Flash Gordon Part1 The Planet of Peril

The rogue planet Mongo is on a collision course with Earth, and only one man has any chance of saving the Earth from certain destruction. That man is...Doctor Hans Zarkov, the world's most brilliant scientist. Never one to shirk his duty to humanity, Zarkov is determined to confront the menacing planet head on--by flying to it in a rocketship of his own design! Meanwhile, high overhead, a young man named Flash Gordon chances to meet a young woman named Dale Arden on a doomed passenger airplane, and in desperation they parachute together into an unfamiliar landscape where Doctor Zarkov just happens to have his rocketship parked! Figuring they will die anyway if Zarkov fails, they take off beyond the stratosphere with him to land on the planet Mongo. They soon find themselves prisoners of the Emperor Ming, a power-mad fiend bent on universal conquest. Will Doctor Zarkov's genius be enough to defeat the armies of Ming and save the Earth? No! He will need more than a little help from Flash Gordon!

This is the original, definitive production of Alex Raymond's space action hero Flash Gordon. Olympic champion Buster Crabbe shines and Jean Rogers sizzles in their respective roles as Flash Gordon and Dale Arden. Charles Middleton's portrayal of Ming the Merciless became the archetype of all serial villains. But of course the real highlight of the series is watching Frank Shannon (Doctor Zarkov) perform almost all of his scenes with absolute seriousness--while wearing little black swimming trunks. Dare to enter a world where good is good, evil is evil, and elderly male scientists expose their bare legs! (1936 - Universal Pictures)