Watch Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars For Free

hyped garbage

Fantastic!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Not once, but twice in FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS he ends up being paralyzed pretty much BY HIMSELF: once, when the villains are literally knocking down the doors to get at him (when he urges Zarkov to test the "freeze-ray" on him) and, not long thereafter, when he turns the weapon on AND RUNS DIRECTLY INTO ITS BEAM. Punchy, perhaps, from his bout in SPACE SOLDIERS with the orangopoid, he seems less capable this time around. The sets are as spectacular as in the first serial, and the creepy Clay People are my favorite creatures in any of the FLASH GORDON serials, but his trip to the Angry Red Planet just doesn't measure up to his initial outing. Crabbe seemed to grow more relaxed on camera with each successive serial, but the writing was against him this time around.

From certain standpoints, this serial is superior to the 1st Flash Gordon chapter-play. The available prints are and photography are generally of better quality, some of the special effects are superior, there are certain exotic space novelties, like the Clay People's subway to the queen's palace and the light bridge, and there are some interesting and creepy visuals in the Forest Kingdom. Also, Flash and Dr. Zarkhov get to wear long pants. Dale Arden and Prince Barrin are played by the same fine actors as in the 1st serial. And one of the best highlights is the surprisingly effective special effect of showing the Clay People kind of 'ooze' out of the cave walls.From other standpoints, however, this one is not quite as good as the 1st. This is one of the longer movie serials, and it could probably have been shortened by about 3 chapters, if some of the back-and-forth removed. Also, there are not as many fight scenes as in the 1st serial, and no sword fights. And apparently, the Hays Office must have finally gotten a look at Dale and Princess Aura's outfits from the 1st serial, because, to my dismay, Dale is fully dressed throughout every chapter. There are no bare midriffs and she appears have worn a bra in every scene. Just as sad, there is no Princess Aura, who was a wonderful character and helped amp up the sex in the 1st Flash serial.Nonetheless, if you are one of those quirky or nostalgic types who enjoy movie serials, you will enjoy this. There certainly was no greater movie serial hero than Flash Gordon as played by Buster Crabbe, and there certainly was no greater villain than Charles Middleton's portrayal of Ming the Merciless. Besides top-notch heroism and villainy, this serial features plenty of fantasy and space opera, and something is always happening.This serial premiered at the height of a zeitgeist peculiar to the 1930's. The concept of the super-hero had risen to the foreground of pop culture. Although the term super-hero had been coined around 1918, probably in reference to Tarzen of the Apes, the 1930's saw an explosion of super-heroes in pulp magazines, radio shows, newspaper funnies, film and serials, and finally comic magazines. The Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet, the Shadow, Flash Gordon, Doc Savage, and of course Superman, all premiered in the 1930's and all were huge commodities at the time.The opening chapter of this serial features a newspaper headline shot referring to Flash, Zarkhov and Dale as 'Super-Men of the Century.' The term 'superman' could still be used without fear of a lawsuit by DC comics; this serial was released in March 1938, about a month before the 1st issue of Action Comics, featuring the copyrighted Superman, hit the newsstands.Also noteworthy: the Martians and our heroes sometimes utilize Martian 'flying capes,' which look a lot like a bat's wings. The comic book character Batman premiered a year after this serial, in 1939, looking very much like our hero wearing a flying cape and helmet. (Superman himself would not actually 'fly' until about 1942 or so; in 1938 he could only take prodigious leaps.) In this serial, Flash (along with many other characters), wears a shirt with a stylized lightning bolt across the chest. This lightning bolt looked very much like the symbol adorning the chest of the comic book character Captain Marvel, whose magazines outsold those of Superman, and who would premiere in 1940. A lesser character named 'The Flash' also premiered in 1940, and he also wore a shirt with a lightning bolt insignia (this 'Flash' character would not reach his real fame until the late 1950's, however).A few months after this serial premiered, on Halloween 1938, Orson Welles broadcast his legendary 'War of the Worlds' radio play, which panicked half the country with a realistic tale of a Martian invasion. The infamy of this play helped draw audiences to see a re-released version of this serial, albeit cut and edited into a feature length movie, that was shown in late 1938.The fact that this serial takes place on Mars is an anomaly: the original Alex Raymond Flash Gordon story upon which it is based took place entirely on the fictional planet Mongo, which is also the setting for the other 2 Flash serials. Indeed, as of 1938, the comic strip Flash had never been to Mars. Nothing survives to inform the modern film historian as to the reason for changing the setting to Mars.However, it is known that virtuoso animators the Fleischer Bros. were, prior to this serial, working on a full color animated version of Edgar Rice Burroughs enormously popular space opera "John Carter of Mars." Some test footage for this project survives, and if the film had been completed, the final product would have indeed been immensely spectacular. I speculate that it is possible that Universal changed the setting of the Flash Gordon story to Mars so as to place themselves in advance into a position that might favor them should they start copyright infringement litigation against the Fleischers. Indeed, in the absence of good information, this potential threat might even be the reason the Fleischers abandoned the John Carter project.Regardless of my speculation, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars remains a fun, interesting, well-crafted in its own way, and a fine trip into the popular consciousness of the late 1930's.

This is the sequel to the 1936 Flash Gordon serial. Flash and company go from the planet Mongo to the planet Mars. The same cast return with the addition of Frank Shannon as comic relief. Beatrice Roberts plays Queen Azura, "Queen Of Magic". I personally missed seeing Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura. Charles Middleton is and always will be "Ming The Merciless" This serial is also Jean Rogers last portrayal of Dale Arden. This is a fun serial to watch. 15 thrilling episodes with clay people, forest people, Flash, Dale, Dr. Zarkof and, i do so love her, Beatrice Roberts. Well, girls and boys, buckle up have you're popcorn at the ready and enjoy. John R. Tracy.

This direct sequel to the now classic "Flash Gordon" is quite good. Polished look helps. Acting is better. But it does drag a bit once you get to Chapter 9. The tracked musical score is great. Charles Middleton made a great Ming the Merciless. All in all, fun film but not as good as the first serial. Many believe this one to be the best.