Charles S. Belden Movies

A bunch of college students are stranded in a small town where suffering for art takes on a whole new meaning in this tale of terror. Carly (Elisha Cuthbert) and her boyfriend, Wade (Jared Padalecki), have hit the road with a handful of their friends to attend a championship college football game; tagging along with them are Carly's bratty friend Paige (Paris Hilton, Carly's trouble-making twin brother Nick (Chad Michael Murray), and Blake (Robert Ri'chard), Paige's latest boy toy. While camping out for the night, the gang makes the mistake of getting on the wrong side of a mysterious local redneck, and the next morning they discover that Wade's car no longer works. As the others continue on to the big game, Carly and Wade make their way into the closest town, Ambrose, and discover it's all but deserted, except for a local tourist attraction, the House of Wax. However, it isn't long before they find out why the wax sculptures at the museum look so freakishly real, and discover a pair of murderous brothers are keen on making them part of the next exhibit. House of Wax is an in-name-only remake of the well-remembered 1953 3-D horror outing starring Vincent Price, which was in turn based on the 1933 picture Mystery of the Wax Museum. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Petroleum engineer Buzz (Richard Denning) agrees to bring in a gusher for oil driller Reno (Carleton Young). When Reno is murdered, the oil well is inherited by Terry (Marie Windsor). Buzz decides to stick around when Reno's ruthless sister Lilli (Fay Baker) schemes to wrest the well away from Terry. He also hopes to find out the identity of Reno's murderer--and it's a real surprise, except maybe for dyed-in-the-wool "B" picture buffs. Produced independently by Bel-Air Productions, Double Deal was purchased outright by RKO Radio, which then handled distribution. The film was directed by Abby Berlin, on loan from Columbia Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hypnotism and mind control take center stage in this unusual latter-day "Hopalong Cassidy" series entry produced by its star, William Boyd. Having delivered a herd of cattle for the Cattlemen's Association, Hoppy (Boyd) and California (Andy Clyde) are confronted by a strangely moody Lucky Jenkins (Rand Brooks), who apparently owes money to a crooked gambler, Speed Blaney (James H. Harrison). At first, Hoppy dismisses the situation as a young man's folly but when both Lucky and the gold payment for the cattle vanish into thin air, our hero begins to suspect foul play. But has the hitherto upstanding Lucky turned thief? That question may be best answered by Doc Richards (Earle Hodgins), a typically flamboyant snake oil salesman with a dark side, and his pretty niece Rene (Virginia Belmont). Like most of the "Hopalong Cassidy" Westerns, Silent Conflict was partially filmed on location at Lone Pine. Leading lady Virginia Belmont later enjoyed a brief career in Italian films. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

There's oil in them thar hills in this late entry in the long-running Hopalong Cassidy Western series. Or, rather, there is oil under an abandoned church in the ghost town of Coltsville. On their way back to the Bar 20, Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) and his two sidekicks, California Carlson (Andy Clyde) and Lucky Jenkins (Rand Brooks) seek shelter from a storm in that very same church. They are awakened by church organist Susan Crowell (Dorinda Clifton) and her mother (Mary Newton), who explain that both church and town were abandoned after a series of mysterious killings. Along with Deacon Black (Ian Wolfe), the Crowells are the only inhabitants left in Coltsville. The next morning, a wrecking crew headed by Riker (Harry Cording) arrives to tear down the church, which is defended by Hopalong Cassidy and his friends. During a lull in the siege, Hopalong Cassidy does a bit of snooping around and learns the truth about the ghost town. Armed with this new knowledge, our hero returns to Coltsville and unmasks the real culprit behind both the killings and the attack of the church. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Gilbert Roland dominates the action in a colorful performance as the bandit hero the Cisco Kid, this time up against a surprisingly vicious plot by a local doctor to steal land from the local peasants and small ranchers by poisoning them to drive them off, and then reselling the property to absentee European landlords. He finds an unexpected ally in Jeanne DuBois (Ramsay Ames), who starts out as part of the plot but is turned around by Roland's charm and charisma after a few fireworks. The direction is uneven, with William Nigh not quite able to make the flatter parts of the script as entertaining or smooth as they ought to be. Evidently, the producers knew they were in trouble with this downbeat script and took steps to rescue the picture. Seeing the sparks fly in the scenes in the first third of the picture, in which Ames is disguised as a man (which evokes echoes -- albeit very distant -- of Shakespeare's As You Like It) and verbally jousts with Roland, more material was written on the spot for the two of them, depicting a competition that becomes much more heated when her gender is revealed. By her own account, Nigh and Ames were friends, and she was a good sport on this shoot whatever they had her doing, and it's a pity they didn't go further with the rivalry between Roland's and Ames' characters, who might've been the Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones of their era. Roland also wrote some of his own dialogue and poetry for this effort, which seems very hackneyed today, but played just fine for audiences in 1946. (Note: In early TV prints of Beauty And The Bandit, all references to the Cisco Kid and O. Henry in the credits were blacked out, and mentions of the Cisco Kid and "Cisco" in the dialogue awkwardly dubbed over as "Chico" -- one suspects this was because the exclusive TV rights to the Cisco Kid had been sold to another producer for the TV series starring Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo). ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Warner Bros. Tear Gas Squad manages to pack thrills, comedy, romance and songs into a neat 55-minute package. Dennis Morgan plays cocky nightclub entertainer Tommy McCabe, who gets his jollies out of making fun of the local police force. This does not prove amusing to pretty Jerry Sullivan (Gloria Dickson), the daughter of a police lieutenant (Harry Shannon), nor to Jerry's flatfoot boyfriend Bill Morrissey (John Payne). Falling in love with Jerry himself, Tommy tries to prove his worth by joining the Boys in Blue, where he is subject to the rigorous training program applied by Morrissey. Thrown off the force because of his insouciance, Tommy gets back into everyone's good graces by saving Morrisey's life. Fans of TV's Superman series will get a special kick out of seeing George (Clark Kent) Reeves and John (Perry White) Hamilton in key supporting roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Torchy Plays with Dynamite was the final entry in Warner Bros.' "Torchy Blane" series, based on characters created by Frederick Nebel. Taking over from series star Glenda Farrell, Jane Wyman imitates Farrell to the nth degree, right down to the mile-a-minute dialogue delivery and the angle of her hat. Hoping to get the goods on gangster Denver Eddie (Eddie Marr), intrepid girl reporter Torchy Blane (Wyman) gets herself arrested and thrown into the same prison with Eddie's gun moll Jackie McGuire (Sheila Bromley). All this effort is aimed at winning Torchy's detective boyfriend Steve McBride (Allen Jenkins) a promotion, but it nearly winds up with our heroine pushing up daisies. According to the opening credits, the film's official title is Torchy Blane?Playing With Dynamite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A wealthy older man and a poor young woman each get a chance to see how the other half lives in this comedy. Alfred Borden (Walter Connolly) is a millionaire who feels neglected by his family. His wife Martha (Verree Teasdale), daughter Katherine (Kathryn Adams), and son Tim (Tim Holt) usually ignore him, and all three manage to forget his birthday completely. Depressed and alone, Alfred bumps into Mary Grey (Ginger Rogers), a young woman who is out of work but is still happy with her lot in life. Alfred invites her to go to a night spot with him, and he soon hatches a scheme by which Mary will move into the guest room of the Borden Mansion and pose as a gold digger who is toying with Alfred's affections to get at his money. Mary's presence has a sudden impact on the family; Martha realizes that she needs to pay more attention to her husband, Katherine falls in love with the family's leftist chauffeur (James Ellison), and Tim starts taking an interest in the family business, and in Mary. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this mystery programmer, a prizefighter dies in the midst of a match, but evidence suggests that it was a dose of poison that killed him rather than the violence of the bout. Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), a detective who also teaches sleuthing to others, is called in to find out who killed the boxer and why. Assisting Mr. Moto is Lee Chan (Keye Luke), the "number one son" from the Charlie Chan series. Mr. Moto's Gamble began as Charlie Chan at Ringside, but after Warner Oland became seriously ill during filming, it was rewritten for the screen's other well-known Asian detective in order to make use of the footage that had already been shot. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Sidney Toler made his first appearance as aphorism-spouting oriental sleuth Charlie Chan in 1938's Charlie Chan in Honolulu, while Victor Sen Yung likewise makes his series debut as Charlie's Number Two Son Jimmy. While awaiting the birth of his first grandchild, Chan endeavors to solve a shipboard murder on a Hawaiian freighter. Hint: the most likely suspect is played by George Zucco, so it's safe bet that he's not the guilty party. Hampering Chan's investigation is the well-meaning assistance of overeager Charlie Chan Jr. (Layne Tom), as well as the dangerous menagerie of animal trainer Al Hogan (Eddie Collins). Audiences immediately warmed to Sidney Toler as the new Charlie Chan, encouraging 20th Century-Fox to keep the series going as long as possible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously teamed in six early-1930s films, James Dunn and Sally Eilers bring the total up to seven with their last co-starring vehicle We Have Our Moments. A trio of American crooks board a ship bound for Europe, intending to get rid of $100,000 in stolen dough. With detective John Wade (James Dunn) breathing down their necks, the crooks stash the loot in the trunk belonging to vacationing schoolmarm Mary Smith (Sally Eilers). As the voyage progresses, Wade falls in love with Mary, never dreaming that she's in possession of a hundred grand; in fact, she doesn't know it yet, either. Things get hectic as the villains tip their hand to recover the loot, but heroes and heroines never get killed in a romantic comedy, so rest easy. We Have Our Moments might never have been reshown after its initial 1937 release were it not for the presence in the cast of a young David Niven, billed third despite the slimness of his role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In New York to attend a police testimonial in his honor, Honolulu detective Charlie Chan runs smack dab into another murder. The victim is a blackmailing nightclub singer who had listed the names of all known criminals in Manhattan in her diary. The diary disappears, and Charlie joins a glib newspaper reporter (Donald Woods) and a photojournalist (Joan Marsh) in hunting down the killer. Several false leads and red herrings later, Charlie puts the pieces together and fingers the killer--who true to form is the least likely suspect (especially for a "typical" New York murder case). Charlie Chan on Broadway represented the 15th appearance by Warner Oland as the aphorism-spouting Oriental sleuth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, an aspiring socialite heads for a vacation in Monte Carlo where she befriends a wealthy widowed duchess and then begins blackmailing her after she steals a scandalous letter. This letter could destroy her upcoming nuptials to a stuffy Englishman. The duchess enlists the aide of an American thief to get the damning letter back. Meanwhile, her English lover continues to ardently pursue her; he is blissfully unaware that something is amiss. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide