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 red western action adventure film directed by Mikhail Romm.

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)

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