of Horror" "Flaming Death" "The Land of the Dead" "The Fiery Abyss" "The Pool of Peril" "The Death Mist" "Stark Treachery" "Doom of the Dictator" Source: Production Plot points were taken from the preceding serial, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. The "chamber of the death dust experiments" was previously used in Universal's Buck Rogers serial. One money-saving device also used was inserting in the serial some exciting mountain climbing search and rescue scenes from the German film White Hell of Pitz Palu (1930), as well as using its music score. Ming is portrayed as a semi-uniformed military dictator in this serial, rather than as a Fu Manchu or Devil-like character as in the two previous Flash Gordon serials. Co-star billing was given to Anne Gwynne, a Universal ingenue, whose role does not develop until the middle of the serial. This last-minute change in billing status resulted in the complete elimination of actor Donald Curtis, as Ronal, from both versions of the screen credits, despite the fact that he, unlike Gwynne, is in every episode playing Flash's primary aide, a major character role. Jean Rogers, who had played Dale Arden in the two previous Flash Gordon serials, was under contract to 20th Century Fox at that point, and neither she nor Fox wanted her to repeat the Dale Arden role; it was given instead to a recent Universal contract starlet Carol Hughes. Critical reception According to Jim Harmon and Don Glut, Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe "was the most picturesque of the trilogy but surrendered much compelling charm for its cinematic sophistication". Soundtrack Les préludes by Franz Liszt Excerpts from The Bride of Frankenstein soundtrack by Franz Waxman. Award nomination The entire Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe serial was nominated in 2016 for the 1940 Retro Hugo Award, in the category "Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form", sponsored by The World Science Fiction Society. The Retro Hugo Awards that year were presented at MidAmeriCon II, the 74th World Science Fiction Convention held in Kansas City, MO. References External links Chapters online Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe on YouTube Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe at The Internet Archive 1940 films 1940s science fiction action films 1940s science fiction adventure films American black-and-white films American science fiction action films American space adventure films American sequel films 1940s English-language films Flash Gordon films Films based on comic strips Films directed by Ford Beebe Films