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Operator 13

"A TRICK OF FATE MADE THEM BOTH ENEMY AND LOVER."

American Civil War, 1862. After the disaster of the Second Battle of Bull Run, Major Allen, chief of the Secret Service of the Union, asks actress Gail Loveless to become one of his operators and infiltrate enemy territory.

Top Cast

  • Marion Davies

    Marion Davies

    Gail Loveless

  • Gary Cooper

    Gary Cooper

    Captain Jack Gailliard

  • Jean Parker

    Jean Parker

    Eleanor

  • Katharine Alexander

    Katharine Alexander

    Pauline

  • Ted Healy

    Ted Healy

    Doctor Hitchcock

  • Russell Hardie

    Russell Hardie

    Littledale

  • Henry Wadsworth

    Henry Wadsworth

    John Pelham

  • Douglass Dumbrille

    Douglass Dumbrille

    General Stuart

  • Willard Robertson

    Willard Robertson

    Captain Channing

Overview

American Civil War, 1862. After the disaster of the Second Battle of Bull Run, Major Allen, chief of the Secret Service of the Union, asks actress Gail Loveless to become one of his operators and infiltrate enemy territory.

Rating

5.9 / 10
17 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    6 Jul 4, 2025

    Well if you thought that “Batman” had a poor disguise, just wait to you see Marion Davies in this quite entertainingly predictable American Civil War adventure. “Gail” has been recruited by the original Mr. Pinkerton to act as a spy for the Yankees down amongst the Johnny Rebs and so blackens up, sports a washer-woman’s garb and adopts an accent that is supposed to help her pass as a serving wench. Luckily for her, those she is spying upon are not the sharpest bayonets on the gun, and pretty swiftly she has ingratiated herself with their deadly foes but along the way taken a bit of a shine to “Capt. Jack” (Gary Cooper). When she returns for a second bite at this intelligence gathering cherry, only this time looking more like something from a Parisian ballroom, she realises that her enemies are not quite so thick as she’d thought. Can she escape in time? Can she ever be with her true love? Unless you don’t actually know who won this particular conflict then there’s precisely no jeopardy at all here, but along the way there are some daft escapades, a few musical numbers and just enough romance to give Cooper a chance to show he’s not quite as wooden as the picket fences they are shooting from. Davies is game, especially at the start but like most of the rest of the cast here, is rather swimming against a tide of low-budget blandness and some 1930s racist stereotypes. These don’t sit so well nowadays, but watching near century old films with modern day attitudes can often be unrewarding, so it’s best to remember that if you’re going to give this mediocre ninety minutes a go.

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