PERIL FROM THE PLANET MONGO
A film review by Rick Pali
Copyright 1997 Rick Pali
Released in 1966 for TV, this film is a re-editing of a 12 part serial called Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. I'm in a bit of confusion over the serial's original release date. The film itself claims 1936 while the Internet Movie Database says 1940. Regardless, you get the idea.
This is one in a series of Flash Gordon serials starring Larry 'Buster' Crabbe, also of Buck Rogers and Tarzan fame. This time, Ming the Merciless is back and he still has his sights on conquering the Earth. He's got a new secret weapon in the form of a metal that burns with the heat of the sun when exposed to oxygen. He's had his scientists make 'projectiles' out of them so he can burn the Earth to ashes at the first sign of resistance. Ming's decided to test them on Arboria to teach Prince Barin a lesson. Once the metal starts burning, there's no way to stop it. The projectiles have been fired and they're on their way, with only Flash to stop them...
Let me tell you, I was very much looking forward to seeing this film and I was not disappointed. I've seen clips of the Flash Gordon serials and still clearly remember the spaceships with the sparks and smoke flying out the back. And the sound! I don't know where they got it, but it's unmistakable and I don't think I'll ever forget it.
It's not that this film has a brilliant plot, characterisation, and terrific acting. That's not it at all. I bet that it wasn't even so hot, in those areas, for its own time, but looking at this film is looking at history. Much like Star Trek today, the Flash Gordon of sixty years ago is what some people expected the future to be like. Watch it with your 1990s eyes, and of course it's funny. But look at it as an entertainment slanted vision of the future of the 1930s, compare it to our visions, and it's fascinating. Both the differences and the similarities are interesting. This was done before World War Two and it really shows. That conflict completely redefined the art of war, and those changes are not reflected here. You don't expect mounted warriors, or astronauts fighting with swords. Some of the uniforms look straight from World War One or even the Crimean War. But you really can't expect them to have known what was coming. Heck, at least they've got ray-guns. And the shooting effect was done by scratching the beam into the film itself!
And look at Dale Arden (Carol Hughes). Is there any doubt that she's along for the ride to keep the men and boys watching? She doesn't do much more than get taken prisoner by Ming, but her short dress leaves no doubt that she's got wonderful legs. I'll sheepishly admit that I was mad at Ming for making her change into less revealing clothes when he kidnapped her. Some things never change, I guess.
As you might expect, the physics are all over the place. Most people in the spaceships aren't even sitting, nevermind belted in. Given inertia, that's not really reasonable. Mongo is another planet, but the spaceships are never shown in space. Ming's scientists are working in a vacuum, with these really funky helmets...but with bare hands. At least there's an airlock.
But picking this film apart for mistakes in the science and other errors, completely misses the point. This film is sixty years old and is a prime example of not only very early science fiction, but a type of moviemaking that just doesn't exist any more: the serial. It's been edited into a single film, but the cliff-hanger breaks are still recognisable.
If you're the type that can't even watch a black and white film simply because it's not colour, steer very clear. But if you're a more seasoned, wide-ranging viewer, see one of the Flash Gordon serials if you get the chance. It's the grandfather of your beloved Star Wars and Star Trek.
*** (out of five)
--- http://www3.sympatico.ca/rpali/
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews