Flash Gordon (1936) is the first film to feature the comic strip character, shot as a 13-chapter movie serial, and starring Buster Crabbe in the title role. This is the first of three Flash Gordon movie serials produced in the ‘30s and ‘40s, with Crabbe starring in all of them, along with the Buck Rogers serial from 1939. The advent of Flash Gordon and other science fiction serials superseded aviation serials as a major draw and even had an influence on western themed serials.
Flash Gordon (1936) poster - IMDB
Buster Crabbe is, of course, the best actor in Flash Gordon, and several other cast members left quite a good impression, including Jean Rogers as Dale Arden and Charles Middleton as Emperor Ming. In fact, I’d have to say that Middleton set the bar for the role quite high, which Max von Sydow lived up to when he took on the role for the 1980 Flash Gordon film. Priscilla Lawson as Aura was also a solid performer, while Jack Lipson as Vultan, having a lot of great facial expressions, was only okay in his overall performance. Frank Shannon as Zarkov also was top notched, despite the unfortunate choice of costuming for his character while on the planet Mongo.
Jean Rogers and Buster Crabbe - IMDB
When watching this film, my Bonnie Bride and I had to keep in mind that it was shot in 1936, long before special effects and models for spacecraft got to be a really cool thing, so many of these components look a bit cheesy by modern standards (or even when compared to what we got in the ‘60s with Star Trek, or ‘70s with Star Wars), and some of the costuming is also very dated, specifically Vultan’s (and the other Hawkmen) wings. But also the budget is fairly low compared to Trek and other more modern films. So, if you give the Flash Gordon serial a run, keep that in mind, but keep an eye out for the Sharkmen’s submarine, which is really cool looking, and looked alien and futuristic.
Sharkmen submarine - screenshot from the DVD - Flash Gordon (1936)
Also on the cheesy side – the dude in the rubber monster suit. Twice. Ya gotta get past that point, and otherwise just enjoy the film, and at 13 chapters, which is an odd number for serials in the ‘30s and ‘40s (typically at that time they were either 12 or 15 chapters in length), plan on watching it over a few evenings, or, one episode per week as originally presented. Maybe not, just watch a few chapters an evening or a couple of weeks. More fun that way.
Setting aside some of the dated look of the spaceships and costumes, the story is darn good. I can’t compare it to the comic strip that inspired it, as I never got into reading Flash Gordon (unlike Buck Rogers, which I did read as a kid), and it is quite different from the 1980 movie, but it is a lot of fun, and Ming is definitely merciless. Except where his daughter, Aura, is concerned.
The general plot is similar; the Earth is under attack from Mongo, and Zarkov plans to blast off in a rocket of his design, taking Flash and Dale with him. They run into many perils after their arrival, and make friend and allies, as well as a few enemies. They conspire with Vultan, Barin, and Thun of the lionmen, to overthrow Ming, and Ming is dead set on destroying Flash and marrying Dale. So, it tracks pretty well with the much later film, and, I am guessing, the comic strip. How the heroes succeed is something I don’t want to spoil.
Charles Middleton as Ming - Flash Gordon (1936) - IMDB
Overall, my Bonnie Bride and I both enjoyed Flash Gordon, and Buster Crabbe is not just a fine performer but a splendid athlete which enhanced his overall appeal as the leading actor. Jean Rogers, his leading lady, was a mix bag of damsel in distress and competent aide, and carried her role quite nicely. Rogers along with Middleton probably had the best costumes in the film. It was a fun way to spend a few evenings, and weighing in at about four hours of film, I’m glad we didn’t try and watch it all in one evening.
I hope you enjoyed this little romp through vintage movie serials. I have several more serials queued up to watch (in a couple of cases for the second or third time). They’re fun stuff to watch, and the main reason production of movie serials died out in the late ‘40s early ‘50s was the advent of television.
Thanks for stopping by.
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