Thirteen Women (1932), dir. George Archainbaud, RKO Radio Pictures
So we end our lookback at slashers with that what a few folks have called the very first one, or at least the earliest film I think of with the old 'wronged person gets some revenge'.
Laura Stanhope (Irene Dunne) has some problems. Aside from some romantic issues, her closet school chums are dying in increasing bizarre ways.
The only thread she can find is Swami Yogadachi (C. Henry Gordon), who had been writing all the women, mostly warning them of their impending doom. Thankfully she runs into another school alumni, Ursula (Myrna Loy). Of course, Usuala and her weren't friends, in fact from what she can recall she and all her dead friends seemed to take a certain delight in tormenting Ursula. Ursula isn't the type to hold a grudge, of course, that would just be silly...
Some things age better than others. The overall mystery is fine but there is a nasty undercurrent. The reason Ursula was bullied? Because she had the audacity to go to a finishing school with whites and her being partially being part Javanese and part Eurasian. Yeah, this kind of fell by the wayside for a reason. Worth for a historical perspective if nothing else.
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