Buck Rogers (1939)

Directors:

Ford Beebe
Saul A. Goodkind

Writers:

Dick Calkins (comic strip)
Norman S. Hall (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 February 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Original cartoon strip by Dick Calkins and Phil Nolan - Based on the Buck Rogers newspaper feature owned and copyrighted by John F. Dille Co. (original posters)

Plot:

A pilot and his young passenger crash-land on a mountaintop and are put into suspended animation by a strange gas...

Plot Keywords:

Technology | Voice Over | Aliens Ruling Earth | Spacecraft | Soldier

Cast

Buster Crabbe	...	Buck Rogers (as Larry 'Buster' Crabbe)
Constance Moore	...	Wilma Deering
Jackie Moran	...	George 'Buddy' Wade
Jack Mulhall	...	Captain Rankin
Anthony Warde	...	Killer Kane
C. Montague Shaw	...	Professor Huer
Guy Usher	...	Aldar
William Gould	...	Air Marshal Kragg
Philson Ahn	...	Prince Tallen
Henry Brandon	...	Captain Laska
Wheeler Oakman	...	Lieutenant Patten
Kenne Duncan	...	Lieutenant Lacy (as Kenneth Duncan)
Carleton Young	...	Scott
Reed Howes	...	Captain Roberts

Also Known As:

Buck Rogers Conquers the Universe (USA) (video title)
Buck Rogers: Destination Saturn (USA) (recut version)

Runtime:

237 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

This serial is probably based on an unofficial Flash Gordon story in which Flash Gordon travels to Saturn; this story was not and has never been part of the original Flash Gordon universe (it was illegally published in 1936).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Buck and Buddy infiltrate the council on Saturn, the second soldier reacts to being shot by Buck's laser gun before he is shot.

Quotes:

Voiceover: From somewhere in the skies above us come, from time to time, flaming discs and weird phenomena. What are they? Whence have they come?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of John Belushi (2005) (TV)

Great Serial

This serial only proves that Buster Crabbe is definitely the king of the Saturday morning serials. He played two of the most memorable characters in comicdom, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. The main difference is the fact that Flash Gordon is more of an adult strip while Buck Rogers was more of a kiddie strip. In comparing the serials, Buck Rogers had as much action as the latter two Flash Gordon epics, however there was not as great a chemistry between Crabbe and Constance Moore as Crabbe had with Jean Rogers. All that aside though, on its own merit, its a great serial.