Tag: Don Kerr

Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 15: An Eye for an Eye

An Eye for an Eye is a disappointing finish for Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars but maybe not an unexpected one, not given the serial’s trajectory. The cliffhanger resolution is quick–Buster Crabbe gets away from Charles Middleton due to Middleton’s lack of observational prowess. They’re fitting foes. Neither of them pays attention enough.

While Middleton is going back to turn on the Earth zapping ray, Crabbe and Richard Alexander are wasting time trying to figure out what secret passageway he used. Instead of just going to find him; Middleton thinks they’ll know where he’s headed. Silly Middleton, they have to be told.

Eye also makes it really clear instead of calling Jean Rogers’s character “Dale Arden,” she should just be called, “Dale You Should Stay Here.” Crabbe ditches her again in his effort to save the day.

There are a couple double crosses in the chapter–three, actually–and they change the plotting a bit. Instead of some grand air battle to save the Clay kingdom, instead it’s Crabbe having to rescue his captured friends. Again.

His showdown with Middleton is dramatically inert and lacking in much excitement, especially since it’s truncated by plotting.

The finale uses the same newspaper from the first chapter, only with a different headline, which means poor Donald Kerr is left out of the celebration sequence. It’s particularly unfair since, when he gets to make faces at Middleton (shooting at the good guys with a laser rifle), Kerr has the chapter’s best three seconds.

Eye for an Eye is a bad finish, but Mars has been burning off its goodwill for so long it doesn’t really matter.

Some real bad acting from Middleton here though. Maybe his worst in the serial overall.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 14: A Beast at Bay

A Beast at Bay could just as easily be called We Give Up, There’s One More. After a lackluster cliffhanger resolution, Buster Crabbe’s plan to save the Clay kingdom fails because he couldn’t control one unarmed prisoner and then couldn’t beat him in a fistfight. The thirteen chapters of Crabbe kicking Martian ass… well, they were all just wimps, apparently. Crabbe gets zero material through the rest of the chapter, but he seems perpetually perturbed, which is accurate given his utter failures at the opening.

Once Crabbe gets the upper hand again–because he remembers he’s got a ray gun on him–it’s back to the Clay kingdom to tell no longer clay king but still overdoing it C. Montague Shaw he’s failed to execute his plan. Bay skips how Crabbe’s sidekicks knew he’d failed since I think they were waiting for him at a rendezvous point. Whatever.

Luckily the new Martian prisoners realize–immediately upon their arrival in the scene–Crabbe is actually a good guy and pledge their allegiance to him. Just after Shaw gives Crabbe command of the army, which seems questionable given his planning has been so terrible. Again, whatever.

They end up going back to the palace, where Charles Middleton is about to be crowned King of Mars. Now, you know it’s the penultimate chapter because instead of telling Jean Rogers she’s too girly to go along or Donald Kerr he’s too annoying to go along and dumping them in Shaw’s care, Crabbe–still looking put out–brings them along.

After some trouble, they get to Middleton’s coronation and Crabbe–with the help of flashbacks to the previous serial–talks the Martians out of making Middleton king. So he holds them up with a ray gun–everyone else is armed but no one is willing to risk Crabbe–and makes a getaway.

It’s a sad chapter. It’s not even disappointing. It’s just sad. It’s sad from the start. Especially when they use footage from the obviously visually superior previous serial. Trip to Mars can’t end soon enough.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 13: The Miracle of Magic

The Miracle of Magic is a funny title for the chapter since nothing really miraculous happens. There’s some anti-miracles. Maybe it refers to the curse of the Clay people getting lifted, which involves magical receptacles, but not really magic itself. It’s a strange sequence where the still suspicious C. Montague Shaw has Buster Crabbe do the spell lifting because Crabbe’s familiar with electricity and can run the Clay people’s machine. Presumably they too could use the machine, since they’re pretty technologically advanced–including the high-speed subway system–but whatever. Maybe they wanted publicity stills of Crabbe and company with the electronic gadgetry.

Besides lifting the curse–revealing all the Clay people are male–most of the chapter involves Crabbe and the boys trying to stop Ming (Charles Middleton) from arming the Forest people to attack the Clay people. Middleton had to get Beatrice Roberts out of the way to do so; it’s not clear why exactly, just because he wanted her out of the way. She probably would’ve gone along with him arming the Forest people. It’s also not clear why they’re better for destroying the Clay people than the Martian troops. The Martian troops have all the weapons, they’re just giving them to the Forest people.

