Flash
Gordon is a 1936 science-fiction film serial. Presented in 13
chapters, it is the first screen adventure for Flash Gordon, the
comic-strip character created by Alex Raymond in 1934. It presents
the story of Gordon's visit to the planet Mongo and his encounters
with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers,
Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson and Frank Shannon portray the
film's central characters. In 1996, Flash Gordon was selected for
preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the
Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or
aesthetically significant".
Universal hoped to regain an adult
audience for serials with the release of "Flash Gordon" and
by presenting it in many of the top or "A-level" theaters
in large cities across the United States. Various newspapers in 1936,
including some not even carrying the Flash Gordon comic strip,
featured half- and three-quarter-page stories about the film as well
as copies of Raymond's drawings and publicity stills that highlighted
characters and chapter settings.
The film was the first outright
science-fiction serial, although earlier serials had contained
science-fiction elements such as gadgets. Six of the fourteen serials
released within five years of Flash Gordon were science fiction.
The serial film was subsequently released
in a 72-minute feature version in 1936, which was reissued in 1949 as
Rocket Ship. A different feature version of the serial, at 90
minutes, was sold directly to television in 1966 under the title
Spaceship to the Unknown. For syndication to TV in the 1950s, the
serial was renamed Space Soldiers, so as not to be confused with the
newly made, also syndicated TV series, Flash Gordon.
Flash Gordon was Universal's
second-highest-grossing film of 1936, after Three Smart Girls, a
musical starring Deanna Durbin. However, the Hays Office objected to
the revealing costumes worn by Dale, Aura and the other female
characters. In the two sequels, most of the female characters were
thus dressed more modestly.
In his review of the film in the 2015
reference Radio Times Guide to Films, Alan Jones describes Flash
Gordon as "non-stop thrill-a-minute stuff as Flash battles one
adversary after another", and he states that it is "the
best of the Crabbe trilogy of Flash Gordon films".
Two sequels to Flash Gordon followed, also
in serial form and starring Buster Crabbe. Flash Gordon's Trip to
Mars (15 chapters) in 1938 and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (12
chapters) in 1940.
CHAPTERS
1. The Planet of Peril
April 6, 1936
"[Lusting after Dale] Your eyes! Your
hair! Your skin!
I've never seen one like you before. You
are beautiful!"
- Ming the Merciless
"You keep your slimy hands off her."
- Flash
Gordon
The planet Mongo is on a collision course
with Earth and Dr. Zarkov believes that the planet rushing toward the
Earth is inhabited - and if he can travel there in his rocket, he can
divert the planet's course and save the Earth. Flash and Dale agree
to act as Zarkov's assistants. Their ship lands on the planet Mongo
and they are taken prisoners by the sinister Ming the Merciless. Ming
is taken with Dale's beauty, while his daughter, Princess Aura, is
interested in Flash and Zarkov is put to work in Ming's laboratory.
Later Ming forces Flash to battle with three vicious Ape Men.
The costumes for Dale Arden and Princess
Aura were daring for the time, sometimes attracting the attention of
censors. Some scenes filmed for the first chapter needed to be reshot
when the censors felt that Priscilla Lawson's top was too revealing.
Dale faints in Zarkov's rocket ship as the
oxygen runs out. This is the first time in the serial that Dale
faints. She would faint again in episode 2, "The Tunnel of
Terror", twice in episode 3, "Battling the Sea Beast",
and again in episodes 5, "The Destroying Ray", 6
"Flaming Torture), and 7, "Shattering Doom".
This opening chapter follows the story of
Alex Raymond's original comic strip very closely, in some cases
faithfully reproducing individual panels. In the comic, the story of
this chapter played out over the first four Sunday strips, published
from January 7th to the 28th, 1934. One major difference in the
serial adaptation is that Dr. Zarkov accompanies Flash and Dale to
Emperor Ming's palace, and is put to work in Ming's laboratory. In
the comic strip, the rocket ship crashes on Mongo on January 14th,
and Zarkov is forgotten. Flash caries Dale out of the wreck, and
Zarkov isn't even mentioned. Zarkov makes a surprise return to the
strip more than three months later, on April 24th.
The miniature used for Zarkov's rocket
ship was recycled from an earlier production, the 1930 film Just
Imagine. Flash Gordon also used other footage borrowed from Just
Imagine, including the shot of Zarkov's rocket ship blasting off, and
the scene of dancing girls worshipping a huge idol, used in the
opening of each chapter.
