Flash Gordon (1954–1955) User Reviews

Better Than You'd Think

[Steve_Nyland · 7/10 · 23 August 2009]

I recently inherited a massive television set with a blown color tube and have been availing myself of the opportunity to watch exclusively B&W productions on it, which inevitably led me to watch the classic "Flash Gordon" serials again. Which in turn led me to watch these marvelous old "Flash Gordon" TV shows as well. Sure, they don't come anywheres near the epic art deco masterpieces of the Buster Crabbe era, but by golly there's something going on here that's pretty darn interesting.

The show was apparently a co-production between US, West German and French studios filmed on & around the rubble heaps of a still partially demolished West Berlin in 1953. The series aired in syndication on the old DuMont Television Network, a fascinating chapter of American pop consumerism eating itself. The series doesn't have Ming or Mongo or the Tree Men, but what it does have is an abundance of US issue Cold War era military industrial complex effect going on, crossed with German neo-expressionism and even some good old Sartre inspired French existentialism.

It's easy to laugh at the low budget sets, costumes, space helmets, ray guns and cheap model rocketry spaceship effects, but it's always easy to poke fun at past forms that now seem quaint or silly. Dig up some old pictures of yourself & the crew from the early 1980s and you'll see what I mean. Either you guys deliberately dressed like jerks, or you were enmeshed in the times and unable to see how ridiculous you looked because you & I both didn't know any better. Same thing goes for old science fiction props, production design, costuming, and applied science.

The only genuine criticism I can find for the series is the awful theme music, but once you get beyond that what you're left with is a deceptively creepy little television show that, as others point out, make the Captain Video type American made SF efforts of the era seem completely vapid by comparison. There is a sophistication to the execution of the show that belies it's cheapness, and the action scenes set amongst the rubble strewn streets of an actual bombed out city have a kind of eerie pathos to them that is at odds with the space opera scripts. I hesitate to say it creates a profound juxtaposition of pop culture semantics set against the actual ravages of dystopian angst, but that's exactly what it amounts to.

7/10: Several episodes have turned up on bargain bin public domain DVD sets out at the dollar stores. Buy a couple, they are worth it.

The American Seigfried

[flapdoodle64 · 7/10 · 18 March 2011]

This is a strange TV series, yet one which is at times oddly compelling. It was obviously made on the cheap, even for it's time, and is quite primitive from most standpoints, yet, like amateur theater, can be interesting.

The connection to the classic Flash Gordon of the classic newspaper comics and 1930's film series is tenuous...Our Heroes, Flash, Zarkov, and Dale Arden are the focus of the stories and they are in recognizable form, but rather than being contemporary adventurers they are instead duly deputized agents of the Galaxy Investigation Bureau, operating hundreds of years in the future as government agents in space.

In this manner, they fit in with most of the other TV space heroes of 1949-55 period, such as Rocky Jones, Commander Corey, Tom Cobett, Commando Cody and Captain Video, all military or quasi-military officers...which probably fit into the Cold War schema of lionizing military authority.

The principle characters, Flash, Dale and Zarkov are actually very good choices for the roles. Steve Holland is often derided for his portrayal of Flash, but I think this is unfair...he makes a good enough hero and was definitely muscular enough...I think simply that he wasn't Buster Crabbe, and Buster Crabbe was DEFINITIVE. Holland appeared younger than Crabbe, leaner, and with poofier blond hair...if he had been cast in one of the 'teen-age' monster pics circa 1957 or in one of the surfer pics circa 1962, I think he'd have been a success, at least within the schlock film genre.

Irene Champlin's Dale Arden appears a little closer to age 30, less submissive and more capable that of Jean Rogers...her sexiness is somewhat different than the original, but I like her. Joseph Nash as Zarkov is younger, stronger, and has a better beard than the guy in the serials, yet still is convincing in the role.

The scripts range from being horrible to decent with occasional moments of surprising brilliance here and there which make you tend to forget all the tedium. Sometimes the science fictional elements are plausible, but the writers seemed to have zero concept of the distances and time factors that would be involved for space travel, even in the solar system...this fact is underscored in one episode which established that the ships in this fictional universe lacked faster-than-light capability.

Most of the reviews mention that this show was filmed in post WWII Germany, a nation that still had lots of bombed-out and otherwise war-torn locations that were occasionally used to stand-in for dystopian landscapes. Besides showing you bombed-out ruins, the producers also had a liberal usage of stock footage, including buildings being blown up, and refugees fleeing en masse, which perhaps inadvertently serves to add a note of grimness.

