Ep. 1: "PLANET OF PERIL"

Some might not believe me, but I dug out FLASH GORDON ep.1 tonight-- and it brought tears to my eyes. It was that good! I have no patience or sympathy for people who find they can't appreciate something like this just becuase it's "old", or "old-fashioned", or "dated", or "black & white", or "low-budget" (it had the highest budget of any serial ever made) or has "primitive effects". What a load. You know what puts this thing across--really? Its absolute SINCERITY. Every person involved clearly believes it's happening. And so, it must be!

Buster Crabbe's pretty natural (though he improved IMMENSELY over the course of the 3 serials). Jean Rogers isn't bad. Charles Middleton looks like he's doing Shakespeare or something! Frank Shannon appears to be POSSESSED-- as a genius-level scientist, the crisis has clearly been too much for him. This was a big surprise for me the 1st time I saw this, as I'd seen the other 2 earlier. He levelled out a few episodes in. Until then, one scene that cracked me up was when Dale starts to faint. He says, "In the excitement, I forgot to turn on the oxygen." Oh yeah-- hell of a thing to forget when you're heading into space!!! Really added a bit of humor to the intense sequence, for me.

I also got a charge when, after Zarkov believes Flash is there to stop him, he quickly changes his tune and says he needs help. Without batting an eye, Flash says, "Sure, I'll bet on a long shot! I'll got with you." I don't believe this was how it was in the newspaper. Oddly enough, if memory serves, one of the very FEW things they did more accurately in the 1980 film was having Zarkov force Flash into the rocket at gunpoint! Of course, Alex Raymond wasn't playing it for laughs like Dino DeLaurentis did. But I prefer the Buster Crabbe version. Could this have been Production Code influenced, or was it just one of the 4 screenwriters' idea of a better way to play it?

How about that scene with Ming. "The planets will NOT collide. I control ABSOLUTELY the movement of the planet! I shall destroy the Earth in my own way." Then Zarkov makes a suggestion... "Why DESTROY it? Why not CONQUER it?" Without even blinking, Ming says, "Why not INDEED??" What deathless dialogue!!

I was also reminded of the Sunday morning (after church) when we watched this the first time. My Dad made a comment to the effect of "hubba hubba" (or some other words) when Aura showed up. Clearly, there was "pure" LUST in her eyes as she watched Flash-- even more than when Ming showed an interest in Dale! I wonder if she was in any way influenced by Fu Manchu's daughter, Fah Lo Suee, who had debuted only a few years earlier in a novel, then turned up in 2 different movies, both around the time of the FLASH GORDON comic-strip's debut in the paper.

When Aura defied her father, entered the arena, grabbed a gun, and shot a guard-- who, dying, pulled down the lever, sending she & Flash DOWN THE PIT, I just screamed at the TV, laughing at the same time. What excitement! Damn, this thing's good.

If I were a movie director, FLASH GORDON would probably be something I'd love to tackle. But I'd see no reason to make drastic changes, or-- God forbid-- update it. The original story is a classic. The reason the serial is so good is because the first 8 episodes actually follow the newspaper story. If anything, the proper way to do a remake of this would be to tell the SAME story-- with perhaps better visuals for space travel, the dinosaurs, Mongo City, etc. I just figured out that the loud humming noise Ming's ships make when they fly (Zarkov's doesn't) combined with their slow movement as they take off or land, indicate the ships fly by a powerful electrical-MAGNETIC engine that cancels gravity! It's so obvious. They only use "rockets" to manouever.



Between FG and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, Universal really had a great year in 1935. What a shame the studio fell on hard times only a year later, and was bought out in a hostile takeover, all the heads of production getting fired in the process. It would take a couple years before another takeover would eject the new owners in favor of even newer owners, who would put the studio back on track. In the meantime, what a tragedy that the 2nd FG serial was such a piece of junk (by comparison to the 1st & 3rd). It only stands out as "good" when compared to those made by other studios.

I'm so glad I pulled this thing out. Looking forward to plowing thru the rest of it! (After... well, the 1939 BUCK ROGERS is in the same box!)