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.

Directors:

Frederick Stephani, Ray Taylor (uncredited)

Writers:

Alex Raymond (based on the comic strip by), Frederick Stephani (screenplay)

Stars:

Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Crabbe	...	Flash Gordon
Jean Rogers	...	Dale Arden
Charles Middleton	...	Ming the Merciless
Priscilla Lawson	...	Princess Aura
Frank Shannon	...	Dr. Alexis Zarkov
Richard Alexander	...	Prince Barin [Chs. 5-13]
Jack 'Tiny' Lipson	...	King Vultan [Chs. 5-13]
Theodore Lorch	...	High Priest #2 [Chs. 8-11, 13]
Richard Tucker	...	Professor Gordon
George Cleveland	...	Professor Hensley
James Pierce	...	Prince Thun [Chs. 2-9, 12-13]
Duke York	...	King Kala [Chs. 2-5] (as Duke York Jr.)
Muriel Goodspeed	...	Zona [Ch. 4]
Earl Askam	...	Officer Torch
House Peters Jr.	...	Shark Man [Chs. 3-4]

Storyline

A rogue planet is 'rushing madly toward the earth.' Impending doom creates worldwide pandemonium. But maverick scientist Dr. Zarkov hopes to stay disaster by travelling to the new planet in his experimental rocket. Two chance-met strangers, athletic Flash Gordon and damsel in distress Dale Arden, go with him. Arrived, the trio find Mongo to be a planet of wonders, warring factions, and deadly perils, its orbit controlled by Emperor Ming who has his own sinister plans for earth. Can our heroes, armed only with science and sex appeal, stop him?

---

Plot Keywords:

serial | national film registry | bondage | daughter betrays father | b movie | 

---

Taglines:

THRILLING STRANGE WORLD ADVENTURES!!! (original Chapter 1 one-sheet poster)

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$360,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

245 min (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The serial was shot in six weeks with the cast and crew working many fourteen hour days.

---

Goofs

When the full view of Ming's Throne Room is shown (matte shot), the curtain hanging to the left behind the dragon gong has sunrays on it. When closeups are shown (especially when Flash fights Ming's guards), the curtain has no sunrays on it whatsoever.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Professor Hensley: We are doomed, Professor Gordon. That planet is rushing madly toward the Earth and no human power can stop it.

---

Connections

Referenced in Sliders: Net Worth (1999)

---

Soundtracks

Les Preludes
(uncredited)
Composed by Franz Liszt

User Reviews

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")