Maybe because Middleton has stupid ideas, which does explain why it’s taken him thirteen chapters to get to this point in his scheme.

Crabbe ditches Jean Rogers with Shaw, rather ingloriously, and takes Frank Shannon, Donald Kerr, and Richard Alexander to the Forest people’s… well, their forest. Then he and Alexander ditch Shannon and Kerr to go sneak around and discover what’s the rumpus. Of course, it turns out Shannon and Kerr figure out what’s going on without having to go sneak around the Forest people’s underground lair.

The chapter ends with Crabbe executing his plan to save the Clay people. It’s not going as planned.

There’s some big plot developments in the first few minutes–Clay people curse lifted and such–but then it’s more of the same stalling and circular narrative for the rest. Mars has only got two chapters left and it’s hard to imagine they’re going to be able to make a major quality uptick. Magic is far from the worst chapter in the serial, but also far from the best. It’s one of the better middling chapters.

Hopefully there’s some engaging surprise coming, because there sure wasn’t anything here.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 12: Ming the Merciless

It’s a good thing Ming (Charles Middleton) loves to carelessly gloat because if he didn’t, there’s no way Buster Crabbe could’ve got the upper hand this chapter. Ming the Merciless is, sort of, about Martian queen Beatrice Roberts finding out Middleton isn’t really her pal. But she doesn’t have much in the way of recognition of his betrayal. In fact, it goes without mention or much reaction.

Other than that scene, not much happens in the chapter. Sure, Crabbe de-brainwashes Jean Rogers but once she’s back to normal, she’s really back to normal. She’s got no lines, just follows Crabbe and Frank Shannon around.

The cliffhanger resolution at the beginning has Crabbe and Shannon feigning death so they can get the upper hand on Middleton’s stooge Wheeler Oakman. Oakman has just about the most thankless job in the serial. He’s got to pretend Middleton’s smart and pretend Crabbe is a competent captor. There’s nary a moment when Crabbe’s leading Oakman around Oakman couldn’t escape. But he’s convincing in his… lack of escape ambition.

The serial explains it, like everything else, with Middleton being such a genius conniver there’s never anything to worry about. And that thesis isn’t wrong; at least, presumably, until the last chapter when the serial can stop toggling between Middleton or Crabbe having the upper hand.

The chapter ends with all the good guys in trouble, even though Donald Kerr and Richard Alexander are separated from Crabbe, Shannon, and Rogers. Crabbe and company has Roberts prisoner and drops a note to Kerr and Alexander, which is a good waste of ninety seconds or so when Kerr and Alexander think it’s an enemy attack. A lot of Ming feels likes the filmmakers are just trying to kill time.

Trip to Mars’s turn for the worse hasn’t made any further turns in that direction, but it certainly hasn’t corrected course. Poor Roberts, who had some credibility before, has been reduced to being tricked by Middleton and having moon eyes for Crabbe. It’s a good thing it’s cover soon.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 11: Human Bait

And it’s back to the Martian imperial city or whatever it’d be called this chapter. After a surprising cliffhanger resolution–brainwashed Jean Rogers does indeed stab Buster Crabbe in the back–Crabbe and his male sidekicks (Frank Shannon, Donald Kerr, and Richard Alexander) go running around in the forest a bit before they have to go back to the temple. So much going somewhere and going back. Eventually they get to Alexander’s rocket ship so they can get to the city and rescue Rogers.

Only Charles Middleton and Beatrice Roberts have her and she’s the Human Bait of the title.

Crabbe and Shannon once again fall for one of Middleton’s questionably contrived plans against them, eventually getting them to the cliffhanger. It’s a very boring chapter. The stuff with Rogers having sympathetic (slightly sympathetic anyway) guards is far more interesting than anything in the finale. Except maybe how none of the four editors realized Middleton was supposed to be away from the trap spot only they kept cutting to old footage of him there, conniving.

Oddly weak performance from Roberts this chapter too. She just stares into space while Middleton talks to her. Meanwhile Rogers is in Mars more, only as a zombie. It’s a disappointment.

With only four chapters left, Human Bait is definitely concerning. There might not be anywhere else for Mars to go and it’s a little too early for it to be in such bad shape. Hopefully they pull it off. Hopefully.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 10: Incense of Forgetfulness

Okay, Incense of Forgetfulness might be where Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars starts getting into… well, travel trouble. After an exceptionally bad cliffhanger resolution (Buster Crabbe just manages to break free of his bonds, nothing else), there’s about ten minutes of circular narrative. Crabbe, Frank Shannon, and Richard Alexander head back to the Clay kingdom. There’s something of a chase through the palace, but nothing Crabbe can’t take care of by himself… against like five armed guards. Even though Shannon and Alexander are there, it’s all Crabbe.

