Flash Gordon – Spaceship to the Unknown (1936) starring Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton
Product Description
The planet Mongo is on a collision course with Earth! Flash Gordon and Dale Arden join Dr. Zarkov and blast off in his rocket ship to Mongo, trying to avert worldwide destruction. As soon as they land, Flash, Dale and Zarkov are taken prisoner by Ming the Merciless, the evil Emperor of Mongo. In a last ditch effort to save Earth from interplanetary peril, Flash Gordon matches wits with Ming. The outcome is in doubt as it appears Flash and his friends will never see Earth again. Don’t cover your eyes or look away. You won’t want to miss one thrilling moment in the death-defying adventures of everyone’s favorite space hero, Flash Gordon! This is a feature-length edited version of the 1936 serial “Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers.”
Spaceship to the Unknown – chapters
“The Planet of Peril“
The planet Mongo is on a collision course with Earth. Dr. Alexis Zarkov takes off in a rocket ship to Mongo with Flash Gordon and Dale Arden as his assistants. They find that the planet is ruled by the cruel Emperor Ming, who lusts after Dale and sends Flash to fight in the arena. Ming’s daughter, Princess Aura, tries to spare Flash’s life.
“The Tunnel of Terror“
Aura helps Flash to escape as Zarkov is put to work in Ming’s laboratory and Dale is prepared for her wedding to Ming. Flash meets Prince Thun, leader of the Lion Men, and the pair return to the palace to rescue Dale.
“Captured by Shark Men“
Flash stops the wedding ceremony, but he and Dale are captured by King Kala, ruler of the Shark Men and a loyal follower of Ming. At Ming’s order, Kala forces Flash to fight with a giant octosak in a chamber filling with water.
“Battling the Sea Beast“
Aura and Thun rescue Flash from the octosak. Trying to keep Flash away from Dale, Aura destroys the mechanisms that regulate the underwater city.
“The Destroying Ray“
Flash, Dale, Aura and Thun escape from the underwater city, but are captured by King Vultan and the Hawkmen. Dr. Zarkov befriends Prince Barin, and they race to the rescue.
“Flaming Torture“
Dale pretends to fall in love with King Vultan in order to save Flash, Barin and Thun, who are put to work in the Hawkmen’s atomic furnaces.
“Shattering Doom“
Flash, Barin, Thun and Zarkov create an explosion in the atomic furnaces.
“Tournament of Death“
Dr. Zarkov saves the Hawkmen’s city in the sky from falling, earning Flash and his friends King Vultan’s gratitude. Ming insists that Flash fight a tournament of death against a masked opponent, revealed to be Barin, and then against a vicious orangopoid.
“Fighting the Fire Dragon“
Flash survives the tournament with Aura’s help, after she discovers the weak point of the orangopoid. Still determined to win Flash, Aura has him drugged to make him lose his memory.
“The Unseen Peril“
Flash recovers his memory. Ming is determined to have Flash executed.
“In the Claws of the Tigron“
Zarkov invents a machine that makes Flash invisible. Flash torments Ming and his guards. Barin hides Dale in the catacombs, but Aura has her tracked by a tigron.
“Trapped in the Turret“
Aura realizes the error of her ways, and falls in love with Barin. She tries to help Flash and his friends to return to Earth — but Ming plots to kill them.
“Rocketing to Earth“
Ming orders that the Earth people be caught and killed, but Flash and his friends escape from the Emperor’s clutches, and Ming is apparently killed in the flames of the “sacred temple of the Great God Tao”. Flash, Dale and Zarkov make a triumphant return to Earth.
Cast of characters
- Buster Crabbe (Buck Rogers) … Flash Gordon
- Jean Rogers (Whistling in Brooklyn) … Dale Arden
- Frank Shannon (Blondes at Work) … Dr. Hans Zarkov
- Charles Middleton (Our Vines Have Tender Grapes) … Ming the Merciless
- Priscilla Lawson (Double Wedding) … Princess Aura
- Richard Alexander (Dangerous When Wet) … Prince Barin
- Jack ‘Tiny’ Lipson (The Live Ghost) … King Vultan
- James Pierce … Prince Thun
- Earl Askam … Officer Torch
- Richard Tucker … Prof. Gordon
- George Cleveland (A Girl a Guy and a Gob) … Prof. Henson
- Lon Poff … The High Priest
- Charles McMurphy … Atom Furnace supervisor
- Theodore Lorch (Mad Love; Spook Louder) … Priest #2
Additional cast
- Lynton Brent (I’ll Never Heil Again) … Transcontinental airplane pilot (uncredited)
- Al Ferguson (Captain America serial) … Telescreen monitor (uncredited)
- Fred Kohler Jr. … Robot / Ming soldier (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Bull Montana (The Lost World 1925) … Monkey-Man (uncredited)
- Constantine Romanoff … Monkey-Man (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Glenn Strange (The Mad Monster;Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein) … Robot / Ming soldier / Gocko (uncredited)
- Harry Wilson (Robin And The 7 Hoods; Nutty But Nice) … Captured soldier (archive footage) (uncredited)