Ming's soldiers carry rayguns, but they
seem reluctant to use them. When Flash kicks up a fuss, the soldiers
all attack him with swords, instead of shooting him. At the end of
the chapter, 3 soldiers enter the arena to bring Aura out, and only
one of them seems to be carrying a gun - the others attack with their
fists. As it turns out, Aura is the only person in the chapter to
actually fire a gun.
2. The Tunnel of Terror
April 13, 1936
"You will never see Dale Arden again!"
- Princess
Aura
In our last episode...
A mysterious world that came hurtling from
the skies, threatening to destroy the earth, forced Flash Gordon and
Dale Arden into a rocket plane with Doctor Zarkov, in a mad attempt
to reach the planet and divert it from its course.
Hurled through boundless space, they land
on the onrushing planet and fall into the clutches of the merciless
Emperor Ming, who promptly imprisons Zarkov in his laboratory and
then, determined to win the beautiful Dale for his bride, condemns
Flash to fight huge ape-like man killers in the arena.
Now...
Aura helps Flash to escape as Zarkov is
put to work in Ming's laboratory and Dale is prepared for her wedding
to Ming. Flash meets Prince Thun, leader of the Lion Men, and the
pair return to the palace to rescue Dale. The High Priest reports to
Ming that Dale refuses to cooperate, and Ming orders that she be
taken to the Dehumanizer, a hypnotic ray that will keep her docile
during the marriage ceremony. Flash and Thun gain entrance to the
palace and find Zarkov, who tells them that the planet's course has
been changed, and will no longer crash into the Earth. He tells them
that Dale is being forced to marry Ming in a secret underground
chamber. Flash and Thun hurry through the tunnels to stop the wedding
and run into a huge scaly Gocko monster.
This
chapter closely follows the story of Alex Raymond's original comic
strip. The events in this chapter played out over three Sunday
strips, published February 2nd to the 18th, 1934. The faithful
recreation of the comic strip includes the design of the gyroships
and the Dehumanizer, as well as Flash's costume. The shot of Princess
Aura leaning against the rocket ship's door and promising to keep
Flash away from Dale is taken directly from a panel in the February
2nd strip.
The set for Ming's laboratory was borrowed
from another 1936 Universal production, Dracula's Daughter. The
footage of dancing girls worshipping the Oracle of Tao was borrowed
from a 1930 film, Just Imagine.
At the end of the chapter, Thun and Flash
come upon three soldiers. Thun has a raygun, and the soldiers each
have swords - but Thun never fires his gun, and only one soldier
draws his sword. Flash disarms this soldier, and from then on, it's a fistfight.
3. Captured by Shark Men
April 20, 1936
"Where are you taking us?"
- Flash
Gordon
"To Kala, King of the Shark Men."
- Guard
In our last episode...
Flash, aided by Aura, was hiding in a
rocket ship when the gyros of the Lion Men attacked Ming's palace,
where Dale and Zarkov were held prisoners. Fearing for his friends,
Flash attacked the gyros and brought down their leader, Prince Thun.
Finding Flash is an enemy of Ming's, Thun
promised to help him, and through a secret passage they entered the
palace and learned that Dale was being married to Ming. Flash, trying
to reach the wedding chapel, runs headlong into the tunnel of terror and...
Now...
Flash stops the wedding ceremony, but he
and Dale are captured by King Kala, ruler of the Shark Men and a
loyal follower of Ming. Princess Aura hurries after Flash, desperate
to save him. She finds Thun, and they follow Flash's trail to the
river. Realizing that Flash has been captured by the Shark Men, she
asks for Thun's help to save them. At Ming's order, Kala forces Flash
to fight with a giant octosak in a chamber filling with water.
This chapter closely follows the story of
Alex Raymond's original Flash Gordon comic strip, in this case, the
five Sunday strips published between Feb 25th and March 25th, 1934.
In the strips, Flash and Thun defeat the monsters in the tunnel,
although there are several monsters, not just one, and they disrupt
Ming and Dale's wedding by knocking over the idol of Tao. Flash and
Dale are kidnapped by the Shark Men, and taken in a hydrocycle to
King Kala. Flash mocks Kala's cowardice, and the pair fight, although
in the strip, the fight takes place underwater, with both wearing air helmets.
