Verified Unrenewed Public Domain
1936 Feature
Flash Gordon
Directed by Frederick Stephani → • Production: Universal Pictures
Flash Gordon is a 1936 science-fiction adventure serial film. Presented in 13 chapters, it is the first screen adventure for Flash Gordon, the comic-strip character created by Alex Raymond in 1934. It presents the story of Gordon's visit to the planet Mongo and his encounters with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson and Frank Shannon portray the film's central characters. In 1996, Flash Gordon was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Runtime
246 minutes
Aspect Ratio
35:27
Archival Copies
1 Vault Holding(s)
Classification
1929–1963 Unrenewed
The Video Boneyard Vault Holdings
Archival Master Preserved in Studio Vaults
This title is cataloged and preserved across physical storage drives D: & E: in The Video Boneyard archival collection (1 vault master holding). A broadcast-grade restoration with dynamic loudness normalization is scheduled for streaming release on our YouTube channel.
⚖️ Statutory Public Domain Clearance Provenance
First published in 1936. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1929 and 1963 required mandatory formal copyright registration renewal during their 28th year. Official United States Copyright Office Catalog of Copyright Entries records show zero renewal registration was filed, placing this work permanently in the Public Domain.
Notable Screen Cast
James Pierce →
Prince Thun
Lon Poff →
Co-Star
Richard Tucker →
Co-Star
Bull Montana →
Supporting Cast
Al Ferguson →
Supporting Cast
Richard Alexander →
Prince Barin
George Cleveland →
Featured Cast
Lane Chandler →
Featured Cast
Glenn Strange →
Featured Cast
Buster Crabbe →
Flash Gordon
Charles Middleton →
Ming the Merciless
Jean Rogers →
Dale Arden
Priscilla Lawson →
Princess Aura
Frank Shannon →
Hans Zarkov