playing the role of an Eurasian, is beautiful and mysterious as the revenge seeker. Due to her unusual beauty, she made her early career playing exotics and the low-key lighting of this film served her well in some of her scenes. Included in the cast are the then Mrs. Laurence Olivier (Jill Esmond), Irene Dunne and Peg Entwhistle (whose tragic real-life leap from the Hollywoodland sign is her only claim to fame). I could not identify Ms. Entwhistle so it is possible that her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.Ricardo Cortez plays the detective although he usually was cast as a villain, mob boss or gigolo. He doesn't appear until late in the film which might also say something about the cutting of part of the story. C.Henry Gordon, a stalwart in 1930s film, plays a swami advising Loy with his usual panache. She has her way with him eventually adding to the body count.It's true that the film is dated and a bit overwrought but for my money it is a good entry into the early RKO thriller category

Evangeline Kelly This was actually a really good movie. So good, it would stand up against todays horror movies as well as easily translate into a remake (rather surprised it hasn't already). A further poignancy is lent to Ursula's confession of her motives--even though "crossing the color line" isn't exactly PC, her speech sums up the history of this country and its treatment of anyone who does not and cannot conform to "whiteness." The movie does resort to "yellow face" (Myrna Loy and the man who plays the Swami), as well as conforming to "Oriental" and "Shady Orient" stereotypes, but the heart of the story is surprising in its realism, and for such a short movie (just an hour), it packs a good amount of thrill.