King Kala's opening line is almost
identical to his opening speech in the comic strip: "His supreme
intelligence, Ming the Merciless, ruler of the Universe, has ordered
that you, Dale Arden, shall be returned to him." In the comic
strip Kala is green and scaly.
The major addition to the story is the
octosak battle, in the comic, Flash is simply locked in a room that
fills with water. Octosaks don't appear in the strip until a couple
of months later, on May 27th, when Flash and Prince Barin are forced
to battle an octosak in the test of the Torture Tank.
The idol of the Great God Tao was recycled
from a previous Universal production, 1932's The Mummy. The scene of
people rioting that is seen on the Spaceograph is borrowed footage
from a 1930 film, Just Imagine.
4. Battling the Sea Beast
April 27, 1936
"Doctor Zarkov speaking... from
Mongo. The Planet Mongo..."
In our last episode...
Flash interrupted the marriage ceremony by
hurling the great idol into the midst of the astonished wedding
group, and then grabbing up Dale, and with Thun covering his retreat,
they escaped.
As they fled, Ming precipitated them
through a trap into the undersea city of the shark men and
spaceographed Kala, king of the shark men, to return the prisoners to
him. Flash, trying to prevent this, fought with and defeated Kala,
who retaliated by trapping Flash in a tank and...
Now...
Dale Arden faints as she watches Flash
Gordon struggling for his life with an enormous octosak. Princess
Aura and Prince Thun arrive just in time and rescue Flash. Aura uses
her ray gun to destroy the control mechanism that supplies the palace
with air and keeps water out. She plans to escape with Flash, leaving
Dale and Thun behind but Flash runs off to save his friends as water
rushes into the palace. Back at Ming's palace, Dr. Zarkov uses the
laboratory equipment to signal to Earth. Lawrence Gordon and
Professor Hensley receive the signals, and try to decipher them.
The first three chapters of the serial
followed the story of Alex Raymond's original comic strip very
closely; this is the point at which the serial begins to diverge. In
the strip, Flash and Aura escape from Kala's city easily, followed
separately by Thun and Dale. The city is then destroyed Thun's
father, using a gigantic ray. This story plays out in three Sunday
strips, published from April 1st to the 15th, 1934.
5. The Destroying Ray
May 4, 1936
"My rocketship is waiting to rescue
your friends."
In our last episode...
Leaving Dale with Thun, who was guarding
King Kala in the throne room, Princess Aura released Flash from the
tank and then attempted to deceive Flash into believing Thun and Dale
had escaped and preceded them to Ming's palace.
But when the vengeful Aura deliberately
destroyed the control board which by magnetic attraction kept Kala's
palace safe under water - controlling the air supply and water
pressure - Flash, suspicious, rushed to the throne room to satisfy
himself of the safety of Dale and Thun and...
And now...
Flash, Dale, Aura and Thun escape from the
underwater city, but are captured by King Vultan and the Hawkmen and
taken to the Sky City. Dale is delivered to King Vultan, and Flash
and Thun are put to work, shoveling fuel into Vultan's Atom Furnaces.
Dr. Zarkov befriends Prince Barin, and they race to the rescue.
Vultan is notified that Barin's ship is approaching, and he orders
his underlings to destroy the ship with the Melting ray. Barin
desperately tries to avoid the Ray, before it destroys the ship.
The
model of the Sky City is very faithful to the comic strip's design,
but at this point, the serial breaks away from the continuity of Alex
Raymond's original comic strip. In the strip, after Flash and his
friends escape from Kala's city, they're captured by Prince Barin and
his men, who are also holding Dr. Zarkov prisoner. (This brings
Zarkov back into the strip; he was presumed lost in the rocket ship
crash three months earlier.) In the following strips, Flash and Barin
become friends, and are captured by Ming and forced to fight for
their lives. The Hawk Men first appear later, on July 8th, 1934,
kidnapping Zarkov and Thun and carrying them off to their flying
city. Flash, Dale and Barin are captured three weeks later, and
brought before Vultan. Aura, who has allied herself with Vultan, has
Flash tortured as revenge for spurning her.
The fourth chapter of the third serial,
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, was also titled "The
Destroying Ray".
6. Flaming Torture
May 11, 1936
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
- Dale
Arden
In our last episode...
With a powerful electrical force, Ming
raises the doomed shark city above the water, saving Flash, Dale,
Thun and Princess Aura, who attempt to reach the kingdom of Thun's
father, but are attacked by hawkmen who carry Dale and Thun prisoners
to their city in the sky.
