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Flash Gordon is a 1936 superhero serial film. Presented in 13 chapters, it is the first screen adventure for Flash Gordon, the comic-strip character created by Alex Raymond in 1934. It presents the story of Gordon's visit to the planet Mongo and his encounters with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson and Frank Shannon portray the film's central characters. In 1996, Flash Gordon was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe II was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming event, which launched his career on the silver screen and later television. He starred in a variety of popular feature films and movie serials released between 1933 and the 1950s, portraying the top three syndicated comic-strip heroes of the 1930s: Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers. In 1983 Crabbe died of a heart attack in Arizona.
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe is a 1940 American black-and-white science-fiction 12-chapter movie serial from Universal Pictures, produced by Henry MacRae and co-directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. The serial stars Buster Crabbe, Carol Hughes, Charles B. Middleton, Frank Shannon, and Roland Drew. It was written by George H. Plympton, Basil Dickey, and Barry Shipman, and was adapted from Alex Raymond's syndicated newspaper comic strip of the same name from King Features Syndicate. Shown theatrically in 12 separate weekly "chapters", it was the last of the three Universal Flash Gordon serials made between 1936 and 1940.
Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars is a 1938 Universal Pictures 15–chapter science-fiction movie serial based on the syndicated newspaper comic strip Flash Gordon. It is the second of the three Flash Gordon serials made by Universal between 1936 and 1940. The main cast from the first serial reprise their roles: Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon, Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, Frank Shannon as Dr. Alexis Zarkov, Charles B. Middleton as Ming the Merciless, and Richard Alexander as Prince Barin. Also in the principal cast are Beatrice Roberts as Queen Azura, Donald Kerr as Happy Hapgood, Montague Shaw as the Clay King, and Wheeler Oakman as Ming's chief henchman. The serial was followed by Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940).
The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938) is a 12-chapter Republic movie serial starring Lee Powell and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett. It was directed by William Witney and John English. While not often considered a great serial, as it contains much stock footage and two recap chapters, it is famous for its main villain, the Lightning—the first costumed supervillain. There is some speculation that George Lucas used the Lightning as a template for Darth Vader.
The Adventures of Red Ryder is a 1940 American 12-chapter movie serial from Republic Pictures, directed by William Witney and John English and starring Don "Red" Barry and Noah Beery, Sr., based on the Western comic strip Red Ryder by Fred Harmon. This serial is the 18th of the 66 serials produced by Republic.
Dick Tracy (1937) is a 15-chapter Republic movie serial starring Ralph Byrd based on the Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould. It was directed by Alan James and Ray Taylor.
Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939) is a 15-Chapter Republic movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould. It was directed by William Witney and John English.
King of the Royal Mounted (1940) is a Republic Pictures northern serial based on the King of the Royal Mounted comic strip directed by William Witney and John English.
Radio Patrol is a 1937 Universal movie serial based on the comic strip Radio Patrol.
Buck Rogers is a 1939 science fiction film serial, produced by Universal Pictures. It stars Buster Crabbe as the eponymous hero, Constance Moore, Jackie Moran and Anthony Warde. It is based on the Buck Rogers character created by Philip Francis Nowlan, who had appeared in magazines and comic strips since 1928.
Don Winslow of the Navy is a 1942 Universal Pictures Serial film based on the comic strip Don Winslow of the Navy by Commander Frank V. Martinek. It was theatrically released in January 1942.
Gang Busters is a 1942 Universal movie serial based on the radio series Gang Busters.
Jungle Queen (1945) is a Universal movie serial. This serial was later re-edited into a feature film for television called Jungle Safari (1956).
King of the Congo is a 1952 American 15 chapter movie serial, the 48th released by Columbia Pictures. It was produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Wallace Grissell, and stars Buster Crabbe. The serial also co-stars Gloria Dea, Leonard Penn, Jack Ingram, Rick Vallin, Nick Stuart, William Fawcett, and Rusty Wescoatt. King of the Congo was based on the comic book character "Thun'da", created by Frank Frazetta, and published by Magazine Enterprises.
The Sea Hound is a 1947 Columbia 15-chapter movie serial starring Buster Crabbe based on the radio show The Sea Hound. It was the 34th of the 57 serials produced by Columbia Pictures. Buster Crabbe starred as Capt. Silver, master of the Sea Hound, and Ralph Hodges played his faithful sidekick Jerry. Pamela Blake played the captain's love interest, Ann Whitney.
Pirates of the High Seas is a 1950 American adventure serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Carr and starring Buster Crabbe, Lois Hall and Tommy Farrell.
Tarzan the Fearless is a 12 chapter American Pre-Code film serial starring Buster Crabbe in his only appearance as Tarzan. It was also released as a 61-minute feature film which consisted of the first four chapters edited together, and which was intended to be followed on a weekly basis by the last eight chapters in individual episode format, but which was often exhibited instead as a stand-alone feature film. Actress Jacqueline Wells co-starred; she later changed her name to Julie Bishop. The serial was produced by Sol Lesser, written by Basil Dickey, George Plympton and Walter Anthony, and directed by Robert F. Hill. The film was released in both formats on August 11, 1933.
Red Barry is a detective comic strip created by Will Gould (1911–1984) for King Features. The daily strip about two-fisted undercover cop Barry began Monday, March 19, 1934, as one of several strips introduced to compete with Dick Tracy by Chester Gould. A Sunday strip was added on February 3, 1935. The daily strip ran for three years, until August 14, 1937, and the Sunday page ended almost a year later, on July 17, 1938.
References
Notes
Sources consulted
- Cline, William C. (1984). In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
- Mayer, Geoff. Encyclopaedia of American Film Serials (McFarland, 2017)
