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IMDb > Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
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Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) More at IMDbPro »

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Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) -- The Martians kidnap Santa because there is nobody on Mars to give their children presents.

Overview

User Rating:
2.2/10   4,766 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Nicholas Webster
Writers:
Paul L. Jacobson (story)
Glenville Mareth (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Santa Claus Conquers the Martians on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 November 1964 (USA) more
Genre:
Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi more
Tagline:
Blast off for Mars... with Santa and a pair of Earth kids! Blast off for Mars... with Santa and a pair of Earth kids! Science-Fun-Fiction at its height! more
Plot:
The Martians kidnap Santa because there is nobody on Mars to give their children presents. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians... and our hearts. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Santa Claus Defeats the Aliens (video title)
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Runtime:
81 min | USA:86 min (DVD)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Pathécolor)
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (2002) | UK:U (video rating) | USA:Unrated (2005 DVD release) | Australia:PG | USA:Not Rated

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The Air Force stock footage seen as the military "pursues" the Martians is the same footage used in the opening credit sequence of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Stobo looks in on the toy fight, the popping sounds and flying projectiles suddenly cease (film was stopped to put the ball in his mouth). more
Quotes:
Santa Claus: Well, when Voldar "accidentally" left us in the airlock and then came up here and "accidentally" threw the door switch, we knew we had to get out of there in a hurry or that would be the end of us. Eh, uh, "accidentally," of course. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect (2000) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Horray For Santa Claus more

FAQ

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33 out of 46 people found the following comment useful:-
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians... and our hearts., 11 June 2001
Author: zmaturin from Pleasant Valley

I really enjoy this silly little holiday flick. A bunch of serious Martian adults are afraid that their serious Martian children are too serious, so they go to a serious Martian senior citizen. The old guy tells them that the children need to be taught how to laugh, and then he explodes for no reason. The only logical thing left to do, of course, is go to Earth and kidnap Santa Claus, who we meet as he is being interviewed by the Rip Taylor-like Andy Anderson. I liked how in the movie's universe, Santa is unquestionably real and everyone knows about him. He really does deliver toys to everyone, toys made by a dozen elves (who all look like they're suffering from mini-seasonal depression). One toy shown is a toy rocket that runs on "real rocket fuel", Santa proudly explains. I would ask, "Where do little kids get rocket fuel?" The details of Santa's amazingly speedy mass distribution methods are not brought up, but it's probably black magic-related.

The Martians nab Kris Kringle and two little Earth children, who seem to live alone in the woods with no parents or family but are clean and well fed. The Martian leader forces Santa and the children to run their soulless toy machine (Soulless Toy Machine would be a good name for a band). Despite the numerous violations of human rights, it's all in good fun and everybody is nice and happy, except for one mean Martian (with a disturbing droopy mustache and a sidekick that looks like Jamie Farr) who plots to kidnap Santa (even though he's already been kidnapped). Santa encourages the kids, even the Martian kids who have now learned to have fun, to hurl lots of heavy mid-sixties toys at the bad guy's skulls. Through this display of parental negligence and bad music the evil is thwarted, and Santa is permitted to go back to Earth, letting the mewling half-wit comic relief Martian named Droppo take over the reigns of the Martian Toy Empire. (The Martians are out-of-shape guys in tights and helmets with antenna sprouting out of them, and what looks like diarrhea smeared across their faces. Imagine a guy dressed like that mugging worse than the teacher guy in Juan Piquor Simon's "Monster Island" and that's Droppo).

How can you hate this movie? If I were a little kid in 1964 I'd be enthralled. They packed this movie with nutty stuff. Elves get shot with freeze rays. Mrs. Claus is a frantic goofball. The Martian children sleep under strange lights and eat only pills. The bad guy's hideout looks like that one King Crimson album cover. I loved the part where the villain tries to shoot Santa and the kids out of an airlock, and the part where the bad guys meddle with the toy machine and the toys come out all mixed-up. There's a guy in a goofy robot costume, and a guy in an even goofier polar bear costume. And that deliciously idiotic theme song- "You spell it S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S, Hooray for Santy Claus!" Oh, it's so good!

I sincerely feel the people making this had the best intentions, and while they didn't have a huge budget they made a fun, silly kids movie. If it was the same exact movie but done in Rudolf-style stop motion animation it would be a regular holiday viewing tradition.

Oh, yeah, and Pia Zadora is in this, as if anyone cares.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Put this back on the bottom 100. falcata_claymore
Lentils? msnell10
This movie makes me horny... princesstinymeat
Has it occurred to anyone... windswords2
One of the Martians looks like Charlton Heston? jdreamer63
Interesting larrynaranjo
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