Descrip\u00adtion:<\/em> Thir\u00adteen women, all mem\u00adbers of a pres\u00adti\u00adgious soror\u00adi\u00adty in col\u00adlege, com\u00adbined to spurn anoth\u00ader woman, Ursala Geor\u00adgi, based on her Eurasian her\u00aditage. In revenge, once she learns they were con\u00adsult\u00ading a famous Swa\u00admi and astrologer, she wiles her way into the Swami\u2019s con\u00adfi\u00addence and rewrites his pre\u00addic\u00adtions to instill fear and ter\u00adror in their recip\u00adi\u00adents. When the Swa\u00admi tries to inter\u00adfere, Ursala hyp\u00adno\u00adtizes him and then lat\u00ader induces him to fall to his death before a sub\u00adway train. One by one the women fall, until the last one tries to escape across coun\u00adtry by train, only to dis\u00adcov\u00ader Ursala has fol\u00adlowed her. She, too, is entranced by Ursala\u2019s pow\u00ader, but before she can exact her revenge on the young son, Ursala is forced to flee and falls to her death from the train, just as the Swa\u00admi predicted.<\/p>\n His\u00adto\u00adry:<\/em> \u201cThir\u00adteen Women<\/em>\u201d<\/a> is based on the best-sell\u00ading nov\u00adel of the same name by Tiffany Thay\u00ader.<\/a> The movie was orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly released in 1932 to poor reviews, then re-released (post-Hayes Code) in 1935, trimmed from a run\u00adning length of 74 min\u00adutes to only 59 min\u00adutes, to take advan\u00adtage of the sud\u00adden pop\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty of the lead actress, Irene Dunne<\/a>, except it could also have been released to take advan\u00adtage of Myr\u00adna Loy\u2019s sud\u00adden upswing in popularity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Com\u00adpar\u00adi\u00adson:<\/em> The nov\u00adel is a pret\u00adty dif\u00adfi\u00adcult read for mod\u00adern audi\u00adences: is pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly con\u00adsists of let\u00adters and con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtions about third-per\u00adson events inter\u00adspersed with first-per\u00adson rumi\u00adna\u00adtions on the part of the omni\u00adscient nar\u00adra\u00adtor, to be fin\u00adished with enough descrip\u00adtion to fill out the miss\u00ading details of Ursala\u2019s life that explains her abil\u00adi\u00adties. Hyp\u00adno\u00adsis is nev\u00ader men\u00adtioned until near the very end of the nov\u00adel, although the pow\u00ader of sug\u00adges\u00adtion is, many times, when one of the let\u00adters hap\u00adpens to men\u00adtion that Ursala was a hypnotist.<\/p>\n \u201cDid she ever try to hyp\u00adno\u00adtize you? She did me once. I don\u2019t know how we hap\u00adpened to be alone togeth\u00ader. I always tried to avoid her \u2014 but we were. And she said that her father could do \u201cthe rope trick.\u201d I said I\u2019d always thought that was mass hyp\u00adno\u00adtism and she said \u2014 well, maybe it was. One thing led to anoth\u00ader and she showed me a trick of rub\u00adbing my arms and talk\u00ading to me that actu\u00adal\u00adly made my arms very stiff. I don\u2019t know whether there was any\u00adthing in it or not, but I could\u00adn\u2019t move them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In the movie, the first time we see Ursala, her hyp\u00adnot\u00adic prowess is empha\u00adsized. just as when it was most need\u00aded: when the Swa\u00admi begins to won\u00adder why his pre\u00addic\u00adtions have been going wrong, Ursala entrances him to keep him from inter\u00adfer\u00ading, using her hyp\u00adnot\u00adic eyes and a few sooth\u00ading words to entrance him.