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Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe main poster

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe

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5.8/10 • 23

1940-03-033h 15m

Science FictionAction

New Thrills...New Marvels, New Wonders New Thrills!...New Marvels, New Wonders

A mysterious plague, the Purple Death, ravages the earth. Dr. Zarkov, investigating in his spaceship, finds a ship from planet Mongo seeding the atmosphere with dust. Sure enough, Ming the Merciless is up to his old tricks. So it's back to Mongo for Flash, Dale, and Zarkov.

Directors
Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor
Characters
Alex Raymond
Editors
Joseph Gluck

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Buster Crabbe

    Buster Crabbe

    Flash Gordon

  2. Carol Hughes

    Carol Hughes

    Dale Arden

  3. Charles Middleton

    Charles Middleton

    Emperor Ming

  4. Anne Gwynne

    Anne Gwynne

    Sonja

  5. Frank Shannon

    Frank Shannon

    Dr. Zarkov

  6. John Hamilton

    John Hamilton

    Professor Gordon

  7. Herbert Rawlinson

    Herbert Rawlinson

    Dr. Frohmann

  8. Tom Chatterton

    Tom Chatterton

    Professor Arden

  9. Shirley Deane

    Shirley Deane

    Princess Aura

Reviews1

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talisencrw Avatar

talisencrw

Apr 10, 2016

9/10

I love and have a great affinity for serials from the golden age of cinema, and this was definitely one of the better ones I have seen. Previously, I had really enjoyed Buster Crabbe's presence in the post-Weissmuller era of Tarzan, and I have had the DVD of Hodges' 1980 'Flash Gordon' for eons, but wanted to first get to the root of the phenomenon by checking out the serials. Fortunately, in purchasing a 50-film pack, 'Nightmare Worlds' from Mill Creek, it was included. The 12 episodes of the 220-minute serial were well-edited into the fine flow that this version I saw had, and the special effects and production values were quite decent--you could tell it had been made both by a high-quality studio, in Universal, and by directors quite used to the serial format, in Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. There are some goofs (for example, when Ming's henchmen are looking at a mountainside for the four protagonists, and five are shown), but it's action-packed, with interestingly stylized wipe-edits, and I can see how it later influenced the likes of both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. As well, it's very interesting how the filmmakers were subtly able to use the film to offer social commentary to the growing Nazi/Fascist movements worldwide that were wreaking havoc across the globe in the Axis of Evil. Heartily recommended to anyone who enjoys the fun side of cinema.

Media

  • Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe poster
  • Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe poster
  • Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe poster
  • Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
based on comicrocket shipmovie serialplagueflash gordon