Priscilla
Lawson's portrayal of Princess Aura set a standard
for adventuresome vixens which stood unmatched
for a couple of generations.
Aura was THE Spitfire of the Spaceways -- a transitional
character between "Pre-Code" Hollywood
and "Hayes Office" Hollywood.
Besides her blazing sexuality, she was relatively
complicated (for a figure in an adolescent fantasy
play).
Princess Aura could be good or bad, depending
on the circumstances. She was constantly driven
to extremes of action by her lustful infatuation
for the "blond giant" Flash Gordon --
standing up against the will of her formidable
imperial father, and shooting ray guns while the
men were fighting each other with just their fists.
Priscilla
Lawson was one of the three lead actors in the
credits, so she had a lot of screen time in most
episodes. Buster Crabbe's role was Action Hero.
Jean Rogers' role was Lady In Distress. Lawson's
role wasn't so simple. Aura was an implacable
nemesis towards Dale, but she repeatedly saved
Flash's life -- and also made trouble for him
and his friends again and again.
Dr. Zarkov, Prince Thun, and Prince Barin were
all good. Emperor Ming and his minions were all
bad. Memorably barbaric King Vultan of the Hawkmen
was the only other character with good and bad
dimensions besides Princess Aura.
Laying
down blow by blow accounts of Princess Aura's
many Spitfire Scenarios would come close to retelling
the entire twelve-chapter Flash Gordon serial
of 1936 -- she's that important to whatever plot
is unraveling, uh, unfolding at the time. I will
attempt some different ways of illustrating Aura's
adventures and misadventures, so I can make a
few scholarly points and have fun as well. Long
sequential chains of events just won't suit our
free-wheeling princess. I may paraphrase words,
or even reveal unspoken thoughts now and then.
I will start a series of Spitfire pages featuring
Princess Aura I soon, but not now -- the sample
below demonstrates some of my points above: |
 |
Princess
Aura DESPISES Dale Arden
Who
sent a TIGER after me? |
Darn cat -- find
the Earth Girl! |
|
Princess
Aura is CRAZY for Flash Gordon
Set
Flash free, featherbrain. |
You're
dangerous, Aura! |
|
So
what the %$#@! HAPPENED to Princess Aura in subsequent
Flash Gordon serials?
Priscilla
Lawson signed a contract with MGM -- the most prestigious
company in Hollywood, so
she was not available for anymore Universal projects.
Unfortunately, she
never played a major role at the new studio, and her
prescence in the movies declined.
| Priscilla
Lawson at Universal |
Priscilla
Lawson at MGM |
|
The
Hayes Office became very powerful during 1936, and instituted
a restrictive production code which censored Hollywood
movies until the 1960's. The first Flash Gordon
juvenile serial might have been the sexiest, but even
those early costumes were more conservative than the
outfits drawn by Alex Raymond in the Hearst Newspapers
(which were read by the most conservative homes in the
USA every
Sunday).
The skirts in the movies were longer, heavier, and nobody's
navel showed. It was the actors themselves who made
their roles sexy or otherwise.
Flash
Gordon & The Witch Queen of Mongo by Alex
Raymond 1935 |
Ming's
Palace in the movies 1936 |
The nature of women's roles in general were severely
circumscibed by the Hayes Office. Complicated female
characters became more and more rare, even in A Grade
movies. Initiative was frowned upon for heroines, and
villainesses were punished without subtlety. B Grade
novelties, like Buster Crabbe serials, took few chances
with the censors. Fleeting glimpses of harem dancers
and attendants were as daring as they got. All-bad villainess
like Queen Azura and Lady Sonja died by the end of each
drama. Heroine Dale Arden was VERY passive in the first
adventure, and only went into action on a few occasions
in the other two serials.
| Spitfire
Aura in 1936 |
Bewildered
Aura in 1940 |
|
By 1940, even Raymond had toned down the freewheeling
barbarity of Flash Gordon. Princess Aura was
only drawn occasionaly, as Prince Barin's ultra-respectable
wife. Their Forest Kingdom mixed elements of a Zenda-like
principality with Errol Flynn's popular Robin Hood
movie. Shirley Deane's wimpering shadow of Aura was
unfortunately true to the later newspaper version of
her character. It may also be worth noting that Raymond
had turned over much of Flash Gordon to his assistant
Austin Briggs, and would quit the strip in a few more
years. |
