Ben Welden Movies

Jason McCord (Chuck Connors) heads to Los Angeles to deliver a gold shipment worth $50,000. At the same time, Mexican teenager Juan Molinera (Jose DeVega) dreams of reviving the memory of notorious bandido Joaquin Murietta. To do this, Juan intends to steal the gold in Jason's possession--a task in which blood must inevitably be spilled. Heading the guest cast as Juan's grandmother is celebrated Mexican actress Dolores Del Rio, still dazzlingly beautiful at the age of 60. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) are on the prowl for the criminals who have been robbing all-night restaurants throughout LA. As usual, Friday demands "just the facts"--and he gets them from one robbery victim, who supplies serial numbers for the stolen cash. This episode features a rare sympathetic portrayal by veteran movie and TV "heavy" Ben Welden, who is perhaps best known for his recurring appearances on the original Superman series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Introduced in the previous episode "Divide and Conquer", Professor LaSerne (Everett Glass) returns in this episode to help Superman (George Reeves) sidestep a legal obstacle. It seems that wanted criminal Paul Barton (Bruce Wendell) has evaded arrest for past crimes by sealing himself in a huge, impenetrable concrete cube until the seven-year statute of limitations has expired. Ordinarily Superman would bust down the cube and nab Barton, but even he is unable to smash down its walls. Fortunately, LaSerne has a solution: Superman can "deconstruct" his molecule structure on the outside of the wall, then reassemble himself inside! There's only one problem: If Superman attempts to go through with his plan, Barton's henchman Jody Malone (Ben Welden) will murder reporters Lois (Noel Neill) and Jimmy (Jack Larson) at the very same moment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a city cafe owner buys himself a peaceful country manse to relax in, the Bowery Boys are quite excited. Unfortunately, they arrive to discover the house in a terrible stage of decay and so agree to help fix it up. No sooner do they begin repairs than they find a fortune hidden inside the house. The boys use the money to pay off the house. The makes the greedy real estate agent suspicious. Suspecting there is more money hidden around, the agent decides to convince the gang to sell back the house by making it seem as if it were haunted. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made their last joint film appearance in the girl-filled musical Hollywood or Bust. The thinnish plot finds inveterate film fan Jerry making a cross-country journey to Tinseltown for the purpose of meeting his favorite screen star, the buxom Anita Ekberg (the film's title, need it be added, has a double meaning). Dean goes along for the ride, hoping to expand his bankroll during a Las Vegas stopover. The boys are joined by a third traveller, an enormous Great Dane named Mr. Bascomb; along the way, the trio becomes a quartet when pretty Pat Crowley hitches a ride. The finale takes place in Hollywood, naturally, as Jerry wreaks havoc at a film studio which looks suspiciously like Paramount. All reports indicate that Hollywood and Bust was an unhappy shoot, with Jerry Lewis behaving so obstreperously that director Frank Tashlin ordered him off the set and told him to go home until he learned to behave himself; to this day, Lewis cannot bring himself to watch the film. Happily, the animosity between the two stars never comes across on screen, and as a result Hollywood or Bust is a most enjoyable diversion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Future TV western star Chuck Connors appears in this classic episode as a gangly hillbilly who happens to be named Sylvester J. Superman. Arriving in Metropolis to seek his fortune, the clueless Sylvester answers a classified ad for the "real" Superman (George Reeves), and before long has been hired by a woman named Marge (Marjorie Owens) to deliver a lemon meringue pie to her fiancé Steve (Richard Garland), stationed at a remote Air Force weather base in Alaska. Meanwhile, gangster Leftover Louie (who else but Ben Welden?) has wagered $25,000 that he can convince his schoolmate Marge to bake him a fresh lemon meringue pie, even though she can't stand the sight of him. Inevitably, these two plot strands are intertwined, as a hopelessly confused Steve welcomes the vacuous Sylvester, a gun-toting Louie, and the honest-to-goodness Superman into his tiny snowbound shack! "Flight to the North" may not be the best Superman episode of all time, but it's certainly the funniest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A long-awaited sequel to Columbia Pictures' popular The Phantom (1943), this film was produced by legendary Hollywood cheapskate Sam Katzman. Katzman refused to pay the owners of the character, King Features, their royalty demands, thus the name change to "Captain Africa." The 1943 Phantom still appeared in this latter-day serial, however, via a vast amount of stock