Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe

1940

3h 15m

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

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18 Images

Science Fiction

Action

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

Writers

George H. Plympton(screenplay by)

Basil Dickey(screenplay by)

Barry Shipman(screenplay by)

Stars

Buster Crabbe

Carol Hughes

Charles Middleton

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Videos1

Trailer
Watch Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940) | Trailer | Buster Crabbe | Carol Hughes

Photos18

Top cast

Flash Gordon

Dale Arden

Emperor Ming

Sonja

Dr. Zarkov

Professor Gordon

Dr. Frohmann

Professor Arden

Princess Aura

Captain Roka

Prince Barin

Captain Torch

Lieutenant Thong

Captain Turan

Professor Karm

Janda

Keedish

Count Korro

Directors

Ford Beebe

Ray Taylor

Writers

George H. Plympton(screenplay by)

Basil Dickey(screenplay by)

Barry Shipman(screenplay by)

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Review

Featured review

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.

talisencrw10 Apr, 2016