![Flash Gordon Serial Theme Music Flash Gordon Serial Theme Music](http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Crabbe,%20Buster/Annex/Annex%20-%20Crabbe,%20Buster%20(Flash%20Gordon)_03.jpg)
Based on a newspaper comic strip started in 1934 (which was in turn heavily inspired by sci-fi comic Buck Rogers), the Flash Gordon movie serials of 1936-1940 captivated audiences with their interplanetary spectacle. Each serial film was released in 10-20-minute episodes which ran before a feature film at a cinema, and invariably ended on cliffhangers. Viewers would have to return to the theater the following week for the next episode to learn the fate of the characters. The Flash Gordon films followed the plot of the early comics, centering around the titular Yale-educated polo player (played by Olympic gold medalist swimmer Larry “Buster” Crabbe), who, along with his love interest Dale Arden (Jean Rogers) is brought on a rocket ship by the mad Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon) to the planet Mongo. There the companions encounter numerous alien races and conflicts, along with villains such as Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton).
![Gordon Gordon](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125613786/422884862.jpg)
The three serials were eventually released as full feature films, which would inspire later generations, including a young George Lucas. Lucas attempted to pitch his own Flash Gordon feature in the 1970s, but was unable to acquire the rights. Instead, he took some thematic and aesthetic cues from the series (including its opening title crawl), and synthesized them into his own sci-fi project, a film he tentatively called The Star Wars.
Music From the Flash Gordon Serials (Black & White w/Buster Crabbe. Short animation of Zarkov's Rocket Ship landing on Mongo. My take on the 1936 Serial.