Flash Gordon Movie Serial (1936)

I've always loved Flash Gordon. The 1980 movie, the original comic strip, the Defenders of the Earth cartoon, whatever. For me it's always been the epitome of wonderful retro-pulpy goodness; total nonsense and thoroughly entertaining. This is demonstrated no better than here in Universal's 13-chapter serial from 1936. This was only three years after Alex Raymond began the weekly newspaper strip so the character was as fresh and as exciting as could be.

Starring Larry "Buster" Crabbe (they don't name 'em like that anymore!) as Flash and Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, this was the first of three Flash Gordon movie serials. This was back in the days before TV of course, and so this sort of thing was shown in cinemas, one chapter per week, along with a cartoon, a newsreel and perhaps another short film before the feature presentation. When the advent of TV arrived, many serials were cut down to 90+ minutes and shown as 'movies'. This was no different with Flash Gordon which was renamed 'Space Soldiers' for the small screen.

Also starring in this classic adventure is Charles Middleton as the wicked Emperor Ming the Merciless and the stunning Priscilla Lawson as his daughter Princess Aura. Nobody seems to know what became of poor Ms. Lawson. I heard that in a later interview, Jean Rogers related that Lawson lost a leg in a car accident during the war and drifted off into obscurity, and was last heard of running a stationary shop. Something about that story just makes me sad because I think she is great here and she should have gone on to do other things instead a few uncredited roles before vanishing circa 1941.

Chapter 1: The Planet of Peril

The serial is remarkably true to the original newspaper strip, particularly the first chapter in which the plane carrying Flash and Dale is hit by a meteorite and crashlands in Dr. Zarkov's back yard. Kidnapping them, Zarkov takes off in a homemade rocket ship headed for Mongo; a planet on a collision course with Earth. After encountering some giant lizards (iguanas with bits stuck on them) the trio are captured by Ming's guards and taken to the palace where introductions are made. After being thrown into the arena for insolence, Flash fights off several ape-men before Princess Aura (who has developed quite a fancy for Flash) steps in to his aid. The chapter ends with Flash and Aura plummeting into blackness as a trapdoor is opened beneath their feet...

Chapter 2: The Tunnel of Terror

Caught by a giant net, Flash and Aura are saved from certain doom and make their way through the tunnels beneath Ming's palace. Hiding Flash in a rocket ship, Aura heads back to the palace whilst our hero changes into some Mongo attire just in time to witness a fleet of flying saucers attack the city. These are piloted by the Lion Men of whom Flash promptly shoots down two. Making pals with Prince Thun of the Lion Men, Flash is shown a secret way into the palace. Hurrying onwards, Flash hopes to save Dale from a forced marriage to Ming, but instead finds himself up against a dragon that dwells in the tunnels...

Chapter 3: Captured by Shark Men

Defeating the dragon and rescuing Dale from Ming's clutches, the heroes escape back down into the caverns beneath the palace. Thun is caught up battling some guards whilst Flash and Dale tumble through a trapdoor that drops them into an underground river. Enter the Shark Men (swimmers in silver bathing caps). Taken by submarine to the underwater palace of Kala, King of the Shark Men, Dale once more finds herself in somebodies harem and Flash is again tossed into an arena to fight for his life. This time its against a giant 'octosac'...

Chapter 4: Battling the Sea Beast

Thun and Aura arrive at Kala's palace in time to persuade Kala to stop Flash's death. Split up, Aura and Flash make for the control room where Aura blasts the pressure controls resulting in flooding and loss of oxygen for the underwater kingdom. Flash heads back to rescue his friends but a wall gives way and all are swept away in the rush of water...

Chapter 5: The Destroying Ray

Controlling a device in his laboratory, Ming raises the city of the shark men to the surface, saving his daughter (and Flash) from a watery grave. Zarkov meets Prince Barin, the true heir of Mongo who pledges his allegiance and the two of them take off in his rocket ship. Flash and his companions are soon attacked by the Vulture Men upon leaving the risen city and as Barin and Zarkov arrive on the scene, Dale and Thun are captured and taken to the floating city of the Vulture Men where Dale is once again at the pleasure of a beastly ruler and Thun is put to work in the furnaces. Flash, Zarkov, Barin and Aura approach the sky city in Barin's rocket ship only to be targeted by King Vultan's 'melting ray'...