Back at the Clay kingdom, they reunite with Jean Rogers and a now fully healed Donald Kerr (who was supposed to be convalescing for a few days but whatever). They have to go back to the forest people’s kingdom to get Alexander’s ship. But first, a flashback to the previous serial, and a change in the story of why Alexander is on Mars. Originally he was there to hunt down Ming (Charles Middleton), now he’s there to save his Earth friends. It’s not an earth shattering change (no pun) but it’s some lazy storytelling.

Made even lazier once they go back to the forest, get into it yet again with the forest people, this time with Rogers getting taken prisoner. Crabbe leaves her with Kerr, who obviously isn’t much of a protector. It’s kind of funny watching Kerr and Rogers walk through the forest. She looks like she’s doing a glamour shoot, while he looks utterly terrified. Of course, when Rogers gets grabbed, she doesn’t do anything. Just lets the forest people lead her back to the temple.

The temple where they all were a couple (or three) chapters ago.

Again. Circular.

At least Crabbe figures out Middleton is setting up to double cross Martian queen Beatrice Roberts, but it doesn’t matter here. Forgetfulness is a fairly pointless chapter, with bad editing ruining the possibly dramatic cliffhanger. Rogers is brainwashed by the forest people and now Crabbe’s sworn enemy.

They’ll never get that kiss now.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 9: Symbol of Death

Nine chapters in, Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars hasn’t had any majorly repetitive chapters. The overall story moves along, at least moderately, by the end of the chapter. But not so with Symbol of Death. The chapter opens with Buster Crabbe escaping Charles Middleton’s imprisonment and death ray; it ends with Crabbe imprisoned and Middleton bombarding him with another death ray. A different death ray. Middleton’s got all sorts.

In between, Crabbe tries to escape, but gets caught destroying the beam zapping the Earth’s atmosphere. Now, he uses a weapon near the hanger, far away from where he got caught last chapter; Symbol never addresses why Crabbe went to Middletown’s lab to destroy the Earth-sucker when he just could’ve done it from the hanger.

One big change is Crabbe loses his advantage over Martian queen Beatrice Roberts, forcing Frank Shannon and Richard Alexander to go back to the palace to rescue Crabbe. So they’re in trouble at the end too. And it’s confirmed Middleton is plotting against Roberts. But it’s a fairly boring, pointless chapter just to get all those story switches flipped.

Though there’s one great scene where Alexander knocks around two Martian guards. His helmet’s barely hanging on to his head by the end of it.

And there’s some decent stuff with Crabbe’s escape through the palace city–and, eventually, the first decent miniature effects of the palace city. Usually there’s a strange profile shot but there’s finally the city next to the Martian landscape here. But once you realize Crabbe’s just going somewhere better to destroy the Earth-sucker ray… the circular narrative gets annoying.

It’s competently produced–Crabbe gets nothing to do–and it’s nice to see Shannon and Alexander team up, but Symbol of Death is Mars’s weakest chapter so far.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 8: The Black Sapphire of Kalu

Poor Flash (Buster Crabbe) and Dale (Jean Rogers), every time it seems like they might actually get a chance to lock lips, something happens. This time it’s Frank Shannon calling attention to Donald Kerr being injured. Flash being Flash, Crabbe has to attend to Kerr, not passionately reunite with Rogers, which is doubly unfair since Rogers–to everyone’s surprise–saves the day.

In the previous chapter recap at the opening, Black Sapphire of Kalu reveals Rogers isn’t just going to wait around for Kerr to warn Crabbe, Shannon, and Richard Alexander about Martian troops after them–the troops disappear–instead she’s going to take the Martian ship and help them from the air. Very cool since it seemed like Rogers and Kerr would about to be shunted to hostage status again. Kerr even gets to save Crabbe from the Forest People.

Then he gets injured. And they have to go back to the Clay People, where the king (C. Montague Shaw, who’s always partially suspect) can heal Kerr but wants Shannon to attend him. Crabbe leaves Rogers there and takes Alexander along to the palace to confront villains Beatrice Roberts and Charles Middleton.

It goes all right with Roberts–the confronting–but Middleton easily outwits nice guy Crabbe for the cliffhanger.

