If you’re curious about the original space-adventurer, you can watch (or download) Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1941) quite legally via the Internet Archive.ħ2: The Hunter-Gratzner – Pitch Black (2000) | RETURN TO INDEX There’s a nice resin model from Herb Deeks a desk-model occasionally available on eBay and for CGI buffs, a mesh for Google Sketchup.
There doesn’t seem to be a huge amount available in terms of replicas and kits. Director Mike Nichols took the same approach in his cult 1980 remake of the serial, where ex-NASA scientist Zarkov’s vessel is rather more toned-down than its 1930s forebear. The original ship in Alex Raymond’s 1934 strip was a little more sober, perhaps to distinguish it from the outlandish, fin-bestrewn styling of Mongo’s various kingdoms. But if you like art deco (which I do), this is bound to be a favourite. It’s basically a bullet-shaped, drag-resistant projectile with four spoilers and two aft stabilising fins, all apparently powered by some 50p sparklers. In the absence of more detailed information I can only credit Ralph Berger, art director on the hugely popular RKO cine-serial Flash Gordon (1936), with the delightfully wacky art-deco stylings of Dr. Zarkov rocket ship – Flash Gordon (1936) | RETURN TO INDEX Info: Fictional Life | IMDB | Mateen Greenway recreation |ħ4: BTA fighter – Enemy Mine (1985) | RETURN TO INDEXħ3: Dr. Happily the Friede has actually flown since, several times. Consulting rocket scientist Hermann Oberth had originally intended to build an actual working rocket miniature for Lang, but was constrained by budget and schedule. The first successful V2 launch from the rocket research facility at Verein für Raumschiffahrt bore the logo of the Friede from Woman In The Moon.
The film was very popular with Wernher von Braun and his associates, who would ultimately take America to the moon with very similar methods (even if they wisely chose not to launch the Apollo missions from under the sea, as with the Friede). Even thirty years later, Hollywood was still stuck on the ‘single stage’ ship when depicting space travel. Not only is the rocket in Fritz Lang’s precocious space outing a beautiful example of Art Deco sci-fi before the bulbous curves of Flash Gordon took over, but it’s also an amazing foreshadowing of the ‘staged’ separation that would ultimately take man into space (you can see a video clip of that sequence here).
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