13 Frightened Girls

1963 Cold War spy film directed by William Castle February 2026 13 Frightened Girls 13 Frightened Girls poster.jpg William Castle William Castle Robert Dillon Otis L. Guernsey Jr. Murray Hamilton Kathy Dunn Joyce Taylor Hugh Marlowe Van Alexander Gordon Avil Edwin H. Bryant William Castle Pictures Columbia Pictures 1963 03 Australia 1963 08 28 Los Angeles 1963 09 11 New York City 89 minutes right|thumb|Trailer for the film 13 Frightened Girls (also known as 13 Frightened Girls! and The Candy Web) is a 1963 Pathécolor Cold War spy film directed and produced by William 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, American Judy Pace plays a Liberian. Plot After a 16-year-old girl Candy Hull develops a crush on intelligence agent Wally Sanders in London, she helps him to uncover a communist plot against the United States. Cast Murray Hamilton as Wally Sanders Kathy Dunn as Candace "Candy" Hull Joyce Taylor as Soldier Hugh Marlowe as John Hull Khigh Dhiegh as Kang Charlie Briggs as Mike Norma Varden as Miss Pittford Garth Benton as Peter Van Hagen Emil Sitka as Ludwig (uncredited) The other diplomats' daughters: María Cristina Servera (Argentina) Janet Mary Prance (Australia) Penny Anne Mills (Canada) Alexandra Bastedo as 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 Moon as Mai-Ling (China) Release 13 Frightened Girls was first released in Australia as The Candy Web in March 1963.1963-03-22 The Candy Web (Advertisement) The Age Melbourne, Australia 21 In April 1963, the film's title was changed to 13 Frightened Girls in preparation for its American release.Glazer Barney 1963-04-23 Out of This Sho-World The Van Nuys News 23 The world premiere of 13 Frightened Girls with its new title was held at the Circle Theatre in Indianapolis on June 13, 1963.Hoppes Stephanie 1963-06-14 Film Mystery Delightful for Teens The Indianapolis Star 28 An advance screening at other Indiana theaters had taken place on June 11.Phillips Lucile 1963-06-09 Comedy, Spine-Tingler on Marion Theater Screens Chronicle-Tribune Marion, Indiana 29 The film premiered in Los Angeles on August 28, 1963, and in New York on September 11, 1963.Calta Louis 1963-09-12 Screen: Leave It to the Girls The New York Times 32 In many American markets, 13 Frightened Girls was released as a second feature along with Gidget Goes to Rome.1963-08-23 Third 'Gidget' Movie Will Head Double Bill Los Angeles Times 10, Part IV Reception Contemporary critical reviews were generally negative and panned the film for its implausible plot. The News & Observer wrote: "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."1963-07-26 Movies: 13 Frightened Girls The News & Observer Raleigh, North Carolina 26 Carol Taylor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote: "'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."Taylor Carol 1963-08-02 Girls? Frightened; Story? Implausible Fort Worth Star-Telegram 4, Section 3 In The New York Times, critic Louis Calta wrote: "The young Mata Hari is vigorously played by pretty Kathy Dunn, who was one of the Trapp children in The 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." Home media The film was released on DVD in 2009 as part of the William Castle Film Collection.New on DVD: 'Z,' 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame' and 'Easy Rider' USA Today Mike Clark November 1, 2009 http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2009-10-30-topdvd30_ST_N.htm 2012-11-04 2013-09-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20121104233802/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2009-10-30-topdvd30_ST_N.htm live Sony also released a DVD of the film by itself. The film was released on Blu-ray in 2016 by Mill Creek Entertainment as part of a double-feature disc with the 1960 Castle film 13 Ghosts. See also List of American films of 1963 References External links 0056796 27549 20417 13 Frightened Girls Category:1963 films Category:1960s spy thriller films Category:1963 spy films Category:American comedy thriller films Category:Teen mystery films Category:Cold War spy films Category:Films set in London Category:Films set in Switzerland Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:Films directed by William Castle Category:Articles containing video clips Category:American spy thriller films Category:1960s female buddy films Category:1960s teen films Category:1963 English-language films Category:1963 American films Category:English-language spy thriller films Category:English-language buddy films