Got the Crabbes
Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 04/15/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Disc #1--
FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE is the last of three Flash Gordon serials. In this one, a plague that leaves its victims with a purple spot on their foreheads spreads over the Earth. Ming the Merciless is believed responsible, so Flash and crew are sent to planet Mongo in search of a cure.
CAPTAIN GALLANT OF THE FOREIGN LEGION (bonus feature on Disc #1) was a 1950s half-hour TV show that starred Crabbe and his young son.
Disc #2 has an African theme--
In JUNGLE FEVER, Charles Middleton, who is Flash's nemesis "Ming," plays his ally, Rev. Graham. Plot: the African expedition led by Buster searches for the fabled "City of the Dead."
NABONGA features a ferocious gorilla (named "N'bonga")-- the man in the monkey suit is none other than Ray 'Crash' Corrigan.
SWAMP FIRE showcases TWO screen Tarzans: Crabbe and Johnny Weissmuller (who stars in this film). Their climactic underwater fight scene caused a rift between the two actors that never healed. (Look for a very young David Janssen here in a small role.)
PLANET OUTLAWS (Disc #2 bonus) is an edited version of the 1939 serial "Buck Rogers."
Disc #3 consists of four hour-length westerns, including two from the "Billy Carson" series and one "Billy the Kid."
ST. CLAIR DVD multi-packs are reasonably priced, and offer fine quality video/audio transfers of unrestored public domain material. Discs are single-side recorded, plastic storage cases fairly sturdy, movie liner notes appear on box's back cover and most DVDs include bonus items.
Sci-fi serial fans are certain to enjoy FLASH GORDON: BOX SET (from IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT). All three FG serials are here (Space Soldiers/Flash Gordon's Trip To Mars/Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe) for one great low price!
PROGRAM LIST for ST. CLAIR's "Buster Crabbe Collection"--
DISC ONE - "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe"--
Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon/Carol Hughes as Dale Arden/Frank Shannon as Dr. Zarkov/Charles Middleton as Ming the Merciless
(chapters)
1) The Purple Death
2) Freezing Torture
3) Walking Bombs
4) The Destroying Ray
5) The Palace of Terror
6) Flaming Death
7) The Land of the Dead
8) The Fiery Abyss
9) The Pool of Peril
10) The Death Mist
11) Stark Treachery
12) Doom of the Dictator
BONUS: Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion
DISC TWO--
(3.9) Jungle Man (1941) - Buster Crabbe/Charles Middleton/Sheila Darcy
(4.7) Nabonga (1944) - Buster Crabbe/Fifi D'Orsay/Barton MacLane/Julie London/Herbert Rawlinson/Ray Corrigan (uncredited: I. Stanfod Jolley/Fred 'Snowflake' Toones)
(6.4) Swamp Fire (1946) - Johnny Weissmuller/Virginia Grey/Buster Crabbe (uncredited: David Janssen/I. Stanford Jolley)
BONUS: Planet Outlaws
DISC THREE--
(5.2) The Gangster's Den (1945) - Buster Crabbe/Al St. John/Kermit Maynard/I. Stanford Jolley
(6.7) Fuzzy Settles Down (1944) - Buster Crabbe/Al St. John/Patti McCarty/Charles King
(6.0) Buffalo Stampede ("The Thundering Herd") (1933) - Randolph Scott/Bister Crabbe/Noah Beery/Harry Carey/Barton MacLane
(6.6) Fugitive of the Plains (1943) - Buster Crabbe/Al St. John/Kermit Maynard
BONUS: Fuzzy Logic"
Buster Crabbe 11-item box set
Kenneth M. Henderson | Australia | 03/08/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Buster Crabbe Collection
This 11-disc box set is of very good quality even though some material is available elsewhere. The price is exceptional for the quality and I have no objections to having this set in my collection"
Buster Crabbe
WeimarTxn | 11/25/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What enjoyment reliving the Flash Gordon - Buster Crabbe films that I watched as youth at the local theater and that initiated/influenced the creation of the Star Wars epic films."