Buck Rogers, 1939
Based on a short story and subsequent comic strip originally published in the 1920s, Rogers was the central character of a radio show before he made his first appearance in a Hollywood movie. The 12-part Universal Pictures series detailing his adventures began in 1939 and starred Buster Crabbe, left, as a heroic resistance fighter trapped in a world of the future ruled by a ruthless dictator and his army of "super-racketeers."

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