Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon is, undoubtedly, the best of all American serials. In a date so early as 1936,Universal was capable of making such an entertainment story, and twenty years later when I watched it for the first time as a kid it involved me in a great adventure and emotion. Buster Crabbe was the hero we always wanted to be in our childhood, and Jean Rogers the beautiful girl we always dreamt to be in love with. Dragons, octopus, monsters,gorillas were also the attraction. Charles Middleton was a great presence as Ming, the Merciless. A true predecessor of George Lucas´s Starwars.

After 66 years "Flash Gordon" still has an appealing scifi/adventure/epic feel that many of today's science fiction adventures strive for and fail to deliver. The only way to fully enjoy this serial is just to sit back and not pick at anything (hokey effects, dialogue, why Flash doesn't go for Princess Aura etc.). And as for you older people who saw "Flash Gordon" back on the serial screen or on T.V. "back in the day", if you want this fine serial to remain appealing to future generations, get your kids/grandkids to watch this when they're young. It worked for me (Male aged 18 or under). 9 out of 10

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")

Universal created a real fun winner here. Buster Crabbe's popularity soared as he went on to more serials both as Flash and as Buck Rogers. He also made a Tarzan or two and some westerns.

But the character actors in Flash Gordon are tops: Charles Middleton as Ming was brilliant casting; chubby Richard Alexander as the would-be hero Prince Barin looks like he stepped right out of the comics, as do the Sharkmen, Lionmen and Hawkmen.

"Tiny" Lipson as Vultan the Hawkman is hilarious; he is also seen in some Marx Brothers and Three Stooges films. Of course the actors portraying the sexy (for 1936) Dale and Princess Aura are perfect. Even Zarkov is convincing as can be expected in this dark adventure series.

The music is constantly moving things along, much of it now available on CD as the same music used in Universal's "The Bride of Frankenstein".

The challenge is to find a good print. It would be great if Universal could "restore" some their classic serials.

Vintage science fiction doesn't always age well, but time has been kind to "Flash Gordon." It transcends, becomes its own little genre of almost Victorian space opera and historical epic with its own internal logic, where Roman soldiers can fly around in sputtering rocketships and a mandarin-robed Ming can plot to rule the universe.

One of the things I love about "Flash Gordon" are the actors. Buster Crabbe and Charles Middleton ARE Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless, the perfect double image of selfless heroism and selfish villainy. We don't need to know about their inner demons or what makes them tick: it's enough to know that Ming exists to be evil and Flash exists to stop him. Crabbe and Middleton believe they are their characters, so we believe them, too.

Watching "Flash Gordon" is like slipping into a dream world, full of danger and adventure, with ruthless enemies and loyal friends. It's a quaint, fun ride, the same sort of magic George Lucas taps with his "Star Wars" movies, and a feeling you can never get enough of.