Most of the minor parts in the series were played by Germans who spoke English with a heavy German accent. This works pretty well for the villains, since Captain Video, Space Patrol, and other scifi shows of this period favored villains with German or Russian accents, but for the 1st bunch of episodes, Our Heroes supervisor was a very somber-faced guy with a heavy accent...he was eventually replaced with a more acceptable American actor.

The whole German angle to this show is interesting for other reasons. Prior to WWII, there was a full-fledged movement of pioneer rocket scientists in Germany whose goal was manned spaceflight and the exploration of the solar system. These guys inspired and advised Fritz Lang, who created 'Frau im Mond,' which was probably the 1st attempt at a realistic vision of space travel. These pioneers included Werner Von Braun and Wiley Lee, and they were recruited into the Nazi war effort, their crowning achievement being the famous V-2 rocket, the 1st operational ballistic missile. As Nazi Germany collapsed, the German rocket scientists all either surrendered or were captured by the USSR and USA, with Von Braun and Ley eventually making huge contributions not just to the USA space program, but also promoting the very idea itself of manned space travel. So it can be fairly stated that the idea of practical manned space flight is very much a German idea.

The other way German culture plays into this is that Alex Raymond, creator of the original Flash Gordon comics, was strongly influenced, visually and thematically, by Germanic folklore. The planet Mongo is essentially a stand-in for Medieval Europe, and Flash, besides being blond, was clearly endowed with Teutonic physical features.

Universal Studios, which adapted Flash to the silver screen in the 1930's, employed set designers and artists who were heavily influenced by the German expressionist cinema movement and many technicians actually came from Germany itself. The sets and props of this impoverished series show some of this expressionist influence, a kind of strange hybrid of Fritz Lang and Ed Wood.

Based on the comics and the film serials of the 1930's, some intellectuals called Flash Gordon 'the American Seigfried,' a reference to the great hero of German myth. It is interesting to see this vision, translated via the ruins of the greatest period of hubris and tragedy the German nation ever knew.

Budget, 'Outsourced' Production and Modernization didn't help.

[redryan64 · 5/10 · 26 November 2014]

TO BEGIN WITH, let us state upfront, that we had believed, do believe and always will believe that the 3 Cliffhangers/Chapter Plays/Serials from Universal Pictures in the 1930's & early '40's were the quintessential rendering of Alex Raymond's comic strip to the celluloid medium, period. Okay, now we have that out of the way. (Now ain't full disclosure, Schultz?)

TO OUR WAY of thinking, attempting to do a FLASH GORDON TV Series, while the local channels were full of FLASH GORDON (Universal, 1936) and FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS (Universal, 1938)* as tantamount to programming suicide. We remember as young boomer kids that Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Frank Shannon and Charles B. Middleton WERE definitely THE Flash, Dale, Zarkov and Ming.

WELL, THE SERIES was made and in spite of our feelings, there were many really good aspects to its fundamental elements.

FOR ONE, ALTHOUGH the serials had a rather elderly Irish born actor in Frank Shannon in the role of Dr.Zarkov, this TV series cast a much more youthful Joseph Nash in the role of Dr. Hans Zarkov.** In examining samplings of the comic strip, one finds that this younger version of the brilliant scientist was much more closely molded in the original concept.

AS FOR THE choice of Irene Champlin in the role of Dale Arden, we have no real objections. True, she didn't wear any skimpy, sexy burlesque queen outfits; but to be fair, the strip had long abandoned the practice. We figure that Hearst's King Feature Syndicate (the copyright owner) had found a different costume designer.

CONCERNING HAVING CAST Mr. Steve Holland as Flash Gordon, we think he was at least adequate in the part. The athletic actor had the proper attitude and a trim physique; but lacked the musculature of the all around Mr. Everything athlete and 1932 Olympic Swimming Champion, Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe.

THERE WERE MANY aspects of this telling of FLASH GORDON Saga that strayed over and seemingly 'borrowed' some plot aspects from rival spaceman dean of the comic strip interplanetary genre, BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY. Whereas FLASH GORDON had been set in contemporary USA, Mongo and other worlds, this series opted for the futuristic.

WELL, WE KNOW for sure that at least one episode did. It also made reference to the futuristic city below their rocket-ship as Berlin! (Remember, Schultz, that this series was a West German Television production!)

NOTE * To the best of our recollection, FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE (Universal, 1941) wasn't released to the television market until much later than its two predecessors, circa 1957.

NOTE ** Perhaps there was a growing Anti-Nazi Sentiment added to World War I Anti-German feelings in the mid to late 1930's, but rather than calling him Hans Zarkov (as in Alex Raymond's strip) the only given name in the serials was that of Dr. "Alexis Zarkov" in the second serial, FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS (1938).