The first half of Kalu, except the bad stock music choices, is fantastic. The second half is fine just a little lacking in tension, which makes sense since it’s all building up to a cliffhanger where Crabbe makes an unbelievable mistake and pays for it.

Crabbe’s solo for the setup to the cliffhanger–he’s usually got a sidekick, whether Shannon or Alexander–so him bumbling is a little frustrating in just how contrived it all gets.

While not a terrible turn for Mars–Crabbe and Middleton tend to bumble through their animosity–Kalu’s definitely a let down after its awesome start.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 7: The Prisoner of Mongo

The Prisoner of Mongo title suggests, well, whoever was titling the chapters wasn’t paying attention to the actual script–much like last chapter’s title, calling the Forest People the Tree-Men–but it does indeed turn out Buster Crabbe and company will end up prisoners of Mongo. At least, of Ming (Charles Middleton). He’s commanding the Tree-Men–sorry, Forest People–something he neglects to mention to Martian queen Beatrice Roberts, presumably because he’s eventually going to turn on her.

The chapter has Crabbe, Frank Shannon, Jean Rogers, and Donald Kerr on the run from the Forest People–temporarily imprisoned before Richard Alexander (from the previous serial) arrives to save them. It’s nice having Alexander back, though for a while it seems like Rogers and Kerr are once again going to be second or third fiddle. The chapter leaves it unresolved.

After their escape, Crabbe and company plans an assault on a Forest People temple–they’ve got a magic stone to counter Roberts’s magic stone–while Middleton’s forces are on the way. It’d be an awesome chapter if it weren’t for a couple big problems. First, the stock music is an ill-fit for the action. It doesn’t build tension, it often isn’t even action music, it’s distracting in its dullness.

Second–and bigger problem–the Forest People. Well, Forest Men (at least Tree-Men accurately addresses the lack of females). They’re terrible villains. The acting ranges from silly to inept to terrible. Really drags the chapter down. Combined with the bad stock music, it’s far from dramatic.

Still, the forest sets are decent and all the leads are good. Crabbe and Alexander are an affable team as well.

The cliffhanger is simultaneously lacking in drama but well-plotted–but it’s lacking in drama because the plotting is so dang good. Hopefully the next chapter gets them away from the Forest People. The Forest People are really annoying.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill), Chapter 6: Tree-Men of Mars

Oh sure, the title is Tree-Men of Mars, but they’re actually called the “forest-people (of Mars)” or even the “fire-men (of Mars). They live in a forest (in the trees) and shoot fire at their enemies. Who, by the end of the chapter, are after Crabbe and company. Crabbe and Shannon have just convinced Clay King C. Montague Shaw they’re allies (though Crabbe and Shannon hold up the place to do so and give Shaw no further proof) and he sends them to meet his pals the forest-people. Unfortunately, evil queen Beatrice Roberts can see them on her view screen and sabotages their attempts at peaceful meeting.

All that action takes place in the last five minutes (or less) of Tree-Men. The rest of the chapter involves Crabbe and Shannon once again outwitting Roberts’s troops, heading back to her palace (again), getting into it with Charles Middleton (again), then taking the underground tram back to the Clay Kingdom. Once they get there–pursued by a couple soldiers Roberts willy-nilly turns into Clay Men–they bond with Shaw over flashbacks to the previous Flash Gordon serial. It’s only the sixth chapter, which seems early for a clip chapter, but I suppose since it’s to the original serial, it’s different.

There’s a little creativity in Crabbe and Shannon trying to glide (on their capes) to the palace, but there are only a couple effects shots. Then it’s more of the same once they’re back. Roberts talks about the history of the conflict with the Clay People, so it makes no sense she’s the only way to make people into clay. Unless she’s immortal or something. Trip to Mars avoids giving enough detail.

But at least Jean Rogers and Donald Kerr have rejoined the main action. Hopefully they manage not to become hostages again in the very next chapter.

CREDITS

Directed by Ford Beebe and Robert F. Hill; screenplay by Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas, based the comic strip by Alex Raymond; director of photography, Jerome Ash; edited by Joseph Gluck, Saul A. Goodkind, Louis Sackin, and Alvin Todd; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon), Jean Rogers (Dale Arden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Alexis Zarkov), Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming), Beatrice Roberts (Queen Azura), Donald Kerr (Happy Hapgood), Richard Alexander (Prince Barin), and C. Montague Shaw (Clay King).

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