The Flash Gordon Serials, 1936-1940: A Heavily Illustrated Guide

Description

Flash Gordon, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, the most expensive and popular movie serials ever made, have been favorites of movie and comic fans for decades. The original 1936 serial, designated a cultural treasure, was selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry in 1996. Arranged in a chapter-by-chapter format conforming to the structure of the three original serials, the work provides full cast and crew information, plot synopses, and production notes for all 40 episodes. The work also has a wealth of background information and 159 photographs, along with comments from cast members interviewed—Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, and Carroll Borland. Appendices provide an overview of the serial Buck Rogers (1939), select filmographies for 50 of the most prominent Flash Gordon cast and crew, and a complete list of the serials' film and television remakes. Dedication Acknowledgments Table of Contents Preface A History of the Flash Gordon Serials One: Flash Gordon (1936) Chapter 1: “The Planet of Peril” Chapter 2: “The Tunnel of Terror” Chapter 3: “Captured by Shark Men” Chapter 4: “Battling the Sea Beast” Chapter 5: “The Destroying Ray” Chapter 6: “Flaming Torture” Chapter 7: “Shattering Doom” Chapter 8: “Tournament of Death” Chapter 9: “Fighting the Fire Dragon” Chapter 10: “The Unseen Peril” Chapter 11: “In the Claws of the Tigron” Chapter 12: “Trapped in the Turret” Chapter 13: “Rocketing to Earth” Two: Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars (1938) Chapter 1: “New Worlds to Conquer” Chapter 2: “The Living Dead” Chapter 3: “Queen of Magic” Chapter 4: “Ancient Enemies” Chapter 5: “The Boomerang” Chapter 6: “Tree-Men of Mars” Chapter 7: “The Prisoner of Mongo” Chapter 8: “The Black Sapphire of Kalu” Chapter 9: “Symbol of Death” Chapter 10: “Incense of Forgetfulness” Chapter 11: “Human Bait” Chapter 12: “Ming the Merciless” Chapter 13: “The Miracle of Magic” Chapter 14: “A Beast at Bay” Chapter 15: “An Eye for an Eye” Three: Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940) Chapter 1: “The Purple Death” Chapter 2: “Freezing Torture” Chapter 3: “Walking Bombs” Chapter 4: “The Destroying Ray” Chapter 5: “The Palace of Terror” Chapter 6: “Flaming Death” Chapter 7: “The Land of the Dead” Chapter 8: “The Fiery Abyss” Chapter 9: “The Pool of Peril” Chapter 10: “The Death Mist” Chapter 11: “Stark Treachery” Chapter 12: “Doom of the Dictator” Appendix I: Buck Rogers (1939) Appendix II: Filmographies Appendix III: Flash Gordon Remakes Index