Outstanding serial with themes and ideas used in much later Hollywood productions.
Firstly, I was not a child of the 30s, I was a child of the 70s. I think my age might make me look at this production in a different light to the older viewers. By that I mean, Buck Rogers is often compared to sister production of the day - Flash Gordon (1936-40) - but because I was not around in that day - I am not too concerned with Flash Gordon. Now that we have that out of the way, my review.
I once saw a very edited down version of this serial (lasting about an hour) but today in January 2020 I finally saw the full complete four hours and I was blown away by how good this Universal serial is! Columbia's Batman and Robin (1949) still stands as my favourite old time B&W movie serial but this must come in second or third best.
Buck has a youthful pal "Bud" who has touch of "The Boy Wonder" in him. In fact there was a point in one of the later chapters where I had to remind myself that I was not actually watching some very early take on Batman and Robin - as "Bud" just seemed so much like Robin in his actions with Buck!
The planet Saturn (seen here) seems like the alien planet seen in 1965's Lost In Space - that is because both shows were filmed at Red Rock Canyon.
The suspended animation theme would be used for another classic hero in Irwin Allen's The Return Of Captain Nemo (1978).
My point? You walk away from Buck Rogers (1939) feeling like several 60s/70s Hollywood productions were getting ideas from this show. You feel like it is the start of something. That alone makes it one of my very favourite pre-1940 productions period. And it does not always feel like a 30s show. It could pass as a 50s show without any problems.
Granted, the villain might not compare to the deep voiced Wizard (seen in 1949's Batman and Robin) but he does an okay job. Granted, there is a male-only feel to the production as there is only one female present (Wilma) in the whole four hours and she is so covered up in heavy clothing (from a distance she could almost be confused as male).
So basically, if you want girls, I might suggest you turn to Flash Gordon (1936) instead, but if you want a knockout boys club which might have given Hollywood some ideas later on - Buck Rogers (1939) is for you!
Firstly, I was not a child of the 30s, I was a child of the 70s. I think my age might make me look at this production in a different light to the older viewers. By that I mean, Buck Rogers is often compared to sister production of the day - Flash Gordon (1936-40) - but because I was not around in that day - I am not too concerned with Flash Gordon. Now that we have that out of the way, my review.
I once saw a very edited down version of this serial (lasting about an hour) but today in January 2020 I finally saw the full complete four hours and I was blown away by how good this Universal serial is! Columbia's Batman and Robin (1949) still stands as my favourite old time B&W movie serial but this must come in second or third best.
Buck has a youthful pal "Bud" who has touch of "The Boy Wonder" in him. In fact there was a point in one of the later chapters where I had to remind myself that I was not actually watching some very early take on Batman and Robin - as "Bud" just seemed so much like Robin in his actions with Buck!
The planet Saturn (seen here) seems like the alien planet seen in 1965's Lost In Space - that is because both shows were filmed at Red Rock Canyon.
The suspended animation theme would be used for another classic hero in Irwin Allen's The Return Of Captain Nemo (1978).
My point? You walk away from Buck Rogers (1939) feeling like several 60s/70s Hollywood productions were getting ideas from this show. You feel like it is the start of something. That alone makes it one of my very favourite pre-1940 productions period. And it does not always feel like a 30s show. It could pass as a 50s show without any problems.
Granted, the villain might not compare to the deep voiced Wizard (seen in 1949's Batman and Robin) but he does an okay job. Granted, there is a male-only feel to the production as there is only one female present (Wilma) in the whole four hours and she is so covered up in heavy clothing (from a distance she could almost be confused as male).
So basically, if you want girls, I might suggest you turn to Flash Gordon (1936) instead, but if you want a knockout boys club which might have given Hollywood some ideas later on - Buck Rogers (1939) is for you!