Flesh Gordon (1974) is a satirical, softcore erotic sci-fi adventure film directed by Michael Benveniste and Howard Ziehm. A parody of the 1930s Flash Gordon serials, the film combines comedy, adventure, and explicit sexual humor, featuring deliberately campy dialogue, stop-motion animation, and exaggerated special effects.
The cast includes Jason Williams as Flesh Gordon, Suzanne Fields as Dale Ardor, and William Hunt as Dr. Flexi Jerkoff.
The film opens with Earth being bombarded by a mysterious sex ray from the planet Porno, causing uncontrollable sexual urges among the population. The world is thrown into chaos as people everywhere succumb to their newfound carnal desires.
Amidst the pandemonium, handsome and heroic Flesh Gordon (Jason Williams) and the beautiful Dale Ardor (Suzanne Fields) board a plane. However, their flight is soon hijacked by the sex ray, causing it to crash near the lab of the eccentric scientist Dr. Flexi Jerkoff (William Hunt). Jerkoff explains that the sex ray is the work of the evil Emperor Wang the Perverted (William Dennis Hunt), the ruthless ruler of the planet Porno, who intends to enslave Earth with uncontrollable lust.
Determined to stop Wang’s perverse conquest, Flesh, Dale, and Dr. Jerkoff blast off to the planet Porno in a phallic-shaped spaceship. Upon arrival, they are quickly captured by Wang’s minions, a group of bizarre and often oversexed creatures. Wang, impressed by Dale’s beauty, decrees that she will be his bride, while Flesh is thrown into the gladiator pits to fight for his life.
Along the way, the trio encounters various absurd and sexualized characters, including lusty Amazons, well-endowed robots, and perverse mutants.
As Wang prepares to marry Dale and seal his rule over Earth, Flesh, Dr. Jerkoff, and Prince Precious launch a final rescue mission. In a thrilling climax, Flesh defeats Wang in a laser-powered duel, sending the evil emperor plummeting to his demise. With Wang gone, the sex ray is destroyed, freeing Earth from its forced sexual frenzy.
With the galaxy saved, Flesh and Dale share a romantic (and predictably steamy) embrace, setting the stage for their next adventure.
Flesh Gordon is an affectionate homage and a raunchy parody of the classic sci-fi serials of the 1930s and 40s, notably the Flash Gordon series. The film’s special effects, including stop-motion creatures by Dave Allen, pay tribute to the work of Ray Harryhausen, while its absurd humor and exaggerated sexual innuendos place it firmly in the realm of 1970s exploitation cinema.
Despite being softcore, the film had a hardcore version shot but was later edited down for mainstream release. Its mix of eroticism, adventure, and comedy made it a cult favorite, and it even spawned a sequel, Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders (1990).
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