Charles S. Belden

1904-04-21 Montclair, New Jersey, USA 36 Credits

Biography

Charles Spencer Belden (April 21, 1904 – November 3, 1954) was an American screenwriter and journalist, known for writing screenplays to several Charlie Chan films in the 1930s, notably Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936). His 1932 short story "The Wax Works" served as the basis for the 1933 film Mystery of the Wax Museum. He was married to stage actress Beth Milton in the early 1930s and to actress Joan Marsh who had starred in Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937), from 1938 to 1943. He was born in Mon...

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Complete Filmography

House of Wax

House of Wax

2005

Original Film Writer

6.0
Writing

A group of unwitting teens are stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.

April in Portugal

April in Portugal

1956

Writer

Writing

Jackie Lane sightsees in Portugal.

House of Wax

House of Wax

1953

Story

7.0
Writing

A New York sculptor who opens a wax museum to showcase the likenesses of famous historical figures runs into trouble with his business partner, who de...

Double Deal

Double Deal

1950

Screenplay

6.2
Writing

An oil engineer surrounded by foul play helps an heiress bring in a well.

Million Dollar Weekend

Million Dollar Weekend

1948

Writer

4.6
Writing

A stock broker embezzles a million bucks and plans to take off to Shanghai. A number of obstacles stands in his path, however.

Borrowed Trouble

Borrowed Trouble

1948

Screenplay

7.2
Writing

Finishing a trail drive, Hoppy and the boys head to town and immediately get caught up in the conflict between school teacher Miss Abott and next door...

Silent Conflict

Silent Conflict

1948

Screenplay

Writing

One of Hoppy's Bar 20 ranch hands is tricked into participating in nefarious activities after being subjected to hypnosis.

The Marauders

The Marauders

1947

Screenplay

Writing

Hoppy, California and Lucky take refuge from a storm inside a supposedly abandoned church outside a ghost town, only to meet a young woman and her mot...

Beauty and the Bandit

Beauty and the Bandit

1946

Screenplay

6.0
Writing

In Old California, a young Frenchman transporting a chest full of silver travels by stagecoach to San Marino, to complete a complex business deal. The...

South of Monterey

South of Monterey

1946

Writer

Writing

The Cisco Kid (Gilbert Roland) hears of a land-swindling scheme devised by the police Commandante (Martin Garralaga) and the tax collector (Harry Wood...

The Gay Cavalier

The Gay Cavalier

1946

Story, Screenplay

Writing

The Cisco Kid (Gilbert Roland) sets out on a double mission of rescuing a girl from forsaking her true love by marrying a supposedly wealthy suitor to...

The Strange Mr. Gregory

The Strange Mr. Gregory

1945

Screenplay

5.1
Writing

The title character, played by Edmund Lowe, is a famous magician who fakes his own death -- then reappears as his nonexistent twin brother. It's all p...

Bullet Scars

Bullet Scars

1942

Writer

6.2
Writing

Dr. Steven Bishop is taken to the hideout of Frank Dillon and his gang to treat the wounded Joe Madison. Joe's nurse sister Nora Madison is also take...

Tear Gas Squad

Tear Gas Squad

1940

Screenplay

4.8
Writing

A brash night club singer becomes a cop to impress a woman.

On Dress Parade

On Dress Parade

1939

Writer

6.5
Writing

The final feature in the "Dead End Kids" film series finds a youth trying to adjust to life at a military school.

Kid Nightingale

Kid Nightingale

1939

Screenplay

5.5
Writing

A waiter becomes a singing prizefighter.

Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite

Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite

1939

Screenplay

6.0
Writing

Torchy Blane and Steve McBride try to nab a gangster by tracking his moll.

Charlie Chan in Honolulu

Charlie Chan in Honolulu

1938

Screenplay

6.4
Writing

While Charlie is distracted with the birth of his first grandchild, son Jimmy impersonates his father in order to investigate a murder aboard a freigh...

Mr. Moto's Gamble

Mr. Moto's Gamble

1938

Writer

6.2
Writing

Celebrated as supersleuth, Mr. Moto comes out fighting when a brutal boxing match turns into cold-blooded murder! Assisted by detective-in-training Le...

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo

1937

Writer, Screenplay

6.5
Writing

Although Charlie and Lee are in Monaco for an art exhibit, they become caught up in a feud between rival financiers which involves the Chan's in a web...

We Have Our Moments

We Have Our Moments

1937

Story

5.8
Writing

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 breathing down the...

God's Country and the Woman

God's Country and the Woman

1937

Story

4.2
Writing

Hard-nosed Jefferson Russett runs a logging company; his brother, Steve, is the prodigal son. Steve becomes stranded on the competition's property and...

Charlie Chan at the Opera

Charlie Chan at the Opera

1936

Writer

6.8
Writing

A dangerous amnesiac escapes from an asylum, hides in the opera house, and is suspected of getting revenge on those who tried to murder him 13 years a...

Dracula's Daughter

Dracula's Daughter

1936

Writers' Assistant

5.9
Writing

A countess from Transylvania seeks a psychiatrist’s help to cure her vampiric cravings.

The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

1936

Dialogue

5.6

A young doctor is determined to expose the killer when a surgeon is found stabbed to death in a hospital elevator.

The Widow from Monte Carlo

The Widow from Monte Carlo

1935

Writer

5.0
Writing

In this romantic comedy, an aspiring socialite heads for a vacation in Monte Carlo where she befriends a wealthy widowed duchess and then begins black...

A Shot in the Dark

A Shot in the Dark

1935

Screenplay, Adaptation

5.3
Writing

An amateur sleuth solves three murders at his son's New England college.

Symphony of Living

Symphony of Living

1935

Writer, Story

5.7
Writing

Just before Adolph Greig's solo violin performance at the Cosmopolitan Orchestra, his right hand is injured and his dream, shattered. His flighty chil...

Sons of Steel

Sons of Steel

1934

Writer, Story

5.0
Writing

Chadburne Steel is run by two brothers, old men. They each have different plans for their sons. Curtis (Holmes Herbert) has put Ronald (William Blakew...

The Ghost Walks

The Ghost Walks

1934

Screenplay

5.3
Writing

A ghostly and deadly dinner party, which at first turns out to be an elaborate staging of a new play for the benefit of a Broadway producer, becomes ...

The World Accuses

The World Accuses

1934

Writer

6.0
Writing

When a middle aged woman accepts a job at a day care center she comes across the child she gave up early in life.

Port of Lost Dreams

Port of Lost Dreams

1934

Writer

6.5
Writing

A gangster's girlfriend on the run from the police, who suspect her of helping her boyfriend commit a robbery, holes up in a waterfront bar. She stows...

Fugitive Road

Fugitive Road

1934

Screenplay

Writing

An Austrian officer must face up to the good and evil aspects of his own personality as he becomes involved in a war.

Fifteen Wives

Fifteen Wives

1934

Screenplay, Story

1.0
Writing

Shortly after his arrival from South America to New York, Steven Humbolt is found dead in his apartment at the Savoia Hotel. Inspector Decker Dawes in...

Mystery of the Wax Museum

Mystery of the Wax Museum

1933

Story

6.5
Writing

The disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.

A Fool's Advice

A Fool's Advice

1932

Screenplay

5.5
Writing

An elevator operator invents a machine that he believes can help to defeat a corrupt politician in the city's upcoming mayoral election.