Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

The Martians kidnap Santa Claus because there is nobody on Mars to give their children presents.

Director:

Nicholas Webster

Writers:

Glenville Mareth (screenplay), Paul L. Jacobson (based on a story by)

Stars:

John Call, Leonard Hicks, Vincent Beck

Bottom Rated Movies #39 | See the Bottom Rated Movies as rated by our users.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Call	...	Santa Claus
Leonard Hicks	...	Kimar
Vincent Beck	...	Voldar
Bill McCutcheon	...	Dropo
Victor Stiles	...	Billy Foster
Donna Conforti	...	Betty Foster
Chris Month	...	Bomar
Pia Zadora	...	Girmar
Lelia Martin	...	Momar (as Leila Martin)
Charles Renn	...	Hargo
James Cahill	...	Rigna
Ned Wertimer	...	Andy Henderson
Doris Rich	...	Mrs. Claus
Carl Don	...	Chochem / Von Green
Ivor Bodin	...	Winky

Storyline

Martians, upset that their children have become obsessed with TV shows from Earth which extol the virtues of Santa Claus, start an expedition to Earth to kidnap the one and only Santa. While on Earth, they kidnap two lively children that lead the group of Martians to the North Pole and Santa. The Martians then take Santa and the two children back to Mars with them. Voldar, a particularly grumpy Martian, attempts to do away with the children and Santa before they get to Mars, but their leader Lomas stops him. When they arrive on Mars, Santa, with the help of the two Earth children and a rather simple-minded Martian lackey, overcomes the Martians by bringing fun, happiness and Christmas cheer to the children of Mars.

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Plot Keywords:

mars the planet | psychotronic film | martian | santa claus | christmas | 

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Taglines:

Blast off for Mars... with Santa and a pair of Earth kids!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Filming Locations:

Roosevelt Field, Garden City, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jalor Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 86 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and How They Got That Way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Lowell.

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Goofs

The KID TV anchorman introduces the reporter as Andy Henderson. Santa calls him Andy Anderson.

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Quotes

TV News Announcer: [News report after Santas disappearance] And Mrs. Claus has positively identified the kidnappers as Martians.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits start with "Merry Christmas", before going on to display the cast and then the lyrics to the title song.

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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: Tales of Suspense #52 (2015)

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Soundtracks

Hooray for Santa Claus
Written by Roy Alfred & Milton Delugg
Performed by children's chorus
[Played over both the opening and closing credits]

User Reviews

Can something this dumb really be harmless?

Maybe I have a soft spot somewhere in my heart for poorly written, badly conceived, silly 1960s children's movies - but I really can't understand why Santa Claus versus the Martians is in the worst 100 movies of all time here on IMDb. Sure, most viewers will breathe a sigh of relief when it ends, but this film really seems downright harmless compared to the six month old Kennel Ration Hollywood has been feeding us as commercial film for the last ten or so years. Hey, at least it's not a remake, a sequel, or a 2 hour long CGI cartoon with a few human faces tossed in for effect.

Santa Claus gets kidnapped by distraught martians (white guys with bad green makeup and a few dishwasher parts glued to their heads, as well as inexplicable capes), who want to rescue their depressive, antisocial children from the doldrums by giving them all toys and a big red-suited guy with a beard to laugh at... err... with. Santa adapts to life on Mars very well and starts cranking out the toys with the help of Martian machines, but political controversies surrounding his activities soon threaten the fabric of Martian Society.

I'm not kidding.... really.... this is the plot.

Aside from the ludicrous plot and mediocre acting (Bill McCutcheon gives the only really enjoyable performance in this film, though Pia Zadora and Vincent Beck are not too bad), this is no worse than many of the kid films of its time. In the age of ADD and general impatience, however, this film is more than a little dated. The only modern kid I can imagine enjoying this film is one with an extraordinarily great attention span and a penchant for B-films. In terms of production, this film has the feel of a 2 hour, 1960s low budget TV show, and is almost as clever.

I would recommend avoiding this film unless you're compelled to watch films which go to extremes. I found it cute, funny, and more than a tad ridiculous. To most people, it's a film version of your great Aunt's wallpaper - it's just there on the TV, while far more interesting things are happening in the carpet below your feet.