Meantime, Zarkov and Prince Barin have
formed an alliance and, after rescuing Flash and Aura, are flying in
Barin's rocket ship to the city in the sky, where Thun is being
forced to feed radium to the mighty atom furnaces, and Dale is being
terrorized by the boisterous King Vultan.
And now...
Dale Arden resists the lusty King Vultan's
advances, and the king is interrupted by the arrival of Flash Gordon,
Barin, Princess Aura and Dr. Hans Zarkov - now captured, and in
chains. Vultan sends Zarkov to his laboratory, and orders Flash and
Barin to work as slaves in the Atom Furnace, which power the city's
gravity-resisting rays. Aura tells Dale that she can save Flash by
pretending that she loves Vultan. At Ming's palace, Ming the
Merciless learns that his daughter is being held in the Sky City.
The
dance number during the banquet scene is footage borrowed from a
1926 Universal movie, The Midnight Sun. This film is now lost, and
the footage in Flash Gordon is the only surviving sequence from the movie.
The Midnight Sun is a silent drama film
directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki and starring Laura La Plante, Pat
O'Malley and Michael Vavitch. The film is set in pre-Revolutionary
Tsarist Russia. It is based on a novel by the French writer Pierre
Benoit. The film includes a brief scene shot in Technicolor.
Zarkov is put to work in King Vultan's
laboratory, just like Ming had done earlier. It would seem all the
rulers on Mongo have well equipped laboratories but no scientists to
staff them.
7. Shattering Doom
May 18, 1936
"Zarkov, where's Dale? What happened
to her?"
- Flash
Gordon
In our last episode...
Scarcely had their rocket ship landed in
the sky city, when Flash, Barin, Zarkov and Aura were taken prisoners
by King Vultan, who promptly put Zarkov to work in his laboratory,
while Flash and Barin were compelled to join Thun feeding radium to
the atom furnaces.
Princess Aura, determined to wed Flash,
deceives Dale into believing that Flash's life depends upon her
giving him up and professing to love King Vultan. Heartbroken, Dale
consents. Vultan, to test Dale and prove she no longer cares for
Flash, leads her to the static room where...
And now...
To keep King Vultan from killing Flash,
Dale continues to pretend that she's interested in Vultan. Aura tries
to convince Flash that Dale has betrayed him, and she promises to
make him a king. Flash is captured and sent back to the Atom Furnace,
put to work again, shoveling radium into the furnaces. Vultan orders
Zarkov to attach a wire to Flash's manacles so if he tries to escape,
he'll be electrocuted. When the shift ends, Zarkov secretly attaches
the wire to a shovel, and tells Flash to throw it into the furnace.
Aura's top comes unclasped by accident and
nearly drops off in a scene where she threatens Flash with a flaming
torch. She immediately runs out of the shot with her elbows pinning
the loose garment in place.
8. Tournament of Death
May 25, 1936
"What might that be, mighty Ming?"
- Flash
Gordon
In our last episode...
When Dale at sight of Flash being tortured
betrayed her love for him, Vultan prompty sent Flash back to the atom
furnaces, and ordered Zarkov to connect a high voltage wire to his
wrist. But Zarkos connected the wire instead to Flash's shovel,
hoping to help him escape.
Meanwhile Emperor Ming has arrived with
his air fleet in Vultan's kingdom, and is demanding the return of his
daughter, the Princes Aura, and his affianced bride, Dale Arden, when
Flash, acting on Zarkov's instructions, throws the charged shovel
into the atom furnaces, and...
And now...
Flash Gordon throws his shovel into the
Atom Furnace creating an explosion in the furnaces. Flash, Prince
Thun and Prince Barin use the confusion to try and escape. However,
the explosion in the furnace has disrupted the gravity-defying rays
that keep the Sky City aloft, and it begins to fall. Zarkov tells
King Vultan that he's discovered a new force that will keep the city
in the air, but he'll only use it if Vultan promises to free his
friends. But Ming refuses to honor Vultan's promise and invokes his
right to arrange a Tournament of Death between Flash and the Masked
Swordsman of Mongo. Flash wins the swordfight, but Ming says that
he's simply won the right to move on to the next ordeal - a fight
with "the Great Beast of Mongo", a huge furry one-horned
creature called an Orangopoid.
