Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars

Orson Welles was responsible for the relocation of this serial from Mongo to Mars, as Universal sought to exploit the furore caused by his War of the Worlds broadcast. However, the studio only had itself to blame for the cheapness of the sets (a curious factor considering the success of the 1936 original), which undermine an otherwise lively adventure in which Charles Middleton's scheme to deprive Earth of nitrogen is foiled by "Buster" Crabbe and his unlikely allies the Clay People (who've been rendered thus by the evil Queen of Magic, Beatrice Roberts). A tad self-conscious, but irresisible all the same.