<\/p>\n The nov\u00adel dif\u00adfers sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant\u00adly from the movie in sev\u00ader\u00adal oth\u00ader ways. The most telling is that all of the events in the nov\u00adel are pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly told third-per\u00adson, much of it through let\u00adters or descrip\u00adtions giv\u00aden to oth\u00ader char\u00adac\u00adters; even the Swa\u00admi is seen only through his let\u00adters and telegrams, where\u00adas in the movie, the first-per\u00adson nar\u00adra\u00adtion approach does not work. In the nov\u00adel, Ursala used the Swami\u2019s con\u00adnec\u00adtions and \u201cface\u201d to act as the Swa\u00admi her\u00adself, putting out the astrol\u00ado\u00adgy charts and warn\u00adings under his name, but in the movie, the Swa\u00admi is a well-known astrologer in his own right. But the biggest dif\u00adfer\u00adence is that in the nov\u00adel, Ursala is large\u00adly a phan\u00adtom, manip\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading peo\u00adple with\u00adout being seen until the very end, when she has to act on her own: in the movie, Ursala is very much present and active, as is the Swa\u00admi (for a a few scenes on screen.)<\/p>\n Com\u00admen\u00adtary:<\/em> The few actu\u00adal hyp\u00adno\u00adsis scenes are very<\/em> stereo\u00adtyp\u00adi\u00adcal even for the time peri\u00adod (i,e,<\/em> a hyp\u00adnot\u00adic gaze) but the pow\u00ader of sug\u00adges\u00adtion cal\u00adlous\u00adly wield\u00aded by Loy\u2019s char\u00adac\u00adter is almost as effec\u00adtive and just as irresistible.<\/p>\n It is strange to see Myr\u00adna Loy<\/a>, the love\u00adly star of the \u201cThin Man\u201d movies, play\u00ading an Eurasian vamp (left) in this movie, but that was how she got her start in movies, play\u00ading stock Eurasian or gyp\u00adsy char\u00adac\u00adters. (She also played the slinki\u00adly sin\u00adis\u00adter Fah Lo Suee to Boris Karlof\u00adf\u2019s Fu Manchu in \u201cThe Mask of Fu Manchu\u201d<\/em>.<\/a>) It took \u201cThe Thin Man\u201d<\/em><\/a> (1934) to show that she was a capa\u00adble actress, able to ban\u00adter with William Pow\u00adell as well as do phys\u00adi\u00adcal com\u00ade\u00addy with equal apti\u00adtude and aplomb.<\/p>\n Despite her rel\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly low billing, she is tru\u00adly the star of the movie, (just look at the movie poster: she\u2019s the most preva\u00adlent and largest char\u00adac\u00adter shown) eclips\u00ading the lead, Irene Dunne, the only one of the 13 women to sur\u00advive. (Loy would lat\u00ader joke \u201cThe only one who escaped me in this pic\u00adture was Irene Dunne, and I regret\u00adted it every time she got the parts I want\u00aded.\u201d<\/em>) It is Loy\u2019s char\u00adac\u00adter who dri\u00adves the plot, not the Dun\u00adne\u2019s valid char\u00adac\u00adter, and it is Loy\u2019s char\u00adac\u00adter that audi\u00adences could bet\u00adter empha\u00adsize with, some\u00adone who, hav\u00ading been spurned and dis\u00adgraced by oth\u00ader women, takes out her vengeance against them.<\/p>\n Rec\u00adom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtion:<\/em> This is a rel\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly obscure film, one worth seek\u00ading out, if only to see the love\u00adly Myr\u00adna Loy shine through the make\u00adup and stereo\u00adtype. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly it does not appear to be avail\u00adable for pur\u00adchase, either in the orig\u00adi\u00adnal length or the short\u00adened ver\u00adsion, so you have to catch it when\u00adev\u00ader it appears on TV. <\/p>\n [amtap book:isbn=1556111010]<\/p>\n Also rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded is her biog\u00adra\u00adphy. \u201cMyr\u00adna Loy: Being and Becom\u00ading\u201d<\/em>. While she does\u00adn\u2019t men\u00adtion her work on \u201cThir\u00adteen Women\u201d<\/em> she does men\u00adtion dis\u00adcussing Freudi\u00adan issues with Boris Karloff about her char\u00adac\u00adter\u2019s scene in \u201cThe Mask of Fu Manchu\u201d<\/em> where she enthu\u00adsi\u00adas\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly whips the male sec\u00adond lead character.<\/p>\n Ref\u00ader\u00adences:<\/em><\/p>\n Triv\u00adia:<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Thirteen-Women-One-Sheet.jpg\" "\\"Thirteen")
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