''Buck Rogers'' is a 1939

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a 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, gene ...

, produced by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. It stars

Buster Crabbe Clarence Linden Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimmi ...

(who had previously played the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in two ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

'' serials and would return for a third in 1940) as the eponymous hero,

Constance Moore Constance Moore (January 18, 1920 or January 18, 1921Additional on April 23, 2017. – September 16, 2005) was an American singer and actress. Her most noted work was in wartime musicals such as ''Show Business'' and ''Atlantic City'' and the ...

Jackie Moran Jackie Moran (January 26, 1923 – September 20, 1990) was an American movie actor who, between 1936 and 1946, appeared in over thirty films, primarily in teenage roles. Early life and Hollywood career A native of Mattoon, Illinois, Jo ...

and

Anthony Warde Anthony Warde (born Benjamin Schwartz; January 1, 1909 – January 8, 1975) was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964. Early years Born as Benjamin Schwartz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on New Year' ...

. It is based on the

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...

character created by

Philip Francis Nowlan Philip Francis Nowlan (; November 13, 1888 – February 1, 1940) was an American science fiction writer, best known as the creator of Buck Rogers. Biography Nowlan was born on November 13, 1888. While attending the University of Pennsylvania, N ...

, who had appeared in magazines and

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

since 1928.

Plot

In 1938, Lieutenant

(

) and Buddy Wade (

) are part of the crew of a

dirigible An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

flying over the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

. They are caught in a savage storm and crash. They are ordered to release the experimental Nirvano Gas, which (unbeknownst to them) will put them in

suspended animation Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...

until they are rescued. The Nirvano Gas works, but the dirigible is buried in an avalanche and is not found until 500 years have passed. When Buck and Buddy are found, they awaken in the year 2440 to a world ruled by the ruthless dictator,

Killer Kane Killer Kane is a fictional character in the ''Buck Rogers'' comic strip and its subsequent 1939 ''Buck Rogers'' serial film produced by Universal Studios.M. Keith Brooker, ''Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels''.Santa Barbara, Calif. ...

(

), and his army of "super- racketeers". Only those who live in the "Hidden City", run by the benevolent scientist Dr. Huer (

C. Montague Shaw Charles Montague Shaw (23 March 1882 – 6 February 1968) was an Australian character actor, often appearing in small supporting parts in more than 150 films. Shaw was born in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. He began his acting care ...

) and his military counterpart, Air Marshal Kragg ( William Gould), resist the criminal rulers of Earth. Buck and Buddy join the resistance. They volunteer to go to

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

, where they hope that they can find help in their fight against Kane. Wilma Deering (

) is assigned to accompany them. Saturn is run by Aldar (Guy Usher), the Council of the Wise and Prince Tallen. To the dismay of Buck and Buddy, they also discover that Kane has dispatched ambassadors of his own, headed by his loyal henchman, Captain Laska ( Henry Brandon). The serial then becomes a back-and-forth struggle between Buck and Kane to secure the planet's military support.

Chapters

_Source: # "Tomorrow's World" # "Tragedy on Saturn" # "The Enemy's Stronghold" # "The Sky Patrol" # "The Phantom Plane" # "The Unknown Command" # "Primitive Urge" # "Revolt of the Zuggs" # "Bodies Without Minds" # "Broken Barriers" # "A Prince in Bondage" # "War of the Planets"

Cast

Wilma Deering Wilma Deering is a fictional character featured in the various iterations of Buck Rogers which have spanned many media over the years.Robert Jennings,"Bucking the Future: From 1928 to the 25th Century With Anthony Rogers". '' Comic Buyer's Guide ...

as George "Buddy" Wade *

as "Killer" Kane *

as Doctor Huer *

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

as Captain Rankin *

Guy Usher James Guy Usher (May 9, 1883 – June 16, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1932 and 1943. Born in Mason City, Iowa, Usher acted on stage before venturing into films. Billed as James Guy Usher, h ...

as Aldar * William Gould as Air Marshal Kragg * Philson Ahn as Prince Tallen * Henry Brandon as Captain Laska * David Sharpe as Kane pilot / Hidden City sentry / Saturnian lieutenant

Production

The 12-part serial launched in 1939.

had played Flash Gordon in the serials of the same name and ''

Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars ''Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars'' is a 1938 Universal Pictures 15–chapter science-fiction movie serial based on the syndicated newspaper comic strip ''Flash Gordon''. It is the second of the three Flash Gordon serials made by Universal between 1 ...

