|
''Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe'' is a 1940 twelve episode serial film starring Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon, and was the last of three Flash Gordon serials made from 1936 to 1940. The serial was directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor, written by George H. Plympton, Basil Dickey, and Barry Shipman from Alex Raymond's comic strip, produced by Henry MacRae, and copyrighted by Universal Pictures. The supporting cast features Carol Hughes as Dale Arden, Charles B. Middleton as Ming the Merciless, and Roland Drew as Prince Barin. In 1966 the serial was edited into two feature films for television showing ''Purple Death from Outer Space'' and ''Perils from the Planet Mongo''. During the 50s, the three serials were shown on television. To avoid confusion with a made-for-TV Flash Gordon series airing around the same time, they were retitled, becoming respectively ''Space Soldiers'', ''Space Soldiers' Trip to Mars'', and ''Space Soldiers Conquer the Universe''. King Features Syndicate had acquired the rights for showing and eliminated the original Universal Pictures titles. In the mid-1970s, all three serials were shown by PBS stations across the US, bringing Flash Gordon to a new generation, a full two years before ''Star Wars'' and ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' re-ignited interest in the science fiction genre. The re-edited television version, with the title card reading ''Flash Gordon - Space Soldiers Conquer the Universe'', was used for some VHS and DVD releases of the serial. ==Plot summary== A deadly plague is ravaging the Earth, known as the Purple Death because of the spot left on victims' foreheads. Ming the Merciless is suspected to be behind the plague and it is discovered that his spaceships have been dropping "Death Dust" in the Earth's atmosphere. Flash Gordon, along with Dr. Alexis Zarkov and Dale Arden, is sent to the planet Mongo to find a possible cure for the plague. They eventually find an antidote, called polarite in the Kingdom of Frigia. Flash and Zarkov distribute the antidote the same way the original Death Dust was spread. Ming sends an army of robot bombs after the three and he succeeds in capturing Zarkov for a short time before Flash frees him. The trio continue to battle Ming and his allies. Ming's Captain Torch is the "head villain" of this serial. He is in charge of stopping the Earthlings. Before Flash and his team leaves, they kill Ming by locking him in a tower and crashing a rocket ship loaded with Solarite into it. Prince Barin takes his rightful place as ruler of Mongo. Ming's last words are "I am the universe!". Zarkov announces that Flash Gordon has ''conquered the universe''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|