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Flash Gordon

  • 19361936
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 4h 5m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
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
54 Photos
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Family
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.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Frederick Stephani
    • Ray Taylor(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Alex Raymond(based on the comic strip by)
    • Frederick Stephani(screenplay)
    • Ella O'Neill(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Buster Crabbe
    • Jean Rogers
    • Charles Middleton
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Frederick Stephani
    • Ray Taylor(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Alex Raymond(based on the comic strip by)
    • Frederick Stephani(screenplay)
    • Ella O'Neill(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Buster Crabbe
    • Jean Rogers
    • Charles Middleton
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 44User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:10
    Trailer

    Photos54

    "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 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)

    Top cast

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

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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 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 Flash (who is invisible at the time) scares the guard in Vultan's cell, you can see the wires that are connected to Vultan's food.
    • 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 reviews44

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    My favourite serial so far---this one has everything
    My friend gives me these 3 huge boxes. "They're laserdiscs of Flash Gordon serials," he says. "I'm gonna have some giant coasters," I say. But not so. This serial rocks. (But I had to whine & moan to almost everyone I knew to find a laserdisc player for em).

    There is really a little of everything in this serial: There are lion-men, hawk-men, shark-men, Earthmen, & I guess you'd call em Mongo-men. The sets & costumes combine, Greek, Roman, Oriental, Egyptian and there's even armour like English knights. Awesome costumes. And some of it was a riot. Those horrible tights with shorts over em worn by Zarkov are beyond description. And the guys in the furnace scene seem to be wearing boxers.

    It's also funny the way they renamed the octopus to an octosack, the orangutan to orangapoid, and the tiger to a tigron. There's even a dragon (a Godzilla-like creature who threatens Flash on a couple of occasions before being killed off).

    You like the Invisible Man? This has got you covered. You like sword fights, wrestling (both animals & men), fist fights? Plenty for any taste. We have an underwater city, a sky city, a city on top of a mountain, and tonnes of secret passages and caves.

    Hokey effects? Massive amounts. The sky city is supported by radium furnaces stoked like old-time steamships. The rocketships are "powered" by fireworks and have constant backfires and/or humming noises. Lots of wires are visible holding things up (like food when Flash was invisible and of course rocketships). There's clouds out in space, but none around the earth when viewed from Mongo. "Giant" lizards show up briefly. Fighting sea creatures supposedly threaten Flash & co. on the way to the shark-men's underwater city. The "gadgets" in Dr. Zarkov's lab crack me up. And they seem to be the same ones no matter what lab he's in (he worked in Ming's lab and Vultan's).

    And yeah, we have romance. Everyone wants Dale; Ming, Vultan, Flash. But at least one person wanted Princess Aura (Prince Baron) just not the person she would have preferred. In fact, it seems a lot of the sub-plots concern intrigue on the part of Princess Aura to try to win Flash.

    Man I think the characters are awesome. That fat, horse-laughing, King Vultan was hilarious. How he managed those wings was pure artistry. And Ming! What can I say about Ming? He was perfect. They should have had him for the emperor in Starwars. Ming has got to be my favourite character in this serial. Princess Aura was quite a little character too. And she pulled it off nicely. I think she's a better actress than Dale Arden by a long shot. Even the sneaky high priest had a distinctive role. Zarkov was good, but not the strongest character---and he always stood in the background during fight scenes holding Dale. Now we get to Flash: Flash, of course, was the strong point, the leader, the hero---and he did it well. Crabbe is a good actor and this role fit him perfectly.

    After watching this, I think I know where George Lucas got the main idea for Starwars. Watch this, you'll see what I mean.

    If you ever considered watching an old serial (or any serial for that matter), this should be your first choice. The only reason I didn't give this one a 10 is because of a few story holes that could have been fixed easily, the way the giant lizards seemed just tacked in there, and a couple of weak characters (king of shark-men & king of lion-men).
    helpful•31
    2
    • Travis_Moran
    • Jul 30, 2005

    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
      • Stage 28, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      4 hours 5 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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