Vultan's character changes significantly
at this point in the serial. He forced himself on Dale in chapter 5,
tortured Flash in chapter 6, and enslaved Flash, Barin and Thun in
chapter 7; but now that Zarkov has saved his city, Vultan becomes
honorable and merciful. Over the next few chapters, Vultan becomes a
loyal friend, and even goes to jail and prison on Flash's behalf in
chapter 10. Aura makes a similar decision in chapter 12.
9. Fighting the Fire Dragon
June 1, 1936
"I know my father plans the Earth
mans death."
- Princess
Aura
In our last episode...
Flash and Thun were condemned to death and
facing a firing squad, when Zarkov discovered an emergency ray that
would support the dangerously tipping sky city, and he agreed to
divulge the secret and save Vultan's city, if Vultan would liberate
his friends.
But Ming disputed Vultan's right to free
the prisoners, and insisted that Flash earn his freedom in combat
with a hooded gladiator. When Flash unmasked his opponent and
discovered he was fighting his friend, Prince Barin, the enraged Ming
ordered Flash to the arena to fight a huge orangopoid and...
And now...
Flash survives the tournament with Aura's
help, after she discovers the weak point of the orangopoid. Still
determined to win Flash, Aura has him drugged to make him lose his
memory and then takes Flash to the palace of Tao through the Tunnel
of Terror. As Aura and her guards carry Flash into the tunnel the
treacherous High Priest bangs the sacred gong, awakening the Fire dragon.
The sequence with Professor Gordon
receiving signals from Zarkov is partially recycled from chapter 4.
However, in this chapter, the scene on Earth continues further.
Lane Chandler, who played a Shark Man in
chapter 4, plays one of Ming's soldiers in this chapter.
10. The Unseen Peril
June 8, 1936
"And now my pretty Earth woman I have
a message for you."
- Ming the Merciless
In our last episode...
Furious over Flash's conquest of the
orangopoid, and seeing a chance to get Flash, Vultan and the others
in his power, Ming promised to declare a feast day at his palace, at
which Flash and Barin would be given their freedom and the bride of
their choice.
Notwithstanding this promise, Ming ordered
the High Priest, under penalty of death, to rid him of the earth man.
The crafty High Priest conspired with Princess Aura, and after giving
Flash drops of forgetfulness and ordering the guards to carry him
through the Tunnel of Terror to the abode of the sacred Fire Dragon...
And now...
Flash is brought back to Ming's palace,
where he is offered his reward for winning the Tournament of Death.
Ming asks Flash to choose his bride, but Flash is confused - he's
lost his memory, and Prince Barin realizes that Flash was given the
Draught of Forgetfulness. Later Zarkov tells Barin that he may be
able to counteract the drug. Flash has his memory restored, just in
time for Torch and his guards to bust in and announce Flash's execution.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Lawrence Gordon sets
up a more powerful radio receiver, which he hopes will allow them to
receive the signals from Mongo. They manage to make contact with Zarkov.
11. In the Claws of the Tigron
June 15, 1936
"I don't like it. Bring him back
again Doctor. I want to see him alive!"
- Dale
Arden
In our last episode...
Carrying out Ming's disbolical scheme to
get rid of Flash, the high priest, concealing from Aura his real
purpose, conspired with her to give Flash "drops of
forgetfulness". Aura then reported to Ming that now, while Flash
was unable to remember, was the time for her to marry him.
Ming ordered Flash brought before him to
chose his bride, and in his dazed condition, unable to remember Dale,
he went away with Aura. Vultan accused Ming of treachery and was
imprisoned, but Zarkov, Dale and Barin rescued Flash from Aura, and
Zarkov had just restored his memory when...
And now...
Zarkov invents a machine that makes Flash
invisible. Flash torments Ming and his guards while invisable. Back
in the laboratory, Zarkov gets more signals from Earth. He broadcasts
back to Lawrence Gordon and Professor Hensley the news that Flash and
Dale are on Mongo.
Princess Aura eavesdrops on the laboratory
as Zarkov, Flash and Vultan prepare to carry fuel cells to their
rocket ship. Barin realizes that they've been overheard, and hurries
Dale into hiding in the catacombs. Aura arranges for Dale to be
hunted by a trained tigron, who follows her scent through the
catacombs and jumps up on her to attack.
12. Trapped in the Turret
June 22, 1936
"You are right, Ming is not to be trusted."
- King Vultan
In our last episode...
