Ming Attacks the Earth

Slow day.  Watched a little bit of a Flash Gordon serial from 1936.  Hey, you ever catch wind of a Tornado Warning in your area and seek shelter in your closet, which just so happens to contain a piss load of genre movies on all formats?  You have???  That's a weird coincidence.  Anyhow, I spotted Ming Attacks the Earth on VHS while holed up in my closet.  I was like, "What the fuck is this?  I own this?"  As it turns out, I do own this.  It's...eh, something to watch.  I understand that serials were not prioritized by studios, but I was sorely disappointed in the ratfink budget.  BUT THEN!

That was supposed to be a cliffhanger.  I found out that Universal poured reams of chicken feed into the project, three times as much as the average serial.  So where did the money go?  I concede, they shot four hours of footage all told, and there are a couple of creature suits in the production (I didn't get to scope the gockos!).  I don't know.  I guess I was just expecting more lunacy.  You don't have to tell me; I know that I need to watch the 1980 theatrical version.  I did see incredible slices of it at the supple age of 14.  Gonzo pie, am I still typing?  This was supposed to be fluff.  Marshmallow cream!  Surf spray!

Here are some fuckin' dinosaurs.