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Flash Gordon

  • 1936
  • Approved
  • 18m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
Buster Crabbe and Carol Hughes in Flash Gordon (1936)
Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.
Play trailer3:10
1 Video
69 Photos
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Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.

  • Directors
    • Frederick Stephani
    • Ray Taylor
  • Writers
    • Alex Raymond
    • Frederick Stephani
    • Ella O'Neill
  • Stars
    • Buster Crabbe
    • Jean Rogers
    • Charles Middleton
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    2.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Frederick Stephani
      • Ray Taylor
    • Writers
      • Alex Raymond
      • Frederick Stephani
      • Ella O'Neill
    • Stars
      • Buster Crabbe
      • Jean Rogers
      • Charles Middleton
    • 46User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:10
    Watch Trailer

    Photos69

    "Flash Gordon" Buster Crabbe circa 1938
    "Flash Gordon" Charles Middleton circa 1938
    "Flash Gordon" Beatrice Roberts, Buster Crabbe, Charles Middleton circa 1938
    "Flash Gordon" circa 1938
    "Flash Gordon" Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers circa 1938
    Buster Crabbe and Charles Middleton in Flash Gordon (1936)
    Buster Crabbe and Charles Middleton in Flash Gordon (1936)
    Buster Crabbe in Flash Gordon (1936)
    Buster Crabbe and Priscilla Lawson in Flash Gordon (1936)
    Buster Crabbe, Charles Middleton, and Jean Rogers in Flash Gordon (1936)
    Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers in Flash Gordon (1936)
    "Flash Gordon" Poster

    Top cast

    Edit
    Buster Crabbe
    Buster Crabbe
    • Flash Gordon
    Jean Rogers
    Jean Rogers
    • Dale Arden
    Charles Middleton
    Charles Middleton
    • Ming the Merciless
    Priscilla Lawson
    Priscilla Lawson
    • Princess Aura
    Frank Shannon
    Frank Shannon
    • Dr. Alexis Zarkov
    Richard Alexander
    Richard Alexander
    • Prince Barin [Chs. 5-13]
    Jack 'Tiny' Lipson
    • King Vultan [Chs. 5-13]
    Theodore Lorch
    Theodore Lorch
    • High Priest #2 [Chs. 8-11, 13]
    Richard Tucker
    Richard Tucker
    • Professor Gordon
    George Cleveland
    George Cleveland
    • Professor Hensley
    James Pierce
    James Pierce
    • Prince Thun [Chs. 2-9, 12-13]
    Duke York
    Duke York
    • King Kala [Chs. 2-5]
    • (as Duke York Jr.)
    Muriel Goodspeed
    • Zona [Ch. 4]
    Earl Askam
    • Officer Torch
    House Peters Jr.
    House Peters Jr.
    • Shark Man [Chs. 3-4]
    John Bagni
    • Hawkman Throne Room Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Roy Barcroft
    Roy Barcroft
    • Throne Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Carroll Borland
    Carroll Borland
    • Woman in Ming's Palace
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Frederick Stephani
      • Ray Taylor(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Alex Raymond
      • Frederick Stephani
      • Ella O'Neill
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Despite its large budget, this serial utilized many sets from other Universal films, such as the laboratory and crypt set from The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), the castle interiors from Dracula's Daughter (1936), the idol from The Mummy (1932) and the opera house interiors from The Phantom of the Opera (1925). In addition, the outer walls of Ming's castle were actually the cathedral walls from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923).
    • Goofs
      When some of the characters speak, the voice on the soundtrack doesn't match the person speaking.
    • Quotes

      Ming the Merciless: I will destroy your earth in my own way!

      Dr. Alexis Zarkov: Why destroy the Earth? Why not conquer it?

      Ming the Merciless: [envisioning the suggestion] Why not? How did you enter my kingdom?

      Dr. Alexis Zarkov: On a rocket ship of my own design.

      Ming the Merciless: You are a remarkable man! I can use you.

      Ming the Merciless: [directing his guards] Take him to a laboratory. Give him everything he requires... except his freedom!

    • Connections
      Edited into Rocket Ship (1938)
    • Soundtracks
      Les Preludes
      (uncredited)

      Composed by Franz Liszt

    User reviews46

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A Cult Movie With a Magnificent Transposition of Alex Raymond's Cartoon to the Big Screen
    When a mysterious planet is menacing to collide on Earth, the athlete Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe) flies by plane to meet his father in New York and stay with him during the collision. While traveling, Flash meets the blonde passenger Dale Arden (Jean Rogers) and they become friends. However, their plane falls, and Flash and Dale jump together using the same parachute. They land nearby the laboratory of Dr. Alexis Zarkov (Frank Shannon), who invites them to join him in a travel in his rocket to the threatening planet in an attempt to avoid the eminent destruction of Earth. When they arrive in the planet, they meet Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton), the emperor of Planet Mongo, who wants to destroy Earth, and his daughter, Princess Aura (Priscilla Lawson), who has an infatuation for Flash Gordon. This is the beginning of a magnificent transposition of Alex Raymond's cartoon to the big screen, in a cult movie. The story is divided in thirteen chapters as follows:

    1) The Planet of Peril ("O Planeta do Perigo") 2) The Tunnel of Horror ("O Túnel do Terror") 3) Captured by Shark Men ("Capturado Pelos Homens-Tubarão") 4) Battling the Sea Beast ("Enfrentando a Fera do Mar") 5) The Destroying Ray ("O Raio da Destruição") 6) Flaming Torture ("Tortura Flamejante") 7) Shattering Doom ("Perdição Quebrada") 8) Tournament of Death ("Torneio da Morte") 9) Fighting the Fire Dragon ("Lutando Contra o Dragão de Fogo") 10) The Unseen Peril ("O Perigo Invisível") 11) In the Claws of the Tigron ("Nas Garras de Tigron") 12) Trapped in the Turret ("Encurralado na Torre") 13) Rocketing to Earth ("Voando Para a Terra")

    The adventure of Flash Gordon in Planet Mongo shows all the characters of the comic strip: he becomes friend of the Prince Thun (James Pierce), the leader of the Lion Men, a people enemy of Ming. He is arrested by the Shark Men in the underwater Shark Palace of King Kala (Duke York Jr.), who is dominated by Ming. Flash Gordon allies to Prince Barin (Richard Alexander), who claims to be the inheritor of the Mongo's throne, and they fight against the Hawk Men, leaded by King Vultan (Jack 'Tiny' Lipson), in the palace in the air, becoming allied in the end.

    In the Twentieth-First Century, the special effects of this film are very cheesy and dated, like in an Ed Wood movie: visible wires holding rockets and flying objects, quite ridiculous "maquettes" of the cities, the fire dragon, the fly and movements of the rockets with fire in the propellers, even the behavior of the character of Dale Arden, screaming, fainting, being paralyzed in the dangerous situations are very funny in the present days. But this is part of the entertainment, and the viewer must appreciate the film never forgetting when it was shot (1936). For the Brazilian readers, I would like to inform that the DVD released by Classicline has some mistakes in the translation. Inclusive some titles in Portuguese of the chapters written on back cover of the DVD are not correlated with the titles showed in the beginning of each chapter in the movie. My vote is eight.

    Title (Brazil): "Flash Gordon no Planeta Mongo" ("Flash Gordon in the Planet Mongo")
    helpful•24
    1
    • claudio_carvalho
    • Jan 5, 2005

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 6, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers
    • Filming locations
      • Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Universal Pictures Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $360,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      18 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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