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Flash Gordon (serial)
''Flash Gordon'' is a 1936 science fiction serial. 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". Chapter summaries # "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 s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Stephani
Frederick Stephani (June 13, 1903 – October 31, 1962) was a screenwriter and film director. He is best known for co-writing and directing the 13-chapter science fiction serial ''Flash Gordon'' in 1936. The serial became Universal's second highest-grossing productions that year. Despite its success, this was the first and only serial Stephani directed over the course of his career, possibly due to its shortcomings in special effects and overall production values, even by contemporary standards. Stephani continued to write, produce and direct feature films and television episodes into the 1960s. Selected filmography *''Flash Gordon'' (1936) - writer and director *''Fast Company'' (1938) - producer *''Tarzan's New York Adventure'' (1942) - producer *'' Steve Randall'' (1952, TV series) - writer and director *'' Passport to Danger'' (1954, TV series) - writer and director *'' Bombs on Monte Carlo'' (1960) - writer *''The Deputy ''The Deputy, a Christian tragedy'' (German: ''Der S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serial Film
A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a film, motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, generally advancing weekly, until the series is completed. Generally, each serial involves a single set of characters, protagonistic and antagonistic, involved in a single story, which has been edited into chapters after the fashion of serial (literature), serial fiction and the episodes cannot be shown out of order or as a single or a random collection of short subjects. Each chapter was screened at a movie theater for one week, and ended with a cliffhanger, in which characters found themselves in perilous situations with little apparent chance of escape. Viewers had to return each week to see the cliffhangers resolved and to follow the continuing story. Movie serials were especially popular with children, and for many youths in the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Pierce
James Hubert Pierce (August 8, 1900 – December 11, 1983) was an American actor and the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film. He appeared in films from 1924 to 1951. Background Pierce was born in Freedom, Indiana. He was an All-American center on the Indiana Hoosiers football team. Following his graduation in 1921, he coached high school football in Arizona, and began acting in his spare time. After he was cast in the 1923 production of ''The Deerslayer'', he remained in California and coached football at Glendale High School (one of his players was John Wayne). Career Portrayal of Tarzan Pierce's life changed when he attended a party given by Edgar Rice Burroughs and his daughter Joan. Burroughs, the creator and author of the Tarzan books, immediately wanted Pierce to star in the next Tarzan movie. Pierce gave up a role in the film ''Wings'' to accept the Tarzan role. His part in ''Wings'' was given to a newcomer named Gary Cooper. The silent Tarzan film Burrou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodore Lorch
Theodore "Ted" Lorch (September 29, 1873 – November 12, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1908 and 1947. Biography Born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1873, Lorch appeared in several Three Stooges comedies. He was the suspicious Major "Bloodhound" Filbert in ''Uncivil Warriors'', the snooty psychologist Professor Sedlitz in ''Half-Wits Holiday'', and General Muster in ''Goofs and Saddles''. He also performed tiny bit roles, such as the butler in ''If a Body Meets a Body'' and ''Micro-Phonies''. Lorch died on November 12, 1947. His final Stooge film, ''The Hot Scots'', was released posthumously in 1948. He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. Selected filmography * ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1920) - Chingachgook * ''Gasoline Gus'' (1921) - Dry Check Charlie * ''Shell Shocked Sammy'' (1923) * ''Westbound'' (1924) * ''The Sea Hawk'' (1924) - Turkish Merchant (uncredited) * ''Dangerous Pleasure'' (192 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Lipson
Jack "Tiny" Lipson (January 17, 1901 – November 28, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in over 85 films between 1927 and 1948. Career Lipson played character parts, and was usually uncredited. Due to his rotund, towering figure, Lipson gained the nickname "Tiny" and was usually cast as the "fat guy" in films. He played the role of King Vultan the 1936 serial ''Flash Gordon''. In 1941, he appeared in ''Never Give a Sucker an Even Break'' as a Turkish passenger aboard an airplane with W. C. Fields, whose mumbled remarks about the passenger's size prompt the retort, "You a big nose have it!" Two years later, Lipson portrayed a German sailor in the Three Stooges' short ''Back from the Front'', in which he is knocked unconscious and collapses on top of a suffocating Larry Fine. Moe Howard comes to the rescue and quips, "Whoa, a German whale!" Death Lipson died of a heart attack on November 28, 1947, aged 46. He is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Barin