footage. One could actually argue that Tom Tyler, who had starred as the original "Phantom," also starred in the sequel and not John Hart, credited with the role of "Captain Africa." Hart did not resemble Tyler at all but that was of little consequence to Katzman, a producer who never met a corner he wouldn't cut. Captain Africa comes to the aid of an Arabian potentate (Paul Marion) whose prime minister has been kidnapped. There is a beautiful princess (June Howard), a young sidekick (Rick Vallin), a dastardly villain (Bud Osborne), and a great deal of ferocious wildlife fauna, much of which is rather more indigenous to Asia than Africa, where the action ostensibly takes place. In many ways, the carelessness of chapterplays like Adventures of Captain Africa only hastened the demise of the action serial. John Hart is perhaps best known for replacing Clayton Moore for one season as television's The Lone Ranger. Appearing as the kidnapped Prime Minister in Adventures of Captain Africa is Michael Fox, the veteran character actor whose long-time membership of Screen Actors Guild forced the later leading man of the same name to add the middle initial "J" to his billing. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Like its predecessor Duffy of San Quentin, The Steel Cage is made up of episodes from a never-telecast TV series based on the career of progressive prison warden Clinton T. Duffy. Paul Kelly plays Duffy, while his wife is portrayed by Maureen O'Sullivan. Divided into three separate playlets, the film begins with the semi-comic story of an ill-tempered chef (Walter Slezak) who is railroaded into San Quentin by a gourmet prisoner. The second story concerns a tense hostage situation fomented by would-be escapees John Ireland and Lawrence Tierney. The closing story deals with an incarcerated painter (Kenneth Tobey), whose belief in God is renewed by an idealistic young priest (Arthur Franz). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Superman (George Reeves) rescues Corky, a sweet, playful dog, from the well into which he's fallen, and returns the dog to his owner, Joyce (Dona Drake). He later discovers that the dog has bonded with him and is seeking him out -- the problem is that Corky recognizes him in his Clark Kent guise and is just as gregarious in greeting him at those times, in his office at the Daily Planet. Joyce's husband Hank (Ben Welden), a small-time hood with big-time ambition, figures this out, and plans to use the dog to uncover Superman's secret identity, and blackmail him into giving his bookmaking operation protection. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Co-written by director Richard Quine and Blake Edwards, All Ashore has so many excellent individual components that one wishes the sum total was better than it is. Mickey Rooney, Dick Haymes and Ray McDonald play a trio of eternally broke sailors, on shore leave at Catalina Island. Because of his propensity for getting into trouble, Rooney is the drudge of the group. Even so, it is Rooney who stands the best chance of succeeding when all three gobs set their sights on lovely millionaire's daughter Barbara Bates. McDonald's perennial dancing partner Peggy Ryan is on hand for a few musical numbers, while Haymes gets to display his rich singing voice as he woos Jody Lawrance. Highlights include an elaborate "opera bouffe" dream sequence and a running gag involving a pianist with twelve fingers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gene Autry and Pat Buttram are innovatively cast as Gene Autry and Pat Buttram in Night Stage to Galveston. Set during the wild-and-wooly days when the Texas Rangers were supplanted by various local corrupt police officials, the story finds Gene at odds with crooked police chief Gen. Slaydon (Robert Livingston). Our Hero's task herein is to stem Slaydon's underhanded activities, and to restore the Rangers to their former glory. Meanwhile, his sidekick Buttram makes with the comic songs and the slapstick sequences. The feminine interest is provided by Virginia Huston, cast as the daughter of crusading journalist Thurston Hall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though filmed through the facilities of Hal Roach Studios and produced by Hal Roach Jr., Tales of Robin Hood was released by Lippert Pictures. Robert Clarke stars as the young Earl of Huntington, who after losing his property and title to the invading Normans heads to Sherwood Forest. Here he gains notoriety and adulation as beneficent outlaw Robin Hood. Mary Hatcher co-stars as Maid Marian, while Sir Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff of Nottingham are played respectively by Paul Cavanaugh and Tiny Stowe. Robin's Merry Men are portrayed by Wade Crosby (Little John), Ben Welden (Friar Tuck), Robert Bice (Will Scarlet) and Bruce Lester (Alan A-Dale). Reportedly, Tales of Robin Hood was intended as the pilot film for a TV series; indeed, its structure resembles two half-hour TV episodes cobbled together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide