Flash Gordon (1936/I)

Director:

Frederick Stephani
(more)

Writers:

Alex Raymond (based on the comic strip by) &
Ella O'Neill (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

6 April 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Three earthlings visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless.

Plot Keywords:

Post Apocalyptic | Rocket Ship | Space Opera | Trapdoor | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

1 win

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	...	Prof. Gordon [Chs. 1, 4, 9-13]
George Cleveland	...	Prof. Hensley [Chs. 1, 4, 9-13]
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]
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Bagni	...	Hawkman throne room guard [Chs. 5-9] (uncredited)
Carroll Borland	...	Woman in Ming's Palace (uncredited)
Lynton Brent	...	Transcontinental pilot [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Don Brodie	...	Earth Radio Scientist [Chs. 4, 9-10, 12] (uncredited)
Lane Chandler	...	Sharkman [Ch. 4] / Ming Soldier [Chs. 9-13] (uncredited)
Howard Christie	...	Man (uncredited)
Jim Corey	...	Man (uncredited)
Ray Corrigan	...	Orangopoid [Ch. 8] (uncredited)
William Desmond	...	Hawkman lookout captain [Chs. 5-9] (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Spaceograph operator [Chs. 2, 4-5, 9] (uncredited)
Jerry Frank	...	Sharkman [Chs. 3-4] (uncredited)
Saul A. Goodkind	...	Various Characters (voice) (uncredited)
Olive Hatch	...	Aura's handmaiden [Ch. 10] (uncredited)
Fred Kohler Jr.	...	Robot / Ming soldier (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Ming soldier (uncredited)
Charles McMurphy	...	Atom Furnace slavedriver [Chs. 5-9] (uncredited)
Monte Montague	...	Ning soldier [Chs. 12-13] (uncredited)
Bull Montana	...	Monkey man [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	...	Ming Soldier (uncredited)
Lon Poff	...	High priest #1 [Chs. 1-3] (uncredited)
Sana Rayya	...	Priestess of the Tigron [Chs. 11-12] (uncredited)
Constantine Romanoff	...	Monkey man [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Fred Scott	...	Soldier with drugged wine [Ch. 9] (uncredited)
Cap Somers	...	Sharkman [Chs. 3-4] (uncredited)
Glenn Strange	...	Robot / Ming soldier / Gocko (uncredited)
Bunny Waters	...	Sharkman [Chs. 3-4] (uncredited)
Slim Whitaker	...	Prison guard (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Ugly sentry [Ch. 1] (uncredited)

Directed by
Frederick Stephani
Ray Taylor		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Alex Raymond		(based on the comic strip by)
Ella O'Neill		(screenplay) &
George H. Plympton		(screenplay) &
Basil Dickey		(screenplay) &
Frederick Stephani		(screenplay)

Produced by
Henry MacRae	....	producer

Original Music by
Clifford Vaughan		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Jerome Ash		(as Jerry Ash)
Richard Fryer

Film Editing by
Saul A. Goodkind
Louis Sackin
Alvin Todd
Edward Todd

Art Direction by
Ralph Berger

Special Effects by
Ed Keyes	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Ray Corrigan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Frank	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Jacques Aubran	....	music supervisor (uncredited)
Karl Hajos	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
W. Franke Harling	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
David Klatzkin	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Sam Perry	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
William Schiller	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Clifford Vaughan	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Laemmle	....	presenter
Norman Dewes	....	electrical effects (uncredited)
Elmer A. Johnson	....	special properties (uncredited)

Production Companies

• King Features Production
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Questar Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Bridgestone Media (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Hearst Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Prism Pictures (????) (USA) (VHS) (as "Flash Gordon: Rocketship")
• Stokey Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• United American Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Yesteryear (????) (USA) (video) (as "Flash Gordon: Rocketship")
• Western Trails Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers (USA) (video title)
Space Soldiers (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

245 min (13 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

King Features Production

Trivia:

Because the television show "Flash Gordon" (1954) was in syndication in late 1953, the three Universal Pictures Flash Gordon theatrical serials were retitled for TV broadcast. Flash Gordon (1936/I) became "Space Soldiers", Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938) became "Space Soldiers' Trip to Mars", and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940) became "Space Soldiers Conquer the Universe".

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When some of the characters speak, the voice on the soundtrack doesn't match the person speaking.

Quotes:

Ming the Merciless: [observing Flash wrestling with the Orangupoid] He fights well, the Earth man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Spaceballs: The Documentary (2005) (V)

Science fiction begins to gain popularity with this franchise

The allure of the classic FLASH GORDON serials is their swashbuckling nature. FLASH GORDON was a "all american hero" who became popular during the Great Depression. During those days people loved the escape from reality this "daring do" style of science fiction provided. For a few hours the people of those times could enjoy the movie and the Gordon serial that came on before it. With these serials...the good guy was good, the bad guys were bad, and the rocket ships looked like sparklers on strings or styrofoam mock ups with a firecracker in the back. What Flash lacked in technical know how, he made up for in clean cut adventure. Flash fought hordes of bad guys armed with only a sword or zap gun (or both if the budget permitted it.) Guys like ARNOLD, SLY, or Harrison Ford are direct descendants of America's first mainstream sci fi action hero BUSTER CRABBE. Without these serials there would have been no audience for STAR WARS or the other sci-fi efforts that have followed. FLASH GORDON was a trendsetter to say the least!