Prince Barin is a character in the Flash Gordon stories. He is king of a region of Mongo called Arboria. Barin becomes one of Flash's best friends, and is deeply in love with Princess Aura. In his appearance, Barin resembles the character of Robin Hood. Barin appears regularly in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip, becoming the ruler of Mongo after Ming's overthrow. In other media Prince Barin was first portrayed by Richard Alexander in the 1936 '' Flash Gordon'' film serial. He reprised the same role in the 1938 sequel ''Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars''. In the 1940 sequel ''Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe'', the role was portrayed by Roland Drew. Alan Oppenheimer provided the voice of Prince Barin in the 1979 Filmation animated series. Barin was depicted as a master archer, armed with arrows encasing any item they strike in ice. His fortress city in Arboria is highly advanced, and almost equal in technology to Mingo City. The city is protected by a defensive energy shield a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Alexander (actor)
Richard Alexander (November 19, 1902 – August 9, 1989) was an American film character actor. Biography Born in Dallas, Texas, Alexander appeared in numerous film serials such as ''Flash Gordon'', ''Zorro Rides Again'' and films like '' Babes in Toyland'', ''The Gladiator'', as well as a leading role in '' All Quiet on the Western Front''. Although he appeared in countless films, almost all of his appearances were uncredited (see filmography below). Alexander died at age 86 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2. McFarland & Company (2016) Filmography *'' Brown of Harvard'' (1926) as Football Fan (film debut, uncredited) *'' Old Ironsides'' (1926) as Seaman (uncredited) *''The Fightin' Comeback'' (1927) as Red Pollock *'' The King of Kings'' (1927) as Roman Soldier (uncredited) *''Annie Laurie'' (1927) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Zarkov
Dr. Hans Zarkov is a fictional character appearing in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip and the following serials, films, television shows and comic books. Zarkov is a brilliant scientist who creates a rocket and forces Flash and Dale Arden to come with him to the planet Mongo, and fight against Ming the Merciless. In the original comic strip, he was first thought to have died when his ship crashed into the planet Mongo. It is later revealed that Ming's minions pulled him out of the wreckage. Zarkov's character in the 1980s DC comic was handled the same way. Alex Raymond's comic strip In the first ''Flash Gordon'' storyline, Zarkov discovers the Earth is endangered by an impending collision with the planet Mongo.Alex Raymond and Don Moore,''Flash Gordon'', "On the Planet Mongo" (1/7/34 to 4/8/34). Discovering Flash and Dale near his laboratory, he abducts them at gunpoint and forces them into his spacecraft, which he then launches at the planet Mongo. By the second storyline in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princess Aura
Princess Aura is a fictional character in the Flash Gordon comic strips and serials. She has been portrayed by various actresses in the many ''Flash Gordon'' adaptations in film and television. Character overview Aura is the daughter of the series' villain, Ming the Merciless, but saves Flash Gordon from her father. She soon realizes that her love for Flash is unrequited, but later falls in love with Prince Barin, the rightful heir to the throne of Mongo. She and Barin are eventually banished to the forest world of Arboria. Appearances Comic strips Princess Aura first appeared in the fourth installment of the 1934 comic strip ''Flash Gordon''. She defies her father and saves Flash, but finds that she cannot seduce him away from Dale Arden. Aura later falls in love with Prince Barin and marries him. Film In 1936, Princess Aura was portrayed by Priscilla Lawson in the ''Flash Gordon'' film serial. In 1940, the role was portrayed by Shirley Deane in the third ''Flash Gordon'' se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dale Arden
Dale Arden is a fictional character, the fellow adventurer and love interest of Flash Gordon and a prototypic heroine for later female characters, including Princess Leia and Padme Amidala in '' Star Wars''. Flash, Dale and Dr. Hans Zarkov fight together against Ming the Merciless. Profile Dale is Flash Gordon's constant companion in his adventures, as well as his one true love. The emperor Ming the Merciless is immediately attracted to her and the early strips were essentially based on Flash's heroic efforts to rescue Dale from Ming's many attempts to marry her. Filmation's Flash Gordon's Bible portrayed Dale Arden as follows: Alex Raymond's comic strip Dale Arden is introduced in the first ''Flash Gordon'' story, July 7, 1934, as simply "a passenger" on the plane Flash is flying on. After the plane is hit by a meteor, Flash saves Dale by parachuting to the ground. The two are then abducted by Dr. Zarkov, who takes them on his rocket to the planet Mongo. In the 1930s co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Library Of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages." Congress moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800 after holding sessions for eleven years in the temporary national capitals in New York City and Philadelphia. In both cities, members of the U.S. Congress had access to the sizable collection ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