Flash Gordon (1954)

[kathcongdrb1 · 5 January 2006]

I was given a DVD of four of these episodes by my husband for Christmas when he couldn't find at the store the movie I had specifically requested. It probably cost a dollar and was in the cheapest possible packaging. I was screaming I was so excited. I have often thought of this series that I watched when I was young. I only remembered the name of Flash, but as soon as I read that he modeled for "Doc Savage," I recognized the resemblance.

The music sounds like Prokofiev's "Rite of Spring" at times and I agree that the German sets verge on the expressionistic. I'm sure I spend more on a week's worth of groceries than they did for the sets AND costumes. In fact, the costumes on "Akim the Terrible" look like they are handmade from a high school production. The German actor in this show who plays Kurt I think is very good and looks familiar; however, no credits are given for any actor except the three leads. One more thing, where did the commissioner get his eyebrows? These shows are great. I played them twice because I only had the four. Have to see if I can get any more. I'm sure it won't break whatever budget I have.

Blast Off With A 1950's Flash Gordon

[xyzkozak · 4/10 · 31 December 2014]

Even though this live-action, Sci-Fi, TV show from the early 1950s was, pretty much, a bargain-basement special, it still contained enough goofy entertainment value in its half-hour episodes to earn itself a 4-star rating from me.

Set in the year 3203, Flash Gordon and his space-age pals, Dr. Zarkov & Dale Arden, boldly travel across the vast galaxy, battling cosmic villains, here, there, and everywhere.

Always in full command of his gleaming starship, The Sky Flash, you can always count on dashing, young Gordon and his diligent crew to keep the cosmos safe for one, and all.

Filmed in b&w, this German production ran for only one season, 1954-1955.

Funky blast from the past

[arel_1 · 4/10 · 6 February 2010]

"Star Wars" it ain't, to be sure. But for early 50s SFTV it's not that bad, either. Granted, the plots are often dire--but I can recall some episodes of George Reeves' "Superman" series that were real groaners too, and that show had a better budget. Granted, some of the acting wouldn't have made the grade in an elementary school play--but often the inept actors have the saving grace of being unintentionally funny (like the androids in "Return of the Androids", which I first saw excerpted on the "Zacherley's Horrible Horrors" video). Granted, some of the specFX and 'scientific' props are little short of laughable even if you set your mental time machine to the era and 'forget' you ever heard of things like CGI--but so were the ones on many made-in-America SFTV shows of that time. (Remember "Captain Video" checking on his Video Rangers via clips from old low-budget Westerns?) Yet despite all the cheesiness, the old "Flash Gordon" series does have a certain charm to it.

Watching "Flash Gordon" Was A Real Test Of My Patience

[StrictlyConfidential · 3/10 · 18 June 2020]

To say that this low-low-low-budget TV production of "Flash Gordon" could've been a whole lot better than it was would truly be an understatement.

I can't begin to tell you how relieved I was that the episodes of this SyFy television production were only 25 minutes in length 'cause, otherwise, I couldn't have tolerated sitting through these stories of rock bottom mediocrity for any longer than that.

Of course, realizing that "Flash Gordon" was now nearly 70 years old, I honestly did try to cut it come serious slack. But, even with that in mind - This dated TV production (which was filmed in Berlin, Germany) simply left me completely bored where I repeatedly found my attention wandering.

Quaint, But With a Big Hole in One of Their Story lines

[nimbus13 · 4/10 · 22 February 2012]

I found movie this on one of those internet sites where you can watch old movies and thought this was one of the old Buster Crabbe movies.

What the movie appears to be is 3 episodes of a 1954 German produced TV series stuck together into movie length.

I only watched the episode where the villain informs the good guys that he went back in time 1000 years and planted a bomb that will go off in one hour in Flash's time. Flash goes back in time to find and disarm the bomb. However,he is trying to do it in that 1 hour time-frame. He actually could take all the time he needed to locate and disarm it! He had 1000 years available!

Other than that, the special effects and dialogue were not too cheesy compared to some of the stuff put out in the '50s.

Interesting 50's SF Artifact

[TVPowers · 13 January 2004]

The Flash Gordon 1950's TV series is interesting, mostly due to it's being one of the first science fiction series to be shot on film. The fact that it was made in the still recovering post WWII Germany, and the later episodes in France gives it different look and feel than comparable American lensed shows, such as Rocky Jones, Spacer Ranger.

