By David Weiner
In the wake of STAR WARS back in 1977, I was ravenous for any similar excitement available on the big screen that had even the most basic similar elements of my new favorite film — as long as it had outer-space adventures, laser battles, Imperial-style regimes, spaceships, aliens, and rebellious heroes battling larger-than-life villains, I was good to go.
When my dad was a kid (he was born in the ’30s), his STAR WARS was FLASH GORDON. In fact, I remember when we walked out of the theater in yet another post-STAR WARS daze (probably my third or fourth viewing of many at that point), I asked my dad what he thought of the George Lucas spectacle. He replied simply, “It was fun. But I loved FLASH GORDON.” As in, the 1930s black-and-white serial starring Buster Crabbe as the titular hero.
A couple years later, my dad had an opportunity through work to take me to a special early screening of 1980’s FLASH GORDON, starring Sam J. Jones as the intrepid Earthling who must save our planet from the dastardly Ming the Merciless. I can still remember the excitement on his face to finally have the opportunity to share a taste of his own childhood with me, albeit in a much more colorful and contemporary manner.
As a father with my own pre-teen kid, I can now appreciate my dad’s excitement that much more knowing what it’s like trying to share the passions of my own youth with the next generation.
Other than the smell of free popcorn from an old-timey popcorn cart and the deluge of rain that soaked my shoes on the way to the Manhattan theater for that special Saturday matinee in late November of 1980, I distinctly remember seeing two FLASH GORDON elements ahead of the film itself: The epic Philip Castle FLASH GORDON teaser poster featuring the Hawkmen attack on Ming’s War Rocket, and the Universal lobby cards. I have no recollection of watching a trailer…
I have very fond memories of looking at Lobby Cards before any movie experience back when I was a kid. They really made an impact on my impressionable mind. These FLASH GORDON ones didn’t disappoint; they captured the vibrant and otherworldly nature of the story, the elaborate costumes, the massive sets, and the larger-than-life characters that would populate the film. They were snapshots that provided a colorful glimpse into the grandeur and imaginative filmmaking that would soon unfold before my eyes.
The film itself was a blast — a mesmerizing experience of color, excitement, laughs, and blistering Queen music (I raced out afterwards to buy the soundtrack, as well as the tie-in novelization).
I’ve been a fan of FLASH GORDON — and a defender of it — ever since.
As Sam J. Jones told me when I first got to interview him for Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, “Just sit back and enjoy the ride, and try not to conduct brain surgery on it.”
Enjoy these (slightly faded) FLASH GORDON Lobby Cards:
A little background info on lobby cards I like to regularly share for context: Back in the days before the Internet, movie lobby cards were a powerful tool used by Hollywood studios to lure audiences into the darkened theater. They were the last line of enticement — and sometimes the first — alongside carpet-bombing consumers with coming attractions, movie posters, marquees, publicity stunts, movie program books, and newspaper advertisements for their newest big-screen sensation. With no entertainment websites or blogs available to tease audiences with stills from their films, lobby cards served that purpose for the studio publicity machine. These days, movie theater lobbies have eschewed the traditional lobby card for posters, standees, trailers on repeat, experiential activations and more.
More Lobby Cards to ogle:
- JAWS franchise Lobby Cards
- CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Lobby Cards from 1977
- Ridley Scott’s ALIEN Lobby Cards from 1979
- YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE James Bond Lobby Cards from 1967
- Original STAR WARS Lobby Cards from 1977
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN Lobby Cards from 1982
- BLADE RUNNER Lobby Cards from 1982
- PLANET OF THE APES franchise Lobby Cards
- ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN Lobby Cards from 1948
- Do a Lobby Cards Search!
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