In the first episode of the 1936 Flash Gordon serial, an
adviser to Emperor Ming walks on screen and you’re immediately taken to Star
Wars. The adviser has the same costume,
speech mannerisms, posture and even the same nose as a character in the more
recent films. So while watching Flash Gordon
in our post-Lucas Star Wars days, one of the big pleasures is spotting
references and influences.
And there are many.
The universe of Flash Gordon is one of multiple alien races – Lion Men,
Shark Men, Hawkmen, a tiger woman, others – and all these races serve as
subjects of the Emperor. These races
live in a variety of cities on land, under the ocean and in the sky, cities
that call to mind those in the Star Wars series. And Mongo is populated by a variety of
menacing beasts. There is also a variety
of transportation here from spinning top ships to rockets to underwater
craft. Moment’s like the undersea trip,
with its encounter with sea beasts, and Flash’s struggle in a chamber that is
filling with water call to mind specific moments from the more recent films,
too. Some of Flash’s sword fights, and
the sound that accompanies them, remind us of light saber duels, and even the
text at the beginning of each “chapter” is suggested in the Star Wars saga.
But for all the fun echoes here, there are many elements here firmly planted in 1936. This Flash
Gordon serial has a couple of big dance productions like the one with women
sprawled around a multi-armed deity and the one that is a celebration for King
Vultan. Also, the science of Flash
Gordon is based on rays, electrical arcs and neon tubes, like you’d expect in
Frankenstein rather than in today’s sci fi.
And the machinery here recalls that from films like Metropolis, with its
big clock dial, and even Charlie Chaplin’s contemporary Modern Times. The Flash Gordon episodes also play to an
interest in identity and consciousness as Princess Aura wipes out Flash’s
memory and tries to reconstruct it to her benefit. Although it has clearly inspired later
cinema, this Flash Gordon is very much a thing of its time.
Some of these 30s elements turn out to be drawbacks for a
contemporary viewer of the series, though. One
element that hurts the film is its lack of psychology. The episodes run completely on story, and
characters are more plot functions than people.
Flash dotes on Dale because their relationship is a necessary part of
the story, but there’s no motivation, passion or risk there. In fact, if we weren't told that it exists,
we might not even see a relationship at all.
And given the short serial format, there’s little in the way of
overarching plot structure or theme: something happens, then something else
happens, then something else happens. Flash
Gordon is a series actions and situations that barely grow out of the situation
that immediately preceded. And it’s
worth noting that the acting is singularly bad.
The athletic Buster Crabbe bounds vertically as he runs and flails his
arms since there’s not enough room to run on the soundstage, and flat line
delivery is the standard.
But for all this, there’s fun to be had in this 1936 serial. On some level, there’s a
sincerity here. Though it’s hard to know
what audiences would have thought of the rocket exhaust drifting up rather than
flying out behind the spaceships, there’s a refreshing lack of cynicism and
self-consciousness throughout the series.
Each episode here is a fun, little adventure, and if we come to realize that the Emperor Ming sat on something that
looks a lot like the Iron Throne, it’s an extra smile for the series.