Some of the German episodes are rather dark and grim, with an almost expressionistic look. The budgets are quite low, and while there are a number of model shots of the space craft (such as Gordon & Co.'s Skyflash) many of the effects in the German episodes are largely photo and cel animation. The French episodes feature the Skyflash II, a very shiny rocket model, which seemed to complicate matters for the slightly more ambitious FX in the later episodes.

Male model Steve Holland played Flash, which is intriguing, as Holland was the artist model used by James Bama for the Doc Savage novel reprints that were highly successful in the 60's and early 70's. Holland turned up on the cover of many action hero paperbacks. For someone with no real acting experience, he's not too bad -- but he's certainly no match for Buster Crabbe's portrayal.

Joe Nash is generally quite good as Zarkov. Irene Champlin seemed to have some trouble (as did many of the actors) in getting her lines out and try to make an actual performance gel in the rushed looking -- possibly single take -- scenes.

Producer Ed Gruskin was known for his work in radio (including a Doc Savage series) and writer Bruce Elliot wrote for the pulps, notably a number of Shadow novels under the house name of Maxwell Grant.

Some of the music by Roger Roger (yep, that's his name) in the French produced episodes will be very familiar to viewers of low budget horror and Sci-fi films of the 50s,60s, and 70's. The tracks became part of a music library, and are still licensed for use today.

Despite shoestring budget and primitive special effects, this very original series still fascinates...

[ccmiller1492 · 4 February 2006]

Despite shoestring budget and primitive special effects this very original series still manages to fascinate viewers even today. It's easy to laugh at the cheesy costumes and makeup but to be perfectly honest the early Star-Trek episodes were little better except for being in color. Watching these today, I think the three lead players are terrific, Steve Holland's Flash is like a young but sandy-haired Rory Calhoun, and Irene Champlin's curvaceous but entirely decorous Dale is remindful of a young Ruth Roman. Dr. Zarkov is still distinguished, even if his science is highly suspect. (After all, these are the days when school children were taught to duck under their desks as shelter in case of a nuclear attack.) These were thrilling shows when I watched them on TV at aged six. They disappeared for years after that, and I've now revisited them with fondness via DVDs, but so far I've only found 8 episodes available. Sci-fi fans who haven't yet seen them are in for a real treat.

Pretty Exciting 50 years ago

[rudge49 · 27 November 2007]

I have fond if hazy memories of this series, when I finally found one episode in a Woolworth's bargain bin 20 years ago I immediately purchased it. For a 1950's kid for whom TV was something exciting and wonderful-and with no exposure to the Buster Crabbe serials-this program was Flash Gordon come to life. Steve Holland looked the part and was fairly athletic, Joe Nash also made a good Dr. Zarkov, and yes Irene Champlin was an eyeful and holds up well. Having since learned that it was filmed in West Berlin and then France I can see that it does have a different look and feel from contemporary Hollywood productions. The stories were played straight, many of the episodes had a grim feel to them. almost a film noir feel. Yes the special effects are low budget and to our CGI spoiled eyes might seem a little cheesy and what science there is laughably out of date-hey, I recall seeing a "Star Trek" episode where one of the characters is awaiting a computer printout and the sound effects are clearly of a printing press- but part of the fun of watching yesteryear's science fiction is comparing it to what we have and seeing where they got it "wrong". "Star Trek" or "Star Wars" it's not, it's definitely not the Buster Crabbe productions. Think of it as a local theater group's production, sit back and enjoy the show. And go back 50 years.

So bad it's good

[Geekzilla · 27 February 2005]

Digiview Productions has just released three of the series' 39 episodes on DVD, including "Deadline at Noon," "Flash Gordon And The Planet of Death" and "Flash Gordon And The Brain Machine." These are the only episodes I have seen, so keep in mind, all comments are based on this limited exposure. By today's standards, 1954's "Flash Gordon" might not make it to a fan-film awards show. The writing is atrocious, the acting could best be described as forced melodrama and the production values are comical ("Deadline at Noon" includes a lengthy discussion between Flash, Dale and the good Doctor commenting on the wonders of stock footage, for example.) Also, the 'science' behind the fantasy is so dated, it's hilarious (1,200 years in the future, the state-of-the-art still includes Geiger counters.) For all that, Flash Gordon has its good points, one of which has to be Flash's space ship, the Sky Flash, which looks pretty darn good for the early days of television. I'm sure that when "Flash Gordon" was watched through the eyes of a child in the mid 1950s, it had everything a "Star Trek" or a "Battlestar Galactica" had for future generations of young TV fans: plenty of action, adventure, ray guns, space ships and far-flung planets waiting to be explored. In short, if you're a Flash Gordon fan and an all-around sci-fi movie geek like I am, this is some of the best entertainment you can find at the bottom of the DVD bargain bin.

