# Who Wrote Flash Gordon's Music?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wrote-flash-gordons-music/197137>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [August 23, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wrote-flash-gordons-music/197137 "2003-08-23T11:57:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Herb\_Twoleaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/57b2e6/32.png) [@Herb\_Twoleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herb_Twoleaf)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wrote-flash-gordons-music/197137/1 "2003-08-23T11:57:40Z")

</div>

Franz Liszt died in 1886, Cecil. I think Franz Waxman is who you meant? He composed 1935’s “Bride of Frankenstein” for Universal, and they recycled it in '36 for “Flash”.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wrote-flash-gordons-music/197137/2 "2003-08-23T12:28:16Z")

</div>

Welcome to the SDMB, **Herb Twoleaf**.  
The article you refer to:  
[Who composed the score for the old Flash Gordon serial?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_324a.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Herb\_Twoleaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/57b2e6/32.png) [@Herb\_Twoleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herb_Twoleaf)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wrote-flash-gordons-music/197137/3 "2003-08-23T12:59:24Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Ice Wolf \*  
> \*\*Welcome to the SDMB, **Herb Twoleaf**.  
> The article you refer to:  
> [Who composed the score for the old Flash Gordon serial?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_324a.html) \*\*

Thanks, Ice Wolf!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wrote-flash-gordons-music/197137/4 "2003-08-23T13:18:46Z")

</div>

No, he said Franz Liszt and he meant Franz Liszt. The line about “well-known Hollywood composer” is a joke, a fairly typical Cecil joke, that assumes a level of knowledge by the readers.

Cecil’s point is that they didn’t need to pay money for an expensive musician to write music, they just took classical pieces of music that were way way way beyond copyright infringement.

Get it? … and let me echo the welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Herb\_Twoleaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/57b2e6/32.png) [@Herb\_Twoleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herb_Twoleaf)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wrote-flash-gordons-music/197137/5 "2003-08-23T14:18:48Z")

</div>

Oh, I get it, Dexter. I get the joke. I get the point. On a good day I can even tell sarcasm from irony.

If you will: [http://www.bestweb.net/~foosie/flash1.htm](http://www.bestweb.net/~foosie/flash1.htm)  
Quote:  
“Universal recycled music from its other films such as Franz Waxman’s score for BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN \_(1935), and other, presumably public domain, sources (Liszt’s LES PRELUDES)…Interestingly, Waxman’s BRIDE music is heard to better effect in the FLASH GORDON serials than in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN…”

Get it? Free (recycled) music. And no infringement… They OWNED the danged thing. OK, so I’ll admit to the Liszt, but only as far as the one fanfare.

And Dexter, many thanks for the welcome.