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 #38 | 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

Worried that their children have become obsessed with television shows from Earth which extol the virtues of Santa Claus, Martians begin an expedition to Earth to kidnap the one and only Santa Claus. While on Earth, they kidnap two lively children that lead the group of Martians to the North Pole and Santa Claus. The Martians then take Santa Claus and the two children back to Mars with them. Voldar, a particularly grumpy Martian, attempts to do away with the children and Santa Claus before they get to Mars, but their leader Lord Kimar stops him. When they arrive on Mars, Santa Claus, 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:

psychotronic film | martian | santa claus | christmas | brother sister relationship | 

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Taglines:

The seasonal sci-fi spectacular.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is 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 bear costume is clearly a headpiece and a bear rug draped over a person's body. When the bear crawls, its knees are on the ground, and shins to feet are level with the floor.

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Quotes

TV News Announcer: Here's another UFO Bulletin: The Defense Department has just announced that the unidentified flying object suddenly disappeared from our radar screen. They believe the object has either dissintegrated in space, or it may be a space ship from another planet which has the ability to nullify all radar beams.

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Crazy Credits

The ending 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 Homestar Runner: Which Ween Costumes? (2010)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

People Need To Lighten Up About This Movie

This is certainly a consensus pick as one of the worst (if not the worst) movies ever made - and for that very reason I've always wanted to watch it. Now I have, and my suggestion to everyone is - lighten up. Yes, it's bad. The sets are dreadful - worse than you used to see on Saturday morning kids' shows. The special effects are weak - although to be honest I've seen worse portrayals of space flight. And the costumes are hilarious - especially the polar bear and the robot. But come on - you have to admit that there's a certain "cuteness" to the story of Martians coming to earth to kidnap Santa Claus so that he can bring happiness to their children. All the characters are pretty one- dimensional. There's good guys and bad guys and fun guys and kids from both Earth and Mars. No one gets particularly well developed. And then, of course, there's Santa. In all honesty, I thought John Call did a decent job as the jolly old man. In this age of high tech special effects and big budget movies there's no doubt that this looks pretty weak - and even by the standards of 1964 it was still pretty weak. But it's good fun, and for the fun alone I don't think it deserves its reputation as one of the worst movies ever. What's left to say, except - "Hurray for Santy Claus!" 4/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Filming Locations:

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