STRANGE GUY IS BUILT

Evening Star, Issue 22893, 26 February 1938, Page 5

STRANGE GUY IS BUILT

MARS ON A STUDIO LOT Its great silvery towers pointing high into the sky, the strangest city ever seen on the face of the earth has just been completed at Universal studios as a background for the fantastic serial drama, ‘ Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars,’ which is now in its fifth week of production with Larry ■“ Buster ” Crabhe as the star. “ Barney Sarecky, the producer, ordered a city unlike_ anything ever seen by man,” explained Ralph de Lacy, art director on the film. “ I let my imagination take wings, and this is the result.” Intrigued by the weird city, stars and players from other pictures who have visited the set agreed that it is convincing enough to make one believe they were walking through a strange planet in a dream. Outstanding in the fantastic array of buildings is the impressive palace of Azura, Queen of Magic, the golden throne room with its domed ceiling and glittering walls, and the great powerhouse of Mars, which, in the story, menaces the world with a deadly ray that is destroying the earth’s atmosphere. A large aerodrome landing tower, where rocket ships arrive and depart as the script demands, is another remarkable feature of the giant set.

Built on a lavish scale and without thought of cost, it is here that Crahhe and Jean Rogers, who play the leads in the film, face desperate adventures against the strange and awesome creatures that inhabit Mars.