Operator 13 (1934)

Director:

Richard Boleslawski

Writers:

Robert W. Chambers (stories)
Harvey F. Thew (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

8 June 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War | Western

Plot:

Union spy Gail Loveless impersonates a black maid in the early days of the Civil War, but complications arise when she falls in love with a Confederate officer.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Civil War | Medicine Show | Execution | Robert E Lee

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Marion Davies	...	Gail Loveless
Gary Cooper	...	Capt. Jack Gailliard C.S.A.
Jean Parker	...	Eleanor Shackleford
Katharine Alexander	...	Pauline Cushman
Ted Healy	...	'Doctor' Hitchcock
Russell Hardie	...	Lt. Gus Littledale
Henry Wadsworth	...	Capt. John Pelham
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Gen. Stuart (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Willard Robertson	...	Capt. Cornelius Channing C.S.A.
Fuzzy Knight	...	Pvt. Sweeney (Stuart's groom)
Sidney Toler	...	Maj. Allen aka Allen Pinkerton
Robert McWade	...	Col. Sharpe
Marjorie Gateson	...	Mrs. Shackleford
Wade Boteler	...	Officer Gaston C.S.A.
Walter Long	...	Operator 55
The Mills Brothers	...	Vocal Quartette (as The Four Mills Brothers)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Adams	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Larry Adler	...	Specialty (uncredited)
Ernie Alexander	...	Confederate Sentry (uncredited)
Sam Ash	...	Lieutenant (uncredited)
Zita Baca	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Reginald Barlow	...	Colonel Storm (uncredited)
Margaret Bert	...	Washington Townswoman (uncredited)
Frank Burt	...	Confederate Lieutenant (uncredited)
Claudia Coleman	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Nell Craig	...	Confederate Party Guest (uncredited)
Belle Daube	...	Mrs. Dandridge (uncredited)
Donald Douglas	...	Confederate Officer (uncredited)
John Elliott	...	Gen. Robert E. Lee (uncredited)
Douglas Fowley	...	Union Officer (uncredited)
Arthur Grant	...	Chaplain (uncredited)
Billy Griffith	...	Mac (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Army Officer (uncredited)
William Henry	...	Young Lieutenant Kissing Blonde (uncredited)
Hattie Hill	...	Slave (uncredited)
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Union Officer Price (aide to Maj. Allen) (uncredited)
Sterling Holloway	...	Wounded Union Soldier (uncredited)
Wallie Howe	...	Clergyman (uncredited)
Si Jenks	...	White trash (uncredited)
DeWitt Jennings	...	Artilleryman (uncredited)
Edgar Kennedy	...	Confederate Officer Jealous of Artilleryman (uncredited)
John Kirkley	...	Slave (uncredited)
Lia Lance	...	Witch Woman, Operator 18 (uncredited)
John Larkin	...	Slave Fishing for Codfish (uncredited)
Frank Leighton	...	Union Major (uncredited)
Charles Lloyd	...	Union Private (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Judge (uncredited)
Mary MacLaren	...	Confederate Party Guest (uncredited)
James A. Marcus	...	Staff Colonel (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Confederate Officer (uncredited)
Hattie McDaniel	...	Annie (a Cook) (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel	...	Rufus (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Officer Denton (uncredited)
Frank McGlynn Jr.	...	Scout (uncredited)
Donald Mills	...	One of The Four Mills Brothers, a Medicine Show Singer (uncredited)
Harry Mills	...	One of The Four Mills Brothers, a Medicine Show Singer (uncredited)
Herbert Mills	...	One of The Four Mills Brothers, a Medicine Show Singer (uncredited)
John Mills	...	One of The Four Mills Brothers, a Medicine Show Singer (uncredited)
James C. Morton	...	Secret Service Man (uncredited)
Wheeler Oakman	...	Scout (uncredited)
Franklin Parker	...	John Hay (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Confederate Soldier Getting Lucille As Witness (uncredited)
Richard Powell	...	Confederate Sentry (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt	...	Civilian (uncredited)
James Sheridan	...	Officer (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Guard (uncredited)
Richard Tucker	...	Execution Officer (uncredited)
Martin Turner	...	Hickman (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon	...	Washington Townswoman (uncredited)
E. Alyn Warren	...	Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (as Fred Warren) (uncredited)
Poppy Wilde	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Clarence Wilson	...	Josiah Claybourne (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Boleslawski		(as Richard Boleslavsky)

Writing credits
Robert W. Chambers		(stories Secret Service Operator 13)
Harvey F. Thew		(screenplay) (as Harvey Thew) &
Zelda Sears		(screenplay) and
Eve Greene		(screenplay)
Herman J. Mankiewicz		uncredited

Produced by
Lucien Hubbard	....	producer

Original Music by
William Axt		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey		(as George Folsey)

Film Editing by
Frank Sullivan

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert A. Golden	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	associate art director (as Arnold Gillespie)
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
Standish J. Lambert	....	sound (uncredited)

Stunts
Buddy Roosevelt	....	riding double: Marion Davies
Audrey Scott	....	riding double: Marion Davies (uncredited)

Editorial Department
W. Donn Hayes	....	supervising editor: musical sequences (uncredited)

Music Department
William Axt	....	musical synchronization (as Dr. William Axt)
Wayne Allen	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Donald Mills	....	musician (uncredited)
Harry Mills	....	musician (uncredited)
John Mills	....	musician (uncredited)
Jack Virgil	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cosmopolitan Productions (for)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Inc.)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1935) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Regia Films (????) (Spain) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Cosmopolitan Productions

Trivia:

Although Curly Howard of The Three Stooges played the part of a Confederate Soldier in this film, most of his part was cut prior to release. However, he can still be seen briefly in one sequence.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gail takes an oath, she raises her right arm in the traditional manner, but in the next shot, it has turned into a salute.

Quotes:

Major Allen aka Allen Pinkerton:Operators 27 and 13 are not men.
'Doctor' Hitchcock:What are they, mules?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Sleepy Head

Marion Davies' Last MGM Film

Marion Davies plays an actress recruited by the Union Army during the Civil War to be a spy. Gary Cooper plays an officer in the Confederate Army who is a spy in the north. Through a series of events they meet, but he doesn't quite know if she is a spy or not.

Davies' initial disguise is as a Black maid (she has fun with the accent and looks great in the black wig), but when her "mistress" (another actress from the north working as a spy) is discovered, she bails the South only to return as a famous northern sympathizer of the Confederate cause. Back in the South, she again meets Cooper.

Implausible story is made interesting by solid performances by the leads and some good cinematography (Oscar nominated). The battle scene montages are OK, but the ending seems choppy and hurried. Still, Davies looks great.

Big supporting cast includes Katherine Alexander (as a spy), Jean Parker and Henry Wadsworth (as young lovers), Sidney Toler, Douglas Dumbrille, Marjorie Gateson, Sterling Holloway, Clarence Wilson, Ted Healy, Robert McWade, and silent film villain Walter Long (as Operator 55).

Davies sings "Once in a Lifetime" and "The Colonel, Major and the Captain." The terrific Mills Brothers show up in a minstrel show and sing a few songs and are especially good with "Sleepy Head" and "Jungle Fever." There's a stunning scene where Davies is sitting on a staircase and crying; the long scene is shot from below looking up at her face. Another nice scene is with Davies on a huge swing, being pushed by Cooper.

After this film, Davies left MGM and moved to Warners, where she made four more films before retiring.