Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)

Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers Conquer the Universe
Purple Death from Outer Space

Cast:

Buster Crabbe is Flash Gordon
Carol Hughes is Dale Arden
Frank Shannon is Dr. Zarkov
Charles Middleton is Emperor Ming the Merciless

What the box says:

Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe), Dale Arden (Carol Hughes), and Dr. Zarkov must once again go to the planet Mongo and fight the evil emperor Ming (Charles Middleton) when a deadly "Purple Death" plague breaks out on Earth. Tracing the source of the "Purple Death" to Mongo, our group of adventurers flies to there in Dr. Zarkov's rocket where they discover that Emperor Ming, whom they believed died at the end of their last battle, is still alive. He is threatening to not only conquer all of Mongo, but also is attacking Earth again, using a "Death Dust" spread by his spaceships that will eventually destroy everyone on Earth. Old allies and new assist Flash in stopping Ming's efforts and saving the Earth.

Plot:

Earth is in panic from the terror of the Purple Death, a terrible disease striking all over the planet.

With terror in the streets, who could save the world...

Flash Gordon, Dale Arden, and Professor Zarkov are trying to track the Purple Death and discover it came from the planet Mongo. Returning to Mongo and meeting with Prince Barin, they learn that Ming is still alive...

Of course, Ming is doing some more of his evil schemes by having his Purple death dust to be modified not to kill the lesser intelligent ones so they can become slaves.

Flash, Zarkov, and Dale join Barin on a mission to rescue the General Lupe of Queen Freen of Frigia...Flash, Barin, and their soldiers sneak in to save Lupe from Ming.

Ming is more concerned about the Earthers learning that polarite, the only cure to the death dust is in Frigia.

Rocket chase ensues...

Special effects before computer animation...

Well, our intripid heroes learn of polarite. However, they have to be trained to endure the cold in Frigia. After reaching Frigia, they land to mine the polarite. Let the mountain climbing ensue as Ming's ships start bombing which causes avalances.. Flash and Barron are trapped in a deep chasm.

So cold, almost as cold as an employer's heart... Zarkov manages to drive Ming's rocket away and then picks up Flash's emergency beacon. He scrambles a rescue party to pick them up...

Ming sends his soldiers back after Flash and the others. This time they use remote controlled robo-soldiers to stop Flash from getting the polarite. Dale and Zarkov get captured and taken to Ming.

Flash and Barin take the polarite to Earth before trying to rescue Dale and Zarkov...

Ming wants Zarkov to work for him to create a better cold preservation so he could have his soldiers could conquer Frigia and to marry Dale.

It's good to be the evil warlord who is known as Merciless...

Flash returns and sneaks into Ming's castle. Ming is having Zarkov tortured when Flash runs in to rescue him. He tells them how to escape.

Ming offers another job opportunity to Zarkov.

Flash finds Dale and learn that Zarkov wants to stay behind to destroy Ming's castle.

Well, another scientist talks Zarkov into escaping with the others as Barin's ships approach.

Another rocket chase ensues. Flash has had to take one of Ming's rockets to escape. Unfortunately, the radio is damaged, and they can't contact Barin's ships.

Can anyone else sing "Flash Ahhh-hhhhaGordon" like Freddie Mercury? Flash does manage to send a morse'like code that Barin does decypher. He brings our heroes aboard.

The narrator explains that Earth was saved by Flash...

What I say:

As a Nerdal-American of sci-fi/B-movie/comic book-icdom, it is somewhat embarrassing to have to admit about most of Flash Gordon I know is from the 1980s movie with the Queen theme song...Flash Ahhh-hhhha Gordon... Sorry, my childhood still has some of the 1980 Flash Gordon movie memories...That is one movie I've been meaning to get. Unfortunately, it has fallen on the back burner that'll put it somewhere in the distant future...

Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Rocky Jones in Rocky Jones Space Ranger: Crash of the Moons or Rocky Jones Space Ranger: Menace from Outer Space are only of a few of the most famous sci-fi serials and series.

The movie theater serials used to bring the audience back each week with every episode having a cliffhanger. Well, in the long ago times, there was a movie theater in every town. Remember how every city hall and county courthouse were burnt down? If not, the local historians just loved to include something like that in their work. Back to movie serials...With so many versions around the world from 195 minutes to 220 minutes?! Well, this 88 minute version definitely has some missing scenes from the more serial versions. 88 minutes also cuts out the numerous cliffhangers and the replays to explain what happened last week.

Ming had the Fu Manchu goatee. Well, I can see how how Max Von Sydow was so campy in the 1980 remake. It never pays to be the soldier or employee of any evil overlord. Darth Vader forced choked quite a number of his own Imperial officers for failing him. Ming the Merciless insures his soldiers get executed for failure. This is definitely the reason why the the guy was named "the Merciless".

Buster Crabbe was known for a number of serials including a couple of other Flash Gordon serials (Flash Gordon and Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars) and some other movies like Nabonga Gorilla. He was one of the Johnny Weismuller type actors. Today, he'd probaly be more of the direct to video leaders.

Stock footage of reusing the same special effects would be hard to count. They never met a rocket ship flight that wasn't loved, lost, or re-used. Well, the editing might be part of why the same scenes seem to be used so repetitiously.

The fights aren't going to be remembered as highly stylized wire-fu fights or even decent fights that might be on Gunsmoke. You'd be lucky to think the fist fights might be something seen in Star Trek in the 1960s. The roundhouse knuckle draggers would be beneath the saloon bar brawls in low-budget 1930s Westerns.

Quotable Dialogue
"They missed us with a heat ray."
"Our number 2 cannon has been destroyed."
"If they're not, they'll never be found."
"Ming is merciless to those who fail."
Morals of the Story
Sci-Fi serial heroes should wear neck-ties to pilot rockets.
Space rockets need periscopes.
Rockets circling mount McKinley is a way to stop super bio-weapons.
Alien worlds have analog clocks.
Purple death is a bit hard to see in black and white.