Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
NR | 03 March 1940 (USA)
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe Trailers

A mysterious plague, the Purple Death, ravages the earth. Dr. Zarkov, investigating in his spaceship, finds a ship from planet Mongo seeding the atmosphere with dust. Sure enough, Ming the Merciless is up to his old tricks. So it's back to Mongo for Flash, Dale, and Zarkov.

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Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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Cubussoli

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

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BootDigest

Such a frustrating disappointment

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Curt

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

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bsmith5552

"Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" is the third and final serial in the Flash Gordon Trilogy. In this instalment we have a new Dale Arden (Carol Hughes), Prince Barin (Roland Drew) and Princess Aura (Shirley Deane). Returning are the ever blond Flash (Buster Crabbe), brilliant scientist Dr. Zarkoff (Frank Shannon) and of course Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton). The one-seater tin lizzy space ships also return.Ming has returned to Mongo where he once again rules and revives his efforts to destroy the earth. When a plaque called "The Purple Death" threatens the earth, Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov are pressed into service once again in order to save the earth. Once on the planet Mongo, the team manages to foil Ming's various attempts to destroy the earth. Zarkov as always, invents the perfect counter-measure to Ming's weaponry just in the nick of time. And Flash runs to Dale's rescue a number of times through the usual assortment of secret passages and tunnels.There are the usual cliff hanger chapter endings with Flash and company escaping just in the nick of time. The special effects are crude by today's standards but for the period were quite believable. The meaning of the title is explained in the final fade out.A fitting end to the Flash Gordon serials.

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flapdoodle64

There were many very fine heroes and villains of the serials, but clearly, Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon, and Charles Middleton as Ming the Merciless were the tops in their respective fields. These fine performers, plus the return of our old friend Frank Shannon as Dr. Zarkhov, help make this an entertaining and appealing serial.This is the most polished and opulent of the Flash Gordon serials, although it lacks the passion and visceral excitement of the 1st serial. Also, it lacks the performers who originated the roles of Dale Arden, Prince Barrin, and Princess Aura. The actors who replaced Barrin and Aura are at least adequate, although they lack the physical charisma of the originals, and we feel especially the loss of Priscilla Lawson's raw sensuality. However, the gal who replaced the wonderful Jean Rogers as Dale is not sufficient to the role, and in one chapter when she was pleading for Flash to save her, I kind of wished Flash had just left her.This serial is not as sexy as the 1st Flash Gordon (which somehow seemed to have been sneaked completely past the Hayes Office), but while the actresses all appear to be wearing bras, there are thankfully a few bare midriffs here and there, and we have the welcome addition of a genuine femme fetalle, in the person of the wicked Sonia, played by Anne Gwynne.While the 1st serials were characterized to a large extent by activities involving the various diverse peoples and monsters of Planet Mongo and Mars, the Lion Men, the Shark Men, the Hawk Men, the Clay People, Azura Queen of Magic, the Forest People, dragons, octosacs, beast men, etc., this serial is more preoccupied with technology and warfare. There are chapters wholly concerned with strategic materials, incendiary bombs, robot bombs, torture of political prisoners, poison gas, and there are more aerial dogfights than in the previous Flash Gordons.Also, Ming is referred to as Dictator Ming, rather than Emperor Ming. Others have already mentioned this, but I agree with the hypothesis that this serial reflects the fact that by 1940 much of the world was at war and that many in the US had the idea that the US would inevitably be drawn into the conflict. In 1939, the Germans invaded Poland, and by the time this serial drew to a close on its first run, the Nazis had also invaded France. There is perhaps a bit of unconscious insight into the geopolitical future in the fact that Flash, whose initial mission was to stop Ming from becoming Conqueror of the Universe, ends his mission when he is declared to be the Conqueror of the Universe.This is entertaining to fans of serials, of B-Movies, of old comic strips, and other aficionados of old school and low budget cinema. It is not as powerful as the 1st Flash serial, and suffers from being a little longer than it should be, and having a little too much back and forth. Also, the directors seemed to have no concept of how to insert a few close-ups into a fight scene to juice up the action. Nonetheless, many viewers would, like me, find it pleasurable to waste 20 minutes here and there with these old friends.

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OldAle1

This is the last and least of the three Universal Flash Gordon serials staring Buster Crabbe. Less in the way of interesting races & peoples (rock people, oooh), less excitement, even cheaper (if possible) and more-often-reused special effects, and a promise of slightly more interesting female characters (a new Dale who seems at first a little less girlish) that largely is unfulfilled make this interesting mostly for Flash/serial completists. The last 4 episodes or so in particular are pretty dull. And as to the serial as a whole -- Ming (Charles Middleton, whose hamminess is probably the most fun element in the series) is still into Flash's love, Dale Arden, and still (for no apparent reason) wants to destroy the earth. And rule the universe. Or something. Hey, I liked it, but I can't say I'd recommend it to most people under, say, 80 years of age. It can be a tough slog if your idea of space opera is post-Star Wars; but it's also the one film that SW is most based on -- watch the crawl at the beginning of each episode, and listen to the use of Wagner -- so you'd do well to watch it, kiddies. Watched on DVD, part of the excellently transferred Image collection of all 3 serials.

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Brian Washington

This was a pretty good serial. Buster Crabbe was made to play the heroic Flash Gordon and Charles Middleton is the perfect Ming. However, it is the action sequences that carry this film. The special effects for this time period are also pretty good, even for the 1940's. The only flaw I find with this, though, is that Jean Rogers is not playing Dale or that Richard Alexander is not playing Barin. The two actors that replace them are okay, but the originals defined the roles. Also, there is no reference to the second serial. Maybe its because if they were to show any footage from the first two, the audience would definitely see that there are different actors playing Dale, Barin and Aura. However, despite these flaws, it is still a great Saturday afternoon serial

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