scifi reflection
Regarding actress Jean Rogers:
“Flash Gordon had a tremendous impact on me. It was probably the most erotic serial of the 1930’s in a very simple fashion. I had a big crush on Jean Rogers – she had that kind of pre-Code platinum blonde look.”
Born on this day back in 1916 in Belmont, Massachusetts under the name of Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren, actress Jean Rogers rose to ‘fame’ but perhaps not so much ‘fortune’ in the role of Dale Arden, damsel-in-distress and galactic love interest aboard 1936’s “Flash Gordon” serial and its popular 1938 sequel, “Flash Gordon’s Trip To Mars.” About her appearance in one of filmdom’s groundbreaking space adventures, Google.com reports that the lady was an instant hit with fans who – to this day – still recognize her as the quintessential embodiment of the character. In fact, a Reddit post goes a bit further with contributors insisting that Rogers set the standard for “beauty and class” in what would become the growing presence of Science Fiction and Fantasy on the silver screen. In a 1994 article for Filmfax Magazine, writer and Rogers’ interviewer Jim Sulski wrote: “For a young man, she was, literally, the stuff dreams are made of.”
In the same Filmfax profile, Rogers reflected upon her time in the spotlight those two film serials cast upon her. “I never thought that the popularity of it would come back like it has,” she told Sulski when they met. “It was my favorite serial and it was quite an experience, although Buster (Crabbe) and I both thought the whole thing was nuts. At the time, who could think of Mars and outer space and all that.”
According to the actress, she was under contract to Universal Pictures at the time, meaning that rather than audition for the role the studio suits simply assigned her to the project based on what they thought both the serial and she needed. After all, this was early in her professional career, so bringing Dale Arden to life for a generation of viewers could give her some much-needed experience in front of the camera. Allegedly, her success grew into Universal desirous of making this former beauty queen into ‘the Queen of the Screen Serials,’ and it was on this point wherein Rogers parted ways with the idea of reprising the role in Gordon’s third big-screen outing – “Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe” (1940) – instead insisting that what she now needed was roles in major motion pictures.
While she enjoyed modest screen presence across a variety of genres after leaving the Flash Gordon Screen Universe behind, Rogers eventually retired from acting in 1951. Still, her enduring presence as one of the first actresses to boldly go where few men had gone before definitely remains a landmark in genre entertainment. Brains and beauty go hand-in-hand, and rarely did it get depicted as vividly as it did in the 1936 and 1938 Gordon serials. As much as their acclaim is owed to Buster Crabbe’s heroic charisma, Jean Rogers paved the way for what would be a benchmark few ladies could follow.
Though she’s no longer with us, Rogers was born on this day in 1916.
-- EZ
“Flash Gordon had a tremendous impact on me. It was probably the most erotic serial of the 1930’s in a very simple fashion. I had a big crush on Jean Rogers – she had that kind of pre-Code platinum blonde look.”
- Hugh Hefner (Source: “The Serious Side Of Hugh Hefner,” TheCliffEdge.com website)
Born on this day back in 1916 in Belmont, Massachusetts under the name of Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren, actress Jean Rogers rose to ‘fame’ but perhaps not so much ‘fortune’ in the role of Dale Arden, damsel-in-distress and galactic love interest aboard 1936’s “Flash Gordon” serial and its popular 1938 sequel, “Flash Gordon’s Trip To Mars.” About her appearance in one of filmdom’s groundbreaking space adventures, Google.com reports that the lady was an instant hit with fans who – to this day – still recognize her as the quintessential embodiment of the character. In fact, a Reddit post goes a bit further with contributors insisting that Rogers set the standard for “beauty and class” in what would become the growing presence of Science Fiction and Fantasy on the silver screen. In a 1994 article for Filmfax Magazine, writer and Rogers’ interviewer Jim Sulski wrote: “For a young man, she was, literally, the stuff dreams are made of.”
In the same Filmfax profile, Rogers reflected upon her time in the spotlight those two film serials cast upon her. “I never thought that the popularity of it would come back like it has,” she told Sulski when they met. “It was my favorite serial and it was quite an experience, although Buster (Crabbe) and I both thought the whole thing was nuts. At the time, who could think of Mars and outer space and all that.”
According to the actress, she was under contract to Universal Pictures at the time, meaning that rather than audition for the role the studio suits simply assigned her to the project based on what they thought both the serial and she needed. After all, this was early in her professional career, so bringing Dale Arden to life for a generation of viewers could give her some much-needed experience in front of the camera. Allegedly, her success grew into Universal desirous of making this former beauty queen into ‘the Queen of the Screen Serials,’ and it was on this point wherein Rogers parted ways with the idea of reprising the role in Gordon’s third big-screen outing – “Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe” (1940) – instead insisting that what she now needed was roles in major motion pictures.
While she enjoyed modest screen presence across a variety of genres after leaving the Flash Gordon Screen Universe behind, Rogers eventually retired from acting in 1951. Still, her enduring presence as one of the first actresses to boldly go where few men had gone before definitely remains a landmark in genre entertainment. Brains and beauty go hand-in-hand, and rarely did it get depicted as vividly as it did in the 1936 and 1938 Gordon serials. As much as their acclaim is owed to Buster Crabbe’s heroic charisma, Jean Rogers paved the way for what would be a benchmark few ladies could follow.
Though she’s no longer with us, Rogers was born on this day in 1916.
-- EZ
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