After playing havoc with Ming, the
invisible Flash released Vultan from his dungeon prison and hurried
with him to Zarkov in the laboratory. Zarkov, meantime, had contacted
the earth, and the earth people, eager to escape Mongo, decided to
undertake the return venture.
Leaving Barin and Dale to guard the
invisibility machine, Flash and Zarkov, aided by Vultan, started
loading their rocket ship. Aura notified Ming, who sent soldiers to
prevent their departure. Barin, fearing for Dale's safety. hid her in
the catacombs under Ming's palace, and when the invisible Flash and
his friends returned to the laboratory....
And now...
Aura realizes the error of her ways, and
falls in love with Barin. She tries to help Flash and his friends to
return to Earth. Ming offers mercy to everyone, and says that he has
no reason to delay the departure of the Earth people, although Flash
confides in Zarkov and King Vultan that he's not sure if Ming can be
trusted. Zarkov contacts Earth again, and reports the news to
Lawrence Gordon and Professor Hensley. The friends decide to visit
Vultan's kingdom before they leave Mongo.
After 11 episodes of scheming, Aura's
character makes an about face and becomes a loyal friend. Barin
chides her in the tunnel, and she decides that he's right. Barin
tells Flash and Dale that she's promised, and they agree to trust
her, even though it's only moments after her latest attempt on Dale's
life. This is an even more pronounced 180-degree turn than the one
that Vultan made in chapter 8.
13. Rocketing to Earth
June 29, 1936
"Flash... Dale... we're home. We are
about to land!"
- Doctor
Zarkov
In our last episode...
When Ming ordered the earth people seized
and Barin and Aura defied him, the crafty Ming changed his tactics
and declared the earth people free to return to earth. Flash and Dale
hurried to Zarkov with the good news, but found him dejected beside
his wrecked invisibility machine.
Not trusting Ming, Vultan invited the
earth people to his sky city, and Barin offered to take them in his
rocket ship. Spies reported this to Ming, and when Flash and his
friends, including Aura, hurried to meet Barin at the agreed place, a
rocket ship circling low....
And now...
Ming orders that the Earth people be
caught and killed, but Flash and his friends escape from the
Emperor's clutches, and Ming is apparently killed in the flames of
the "sacred temple of the Great God Tao". Flash, Dale and
Zarkov make a triumphant return to Earth.
To some it's not clear what Ming's
intentions are at the end of the chapter, or what happens to him. Is
he trying to escape or is he committing suicide by walking into a
flaming corridor below his palace? We think the interaction between
Ming and the High Priest seems to indicate that Ming is trying to get
away, and the High Priest is helping him, though others have
speculated that the High Priest facilitated Ming's death in the
tunnel. If so why does the High Priest plant a bomb in Zarkov's
rocket ship? We think he helped Ming escape and then went on and
tried to kill Flash, Dale and Zarkov just as Ming wanted. Of course
since Ming does return in the next serial the case for helping Ming
escape makes perfect sence.
It
is estimated Flash Gordon had a budget of $350,000 though other
sources put the figure at over a million dollars. Sitill many props
and other elements in the film were recycled from earlier Universal
productions to save money. The watchtower sets used in Frankenstein
(1931, pictured left) appear again as several interiors within Ming's
palace. One of the large Egyptian statues seen in The Mummy (1932) is
the idol of the Great God Tao. The laboratory set and a shot of the
Moon rushing past Zarkov's returning rocket ship from space are from
The Invisible Ray (1936). Zarkov's rocket ship and scenes of dancers
swarming over a gigantic idol were reused from Just Imagine (1930).
Ming's attack on Earth is footage from old silent newsreels, and an
entire dance segment is from The Midnight Sun (1927), while some of
the laboratory equipment came from Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The
music was also recycled from several other films, notably Bride of
Frankenstein, Bombay Mail, The Black Cat (both 1934), Werewolf of
London (1935), and The Invisible Man (1933).
Buster Crabbe had his hair dyed blond to
appear more like the comic-strip Flash Gordon. He was reportedly very
self-conscious about this and kept his hat on in public at all times,
even with women present. He did not like men whistling at him. Jean
Rogers also had her hair dyed blonde prior to production,
"apparently to capitalize on the popularity of Jean Harlow".
Brunette was actually the natural hair color for both actresses.
