George Taylor One of the more expensive serials, Flash Gordon did cut a few corners here and there (note the music, all from other Universal films), it has a good cast and is quite faithful to the comic strip. Still fun to watch today.

BA_Harrison In the smoky vastness of space, a strange planet rushes towards Earth on a collision course. Scientific genius Dr. Alexis Zarkov (Frank Shannon) has built a rocket ship in which he intends to travel to the speeding planet and somehow alter its trajectory, but is unexpectedly joined on his mission by American football player 'Flash' Gordon (Larry 'Buster' Crabbe) and his blonde travelling companion Dale Arden (the absolutely gorgeous Jean Rogers), whose plane has been forced out of the sky by an electrical storm.Flash Gordon was, in its day, the most expensive serial ever produced, and wowed audiences so much that two further serials were made in quick succession (Trip to Mars in 1938 and Conquers the Universe in 1940). These days the crude special effects, bizarre costumes, stilted acting, meandering scripts and static direction seem extremely primitive, but it is for precisely these reasons that I enjoy the serial so much—it's all just so much cheesy fun (there's also an element of nostalgia: they used to air these on Saturday mornings during my school holidays). Space Soldiers, the first adventure for Buster Crabbe's daring space explorer, is divided into 13 chapters packed with punch-ups and sword fights, imaginative settings, crazy creatures (Orangopoids, Tigrons and Fire Dragons, oh my!) and silly sci-fi contraptions, each ending on a 'thrilling' cliffhanger that leaves the hero in mortal danger (although each successive chapter would see Flash easily escaping peril to fight another day).

treeline1 I loved "Flash Gordon" as a child and watching the series again on DVD brings back such fond memories. Each 15-minute episode features the adventures of our hero Flash, the lovely Dale Arden, and intrepid Dr. Zarkov on the planet Mongo, with Flash escaping death at every turn: The Shark Men nearly drown him, he faces the Fire Monster in the Tunnel of Terror, and he's in mortal peril in the Static Room! The characters are still fun: Buster Crabbe is every bit the blonde dreamboat hero and Jean Rogers is a delicate and beautiful Dale Arden. Princess Aura still plots to steal Flash for herself, King Vultan of the Hawk Men still has his booming laugh and angel wings, and Ming the Merciless, Emperor of the Universe, is still giving everyone the evil eye and the creeps.This serial probably wouldn't interest children today with its hokey effects - oh, that spaceship! - but it's a fun bit of nostalgia for those who liked it the first time around. The actors play it straight and don't play down to kids. I appreciate that young viewers were expected to read the chapter synopses which had pretty big words in them.I'm glad this came out on DVD. It's a lot of fun to revisit this classic sci-fi serial.

aimless-46 In the 60's Cleveland television audiences could watch a episode of "Flash Gordon" as part of the Ghoulardi Show (11:30PM Friday). This was the best mockfest material any of us in junior high had ever seen. We would have regular "sleepovers" (although we did not call them that) just to get in on the fun of watching this stuff with a group of friends. Then the next week we would quote our favorite cornball lines from the latest episode.Watching it today provokes much the same reaction. But if you can stop laughing at the dialogue, the lame creatures, the silly costumes, and the horrible spaceships long enough, there are some good things I did not appreciate the first time through. The production designers built some excellent sets, both the rooms and the laboratory devices. Charles Middleton's "Ming the Merciless" character was the all-time best screen villain, certainly up to that time, and arguably better than anyone since. Jean Rogers is staggeringly beautiful.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.