The Thirteen

For other uses, see 13 (disambiguation).

The Thirteen
Directed by	Mikhail Romm
Written by	Iosif Prut Mikhail Romm
Starring	Ivan Novoseltsev Yelena Kuzmina
Cinematography	Boris Volchek
Edited by	Tatyana Likhachyova
Music by	Anatoli Aleksandrov
Distributed by	Mosfilm
Release date	8 May 1937 (1937-05-08)
Running time	1h 30min
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

The Thirteen is a 1937 Soviet epic Ostern action adventure film directed by Mikhail Romm. Starring Ivan Novoseltsev and Yelena Kuzmina, it depicts a group of Red Army soldiers and civilians who fight to defend an essential desert well from a group of Basmachi bandits in Central Asia. The film was commissioned by Joseph Stalin as a Soviet adaptation of John Ford's film The Lost Patrol.

Plot

The Thirteen (full film)

In Soviet Central Asia, ten demobilized Red Army soldiers ride through the desert to the railroad. Three more people are with them: commander of the frontier Zhuravlev and his wife Maria Nikolaevna and an old geologist. In the desert, they find a well and hidden machine guns – this is the base of Basmach Shirmat Khan, whom the Red Army could not neutralize for a whole year. A single soldier is sent out for help while others remain to restrain the Basmachi.

There is almost no water in the well, but the soldiers carefully conceal it from the Basmachi who have approached. The bandits suffer from thirst and attack in an attempt to reach the well. In an unequal battle, nearly all the defenders are killed, but their enemies are captured by the cavalry which has come to the rescue.

Cast

• Ivan Novoseltsev - Squadron Commander Ivan Zhuravlyov
• Yelena Kuzmina - Marya Nikolaevna Zhuravlyova
• Aleksandr Chistyakov - Aleksandr Petrovich Postnikov, geologist
• Andrei Fajt - Sub-Colonel Skuratov
• Ivan Kuznetsov - Soldier Yusuf Akchurin
• Alexei Dolinin as Aleksey Timoshkin - Red Army soldier (as A. Dolinin)
• Pyotr Masokha as Petr Sviridenko - Red Army soldier (as P. Masokha)
• Pavel Yudin as Petrov - Red Army soldier (as P. Yudin)
• Dmitry Zolts] as Dimiriy Levkoyev - Red Army soldier (as D. Zolts)
• Viktor Kulakov as Nikolay Balandin - Red Army soldier (as V. Kulakov)

Production

Stalin, who personally oversaw Soviet cinema, greatly admired John Ford’s 1934 film The Lost Patrol. Although he frequently intervened in the filmmaking process, he was usually guided by broad ideological principles rather than personal preferences. In this instance, Stalin commissioned Boris Shumyatsky, the head of the Main Directorate of the Cinema and Photo Industry, to produce a Soviet version of the film.

The film was shot between February and August 1936 in the Karakum Desert, 15 km from Ashgabat. The only female role was played by Yelena Alexandrovna Kuzmina, who became Mikhail Romm’s wife after working on the film.

Romm’s work can be described as one of the first Soviet "desert films" or Osterns (films depicting the struggle against the Basmachi).

Influence

The 1943 American film Sahara, directed by Zoltan Korda and starring Humphrey Bogart, and its 1995 remake have significant plot similarities. In fact, in the film's opening credits for the screenplay and adaptation, the 1943 film credits the Soviet photoplay for inspiration.

External links

• The Thirteen at IMDb