Flash Gordon Space Soldiers Ep 04 The Sea Beast
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Flash Gordon is a 1936 superhero serial film. 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".[2]
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 spare Flash's life.
"The Tunnel of Terror"
Aura helps Flash to escape as Zarkov is put to work in Ming's laboratory and Dale is prepared for her wedding to Ming. Flash meets Prince Thun, leader of the Lion Men, and the pair return to the palace to rescue Dale.
"Captured by Shark Men"
Flash stops the wedding ceremony, but he and Dale are captured by King Kala, ruler of the Shark Men and a loyal follower of Ming. At Ming's order, Kala forces Flash to fight with a giant octosak in a chamber filling with water.
"Battling the Sea Beast"
Aura and Thun rescue Flash from the octosak. Trying to keep Flash away from Dale, Aura destroys the mechanisms that regulate the underwater city.
"The Destroying Ray"
Flash, Dale, Aura and Thun escape from the underwater city, but are captured by King Vultan and the Hawkmen. Dr. Zarkov befriends Prince Barin, and they race to the rescue.
"Flaming Torture"
Dale pretends to fall in love with King Vultan in order to save Flash, Barin and Thun, who are put to work in the Hawkmen's atomic furnaces.
"Shattering Doom"
Flash, Barin, Thun and Zarkov create an explosion in the atomic furnaces.
"Tournament of Death"
Dr. Zarkov saves the Hawkmen's city in the sky from falling, earning Flash and his friends King Vultan's gratitude. Ming insists that Flash fight a tournament of death against a masked opponent, revealed to be Barin, and then against a vicious orangopoid.
"Fighting the Fire Dragon"
Flash survives the tournament with Aura's help, after she discovers the weak point of the orangopoid. Still determined to win Flash, Aura has him drugged to make him lose his memory.
"The Unseen Peril"
Flash recovers his memory. Ming is determined to have Flash executed.
"In the Claws of the Tigron"
Zarkov invents a machine that makes Flash invisible. Flash torments Ming and his guards. Barin hides Dale in the catacombs, but Aura has her tracked by a tigron.
"Trapped in the Turret"
Aura realizes the error of her ways, and falls in love with Barin. She tries to help Flash and his friends to return to Earth — but Ming plots to kill them.
"Rocketing to Earth"
Ming orders that the Earth people be caught and killed, but Flash and his friends escape from the Emperor's clutches, and Ming is apparently killed in the flames of the "sacred temple of the Great God Tao". Flash, Dale and Zarkov make a triumphant return to Earth.[3]
Cast
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
Cast notes:
Eddie Parker served as a stand-in and stunt double for Buster Crabbe.[4]
Crash Corrigan, who would later star in other serials, wore a modified gorilla suit to portray the "orangopoid" seen in chapters 8 and 9.[4]
Glenn Strange in uncredited roles wore the "Gocko" lobster-clawed dragon costume and also appears as one of Ming's soldiers.[5]
Richard Alexander helped to design his own costume, which included a leather chest plate painted gold.[4]
Early film fan historians claimed that actor Lon Poff, playing the first of Ming's two high priests, died shortly after production began and was replaced by Theodore Lorch.[citation needed] In fact, however, only Poff's character died, or rather was killed by Ming in an act of fury and replaced by Lorch's High Priest, but the scene was cut from the final print. Poff did not die until 1952.[citation neede