Flash Gordon (Movie Trilogy, 1936)

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

The Flash Gordon trilogy is one of the most famous SF serials. From 1912 to the middle 1950s, cliffhanger serials were a staple short subject shown during the Saturday matinee at the movie theater. These were inexpensively made, black-and-white films, consisting usually of twelve to fifteen chapters, each of which ended with one or more of the heroes caught in a situation that seemed to offer no hope of survival.

Flash Gordon (1936) is the only serial included in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. It was followed by Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938) and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940), all of which starred Buster Crabbe. These movies were produced by Universal Pictures, based on the comic strip by Alex Raymond. As in the comic strip, Flash was accompanied by Dr. Zarkov and Dale Arden, and battles the evil Ming the Merciless, who returns in each sequel after his seeming destruction in the preceding episode.