40 years pass in a Flash
Actor Sam J Jones recalls woolly jumpers, darts and freezing cold hotel baths on idyllic isle as he played galactic comic book superhero in the 1970s
FOR the American marine-turned actor, arriving in Scotland was the perfect way to get his head round the sci-fi film he was about to shoot.
While the Isle of Skye wasn’t the alien planet Mongo in Flash Gordon – for the young 23-year-old Sam J Jones, it could have been.
Having to wait two days for hot water, seeing a sheep go in to a factory and a sweater coming out, learning darts and, of course, Skye’s breath-taking scenery were a million miles away from California where he grew up.
Sam, 65, admitted: “It felt like a different world going to Skye. It was a bit behind the times but I’m a marine – I never say former as once a marine, always a marine – so I’m used to basic conditions.
“They told me when I booked in to this really old hotel, ‘If you want to take a hot bath, you have to give two days notice’. So I said, ‘Well, I’m here for seven days so I’m giving you all the notice I can give you’.
“I visited a sweater factory where the sheep entered at one end and at the other I was able to purchase three beautiful thick wool sweaters.
“I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world and I’ve never seen the same greenness as Skye’s hills. I really miss it. I love Scotland.”
One of Scotland’s most beautiful places can be seen at the start of the cult classic Flash Gordon and is the only outside filming done on the film directed by Mike Hodges, who was best known for Michael Caine’s Get Carter.
The airfield scene at the beginning of the film, although set in Canada, was shot at the Broadford Airfield in Skye.
It sets up the meeting between Flash and Dale Arden, played by Melody Anderson. They board a small aircraft – operated by the fictional Mountain Airways and whose baggage handler is Robbie Coltrane in his first film role – as a freak storm of Emperor Ming the Merciless of the planet Mongo hits.
Ming, played by Max von Sydow, has decided to destroy Earth using natural disasters as he’s bored.
After the plane is hit and crashes, Flash and Dale meet Dr Hans Zarkov, who helpfully has a spacecraft which propels the trio to Mongo.
As well as being over-the-top, camp and colourful with classic lines such as, “Flash, I love you! But we only have 14 hours to save the Earth”, the film is also best known Queen’s soundtrack. To celebrate the movie’s 40th anniversary, Sam had been due to spend 2020 on a world tour which should have included an appearance in Edinburgh in October – his third visit to Scotland in three years. Covid-19 means he’ll be back next year and fancies taking a drive to Skye for the first time since 1979, this time going over the Skye Bridge which was only opened in 1995.
He said: “Before we filmed in Skye, I had spent 30 days in London doing auditions looking for a Dale. Melody came in the last couple of days.
“Instead of flying to Scotland, I wanted to clear my head so drove up. It still stays with me today.
“Skye was refreshing and real. The different regions in the film like Arboria or Hawk City were all beautiful stages at Elstree with beautiful scenery, sets and then CGI – it was all make believe. Scotland was the real deal.”
While Flash is the blond all-American football hero and Sam’s roots are Welsh, going to Scotland and meeting the rough and tough Skye islanders gave
him the core of how he was going to play the superhero. He said: “The Scottish scenes were the first filming we did. I wanted to be true to the character of Flash. Going to Scotland inspired my portrayal of Flash because of all the local people.
“Most of them were farmers and ranchers and even the old men were fit and very strong from working.
“I visited some of the pubs where the older farmers taught me darts.
“They had this unique quality that helped me – a good heart and looked after each other.
“At 25, I was very naive but I was also very teachable and I took that idea of Flash having a good heart and wanting to look after people with me.”
Flash Gordon first appeared as a comic strip in January 1934 to rival Buck Rogers. He didn’t have a superpower but is seen as a superhero and influenced the creation of Superman and Batman.
Since then, there’s been live action and animated TV series but only one film version, which is why the 1980 film – which also stars Brian Blessed – crying, “Gordon’s alive?” endures.
After some disagreements with producer Dino De Laurentiis, Sam quit the film after principle filming had been done which meant a planned sequel wasn’t made.
He’s struggled to find a better role and in 2003 quit acting to set up a security business. He was tempted back in 2012 to star as himself in the Mark Wahlberg comedy Ted, returning for Ted 2 and signing up for an as-yet unmade Ted 3.
Sam said: “I had early representation who said, ‘You should walk away from the Flash Gordon image.’ But I wouldn’t be talking to you right now, 40 years later, had it ∙ not been for Flash Gordon.”
Flash Gordon will be released on a 4k restoration collector’s edition DVD, Blu-ray and digital on August 3.