TALA BIRELL IN CREDITED ROLE

[cinemantrap · 28 August 2003]

Tala Birell's role is indicated in the credits (not "uncredited" as heretofore indicated). The episode was filmed in Berlin and was the only episode in which Tala appeared. She looked all of her 45 years and would die several years later from cancer. Tala's commanding presence as a vicious queen determined to rule the universe expands the range of camp performances, unfortunately her last role in a 30 years career on stage and in film.

A wonderful 'time capsule'

[oscar-35 · 25 December 2012]

*Spoiler/plot- Flash Gordon, 1954. 'Flash' Gordon, Dale Arden and science adviser Doctor Zarkof are members of the Galactic Bureau of Investigation. This group has become the law enforcement arm of the universal government.

*Special Stars- Steve Holland, Irene Champlin, Joseph Nash.

*Theme- Planets and their inhabitants can work together in harmony to make things great for all.

*Trivia/location/goofs- B&W, German, post WW2 early 60's TV show made from previous theatrical serials released in Europe.

*Emotion- A sophisticated science fiction show based on the Flash Gorndon comic book serials. A wonderful 'time capsule' for the post WW2 era and during the Cold War since it was made in Europe. The film is hugely operatic in plot lines and production elements, but top-notch in production values for it's era. Wonderfully fun and campy. Very enjoyable to watch. I find it superior to the Buster Crabb serials of the '30's.

Either unwatchable or fascinating....

[grghull · 21 August 2006]

Depending on your point of view. I have a dim memory of seeing this rerun on Sunday morning TV when I was a kid (even then it seemed ancient). I picked this up for a buck at a local thrift store. For the most part is seemed very tedious, and the attempts to pass of post war Berlin as other planets reminded me of ALPHAVILLE without the wit or imagination (after all, Godard knew we wouldn't really buy Paris AS Alpahville but assumed we'd go along with the joke --- here they actually seem to be serious). Still some of the imagery is sporadically striking. For a moment I thought the hellish underground scenes might be taken from some German silent film. They had a little of the atmosphere of Lang's SEIGRIED, only done on the cheap. Really this is a curiosity item more than anything. I can't recommend it, but I wouldn't try to dissuade anyone from seeing it either.

Oh --- but Irene Champlin as Dale Arden ---? Dale's MOM, maybe....

Highly recommended golden age television

[arthurtuscadero · 24 May 2016]

(No fear of a spoiler here. The author assumes that everyone and his brother has seen these shows at least four or five times, so discussion of plot outcomes would be redundant.)

The Flash Gordon series is not shown on TV today, mainly because it is completely obsolete scientifically. In its favor, it handled issues much more complicated (read: "adult") than shows like Rocky Jones.) The science is just completely magical.

For instance, Gordon travels to distant galaxies with Dale and the Doctor. However, it is not until later in the series "The Lure of Light" that a faster than light drive was developed. So how did they get to these places and return to earth so quickly?

The time travel episodes do not fare any better. In "Deadline at Noon," the bomb planted by an enemy agent who traveled to the distant past to bury it, was buried under the rubble of a building in West Berlin. Apparently the very late (compared to the bomb) building was constructed by persons who did not realize they were incorporating a prehistoric bomb into the structure. The so-called deadline is not effective, because with time travel, there is plenty of time to stop anything. You can take as long as you need.

The planets Neptune and Saturn are depicted as rocky planets with humans living on them.Asteroids are depicted as very tiny, earth- like planets, with vegetation and breathable atmospheres.

Flash Gordon apparently did outdo Start Trek, though with the time travel episode. Since the characters went back centuries to 1954 Germany, the film is able to use the set of local Berlin areas, (As Star Trek used Los Angeles) to give the episode a much more realistic feel as far as the filming is concerned.

Finally, the selection of West Germany to film this production was ingenious. Although the aliens are all too humanoid to be completely believable, they have great difficulty speaking English, as if it is a language alien to them. This does add to the realism, since in almost all sci-fi shows, the aliens speak better English than the Earth people do.

2020-03-18: "Watch on Prime Video" link is not for this series

[theseekerhp · 17 March 2020]

As of March 2020, the "Watch on Prime Video" link takes you to the 1996 animated series, not the '50s live action series. However, at least the first episode of the animated series isn't bad, and it features Paul Shaffer (former Saturday Night Live and David Letterman music director) as Dr. Zarkov!