Chapter 6: Flaming Torture

Surviving the fall, Flash and his friends are captured by King Vultan and put to work in the furnaces alongside Thun (except Zarkov, of course, who finds himself at work in a new laboratory). Flash organises a rebellion which fails and soon he is chained up at the mercy of Vultan's torturers...

Chapter 7: Shattering Doom

Aura rushes in with a ray gun and forces Vultan to stop torturing Flash. After being revived by Zarkov, our hero soon finds himself back at work in the furnaces, only this time with an electical wire around his ankle that will kill him if he tries any more tricks. Ming and his entourage arrive and argue with Vultan who seems to be double-crossing his emperor. Zarkov connects Flash's wire to his shovel which the youth promptly hurls into the furnace creating a massive explosion...


Chapter 8: Tournament of Death

Flash makes a run for it during all the confusion and makes his way to the throne room. Ming orders his execution, but the gravity rays holding up the city fail due to the explosion and everybody starts to slide about. Zarkov promises to fix the problem if Vulatn and Ming let his friends go free. Vultan agrees and so Zarkov complies. But upon rectifying the city's gravity problem, Ming orders a tournament of death in which Flash must enter. First he fights a masked swordsman (who turns out to be Barin) and then a 'mighty beast of Mongo'...

Chapter 9: Fighting the Fire Dragon

Flash is saved from a grisly end at the hands of the beast man by Aura who hands him a spear which he promptly jabs into the creature's weak spot. Reluctantly agreeing to honor his word, Ming lets Flash and his companions live. But dastardly plans are afoot. Aura drugs Flash and has him taken through the tunnel of terror, intending to revive him in the Temple of Tao where they can live happily ever after. But Ming's High-Priest, for reasons of his own, rings the gong that awakens the fire dragon...

Chapter 10: The Unseen Peril

Zarkov arrives just in time to destroy the fire dragon with a grenade and Flash is carried back up to the palace to be revived. Only, the effects of the drug mean that he has lost his memory. Aura convinces Flash that he is in love with her and Barin is his enemy. A fight ensues and Flash is knocked unconscious and taken down to Zarkov's lab where the professor tries to reverse the effects of the drug. Ming sends his guards down to execute Flash, but fail to do so as our hero mysteriously turns invisible before the order to fire is given...

Chapter 11: In the Claws of the Tigron

The guards, terrified by Flash's vanishing act, quickly flee, leaving Zarkoz to explain that he had targeted Flash with a newly discovered invisible ray. One it is established that the effect is not permanent, Flash takes a second dose of the ray and heads off to Ming's throne room to cause havoc and then down to the dungeons to rescue Vultan. Meanwhile, Barin takes Dale down into the catacombs. Unfortunately, this has been overheard by Aura who has the terrifying 'tigron' released (a pretty normal looking tiger)...

Chapter 12: Trapped in the Turret

Flash arrives on the scene and defeats the tigron single-handed. Barin talks some sense into Aura who seems to come around to the idea of helping the Earthlings and the group head off to confront Ming once and for all. Once it is agreed that Flash and his companions can go in peace, they head off to rendezvous with Barin at the lake of rocks. The Prince's ship arrives but begins firing upon them, causing the group to scurry into a rocky cavern for shelter but are consumed by a fiery explosion...

Chapter 13: Rocketing to Earth

Narrowly escaping the explosion via a trapdoor that leads down into the catacombs, Flash and co. head onwards, encountering Barin who had been captured previously. They make for the lab and try to barricade themselves in, but soon the palace is under attack by Thun and the Lion Men in their space gyros. Ming brings Flash and his friends to the throne room to witness the destruction of the Lion Men. Only Ming's forces lose. The Lion Men storm the palace and in the ensuing scuffle, Ming sneaks out and heads for the sacred temple of the great god Tao, where he is consumed by smoke and presumably meets his maker. Victorious, Flash, Dale and Zarkov head for home on a rocket ship, but discover a time bomb on board, placed there by Ming's high priest. Flash tosses the bomb out of the rocket ship and our heroes continue onwards towards Earth.