Flash Gordon serial (1936)

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.

The Flash Gordon serial 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”.

• Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon
• Charles B. Middleton as Ming the Merciless
• Jean Rogers as Dale Arden
• Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura
• Frank Shannon as Dr. Alexis Zarkov

• Richard Alexander as Prince Barin
• Jack Lipson as King Vultan
• Theodore Lorch as Second High Priest
• James Pierce as Prince Thun
• Duke York as King Kala

• Earl Askam as Officer Torch
• Lon Poff as First High Priest (uncredited)
• Richard Tucker as Professor Gordon
• George Cleveland as Professor Hensley
• Muriel Goodspeed as Zona