According
to the 1973 reference The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury
by Jim Harmon and Donald Glut, Ming's makeup and costuming were
designed to resemble Fu Manchu, a fictional "supervillain"
popularized in earlier Hollywood films and in a series of novels
first published in England in 1913. Richard Alexander, as Prince
Barin, helped to design his own costume, which included a leather
chest plate painted gold. Crash Corrigan, who would later star in
other serials, wore a modified gorilla suit to portray the
"orangopoid" seen in chapters 8 and 9. During filming,
Eddie Parker served as a stand-in and stunt double for Buster Crabbe
and Glenn Strange in uncredited roles wore the "Gocko"
lobster-clawed dragon costume and also appears as one of Ming's soldiers.
Exterior shots, such as the Earth crew's
first steps on Mongo, were filmed at Bronson Canyon.
Early film fan historians have claimed
that actor Lon Poff, playing the first of Ming's two high priests,
died shortly after production began and so was replaced by Theodore
Lorch. In fact, however, only Poff's character died, or rather was
killed by Ming in an act of fury and replaced by Lorch's High Priest;
but the scene was cut from the final print. Poff did not die until 1952.
Flash
Gordon is a 1936 science-fiction film serial. Presented in 13
chapters, it is the first screen adventure for Flash Gordon, the
comic-strip character created by Alex Raymond in 1934. It presents
the story of Gordon's visit to the planet Mongo and his encounters
with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers,
Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson and Frank Shannon portray the
film's central characters. In 1996, Flash Gordon was selected for
preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the
Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or
aesthetically significant".
This
chapter closely follows the story of Alex Raymond's original comic
strip. The events in this chapter played out over three Sunday
strips, published February 2nd to the 18th, 1934. The faithful
recreation of the comic strip includes the design of the gyroships
and the Dehumanizer, as well as Flash's costume. The shot of Princess
Aura leaning against the rocket ship's door and promising to keep
Flash away from Dale is taken directly from a panel in the February
2nd strip.
The
model of the Sky City is very faithful to the comic strip's design,
but at this point, the serial breaks away from the continuity of Alex
Raymond's original comic strip. In the strip, after Flash and his
friends escape from Kala's city, they're captured by Prince Barin and
his men, who are also holding Dr. Zarkov prisoner. (This brings
Zarkov back into the strip; he was presumed lost in the rocket ship
crash three months earlier.) In the following strips, Flash and Barin
become friends, and are captured by Ming and forced to fight for
their lives. The Hawk Men first appear later, on July 8th, 1934,
kidnapping Zarkov and Thun and carrying them off to their flying
city. Flash, Dale and Barin are captured three weeks later, and
brought before Vultan. Aura, who has allied herself with Vultan, has
Flash tortured as revenge for spurning her.
The
dance number during the banquet scene is footage borrowed from a
1926 Universal movie, The Midnight Sun. This film is now lost, and
the footage in Flash Gordon is the only surviving sequence from the movie.
It
is estimated Flash Gordon had a budget of $350,000 though other
sources put the figure at over a million dollars. Sitill many props
and other elements in the film were recycled from earlier Universal
productions to save money. The watchtower sets used in Frankenstein
(1931, pictured left) appear again as several interiors within Ming's
palace. One of the large Egyptian statues seen in The Mummy (1932) is
the idol of the Great God Tao. The laboratory set and a shot of the
Moon rushing past Zarkov's returning rocket ship from space are from
The Invisible Ray (1936). Zarkov's rocket ship and scenes of dancers
swarming over a gigantic idol were reused from Just Imagine (1930).
Ming's attack on Earth is footage from old silent newsreels, and an
entire dance segment is from The Midnight Sun (1927), while some of
the laboratory equipment came from Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The
music was also recycled from several other films, notably Bride of
Frankenstein, Bombay Mail, The Black Cat (both 1934), Werewolf of
London (1935), and The Invisible Man (1933).
According
to the 1973 reference The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury
by Jim Harmon and Donald Glut, Ming's makeup and costuming were
designed to resemble Fu Manchu, a fictional "supervillain"
popularized in earlier Hollywood films and in a series of novels
first published in England in 1913. Richard Alexander, as Prince
Barin, helped to design his own costume, which included a leather
chest plate painted gold. Crash Corrigan, who would later star in
other serials, wore a modified gorilla suit to portray the
"orangopoid" seen in chapters 8 and 9. During filming,
Eddie Parker served as a stand-in and stunt double for Buster Crabbe
and Glenn Strange in uncredited roles wore the "Gocko"
lobster-clawed dragon costume and also appears as one of Ming's soldiers.