''.

played Lieutenant Wilma Deering, the sole female character, and

as "Buddy" Wade, an original character who was modeled on the Sunday strip character Buddy Deering.

was cast as "Killer" Kane, Rogers' enemy; this was the only time that Warde, who usually portrayed evil underlings in serials, played a lead villain. Korean-American actor Philson Ahn, younger brother of

Philip Ahn Philip Ahn (born Pillip Ahn (), March 29, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was an American actor and activist of Korean descent. With over 180 film and television credits between 1935 and 1978, he was one of the most recognizable and prolific Asi ...

, played Prince Tallen, a Saturnian native who befriends Rogers. Noted actor and "crown prince of stuntmen" David Sharpe, who appeared in over 4,500 films over the course of a seven-decade career, appeared in several roles. The serial had a small budget and saved money on special effects by re-using material from other stories: background shots from the futuristic 1930 musical ''

Just Imagine ''Just Imagine'' is a 1930 American pre-Code science fiction musical-comedy film, directed by David Butler. The film is known for its art direction and special effects in its portrayal of New York City in an imagined 1980. ''Just Imagine'' st ...

'', as the city of the future, the garishly stenciled walls from the Azura palace set in ''Trip to Mars'', and even the studded leather belt that Crabbe wore in ''Trip'', turned up as part of Buck's uniform.

Feature adaptations

In 1953, the serial was edited into a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

entitled ''Planet Outlaws'', by Sherman Krellberg for release via Goodwill Pictures Inc. It was edited again to feature length and titled ''Destination Saturn'' for syndication to television, in 1965. Finally, the serial was edited once again into feature film format in the late 1970s, this version simply entitled ''Buck Rogers'' with the theatrical poster advertising, "''Star Wars'' owes it all to Buck Rogers", and which was later sold on videotape in the early 1990s by VCI Entertainment under the catalogue title of ''Planet Outlaws'' (which title, to make it appear legitimate, was also superimposed onto the first shot of film following the main titles). The original "Planet Outlaws" and also "Destination Saturn" have both been available in video format since the early 1980s, and as early as 1970 were both available for user-purchase in 16mm film format from Thunderbird Pictures. VCI released all twelve installments on DVD in September 2000. In November 2009, VCI released a special 70th anniversary edition on DVD, with extras including "The History of Buck Rogers" by Clifford "Laughing Gravy" Weimer, a photo gallery, and the 1935 Buck Rogers short feature originally shown at the 1933-34

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

Legacy

''Planet Outlaws'' received comedic commentary treatment in 2018 as a "...Presents" feature by Matthew J. Elliott and

Ian Potter Sir William Ian Potter (25 August 190224 October 1994), known as Ian Potter, was an Australian stockbroker, businessman and philanthropist. Potter was knighted in 1962. The Ian Potter Foundation, which he established in 1964, has made grants t ...

as part of

RiffTrax RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...

, an offshoot of cult movie-mocking TV series ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''.

References

External links

"Buck Rogers" OFFICIAL WEBSITE(c) The Dille Family Trust
* * *
Buck Rogers.com
{{Authority control 1939 films 1930s science fiction adventure films American black-and-white films American science fiction adventure films American space adventure films 1930s English-language films Films based on comic strips Films directed by Ford Beebe Films set in 1938 Films set in the future Films set in the 25th century Universal Pictures film serials Buck Rogers 1930s American films