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 #30 | 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
Donna Conforti	...	Betty
Chris Month	...	Bomar
Pia Zadora	...	Girmar
Leila Martin	...	Momar
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:

martian | santa claus | christmas | brother sister relationship | mars the planet | 

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Taglines:

Santa Kidnapped by the Martians! Out-of-this-world fun 'n' action...as two Earth Kids are whisked away with him to Mars!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | 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 Defeats the Aliens

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

The film is listed among The 100 Most Amusingly Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie® Movie Guide.

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Goofs

Most of the newspapers that flash by say nothing about Santa being kidnapped. Some are merely foreign language papers.

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Quotes

Santa Claus: Oh me, oh my, oh me!

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits title page says "Santa Clause Conquers the Martians"

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Connections

Referenced in I Hate Everything: the Search for the Worst: The Last Airbender (2015)

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Soundtracks

Hooray for Santa Claus
Written by Roy Alfred & Milton Delugg
Performed Pia Zadora

User Reviews

The best worst awful awesome movie ever!

(r#30)

Basically everything is wrong about this film, and that's what makes it so great. It's hysterical, but even as you're laughing yourself breathless you can't help but feel bad inside that you're actually chewing down this rotten junk food. Because that's what Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is: a case of food poisoning. There are layers and layers of awfulness in this movie, and it really is an unforgettable experience. The actors are all stoned out of their minds and extremely ugly. The title pretty much explains the plot, although there's not really a lot of "conquering". Maybe a better title would have been "Santa Claus Laughs at Inappropriate Times while Hanging Out with Bad Actors in Silly Outfits"? Just saying. I know it isn't as catchy, but at least it's not deceiving.

It would be impossible to sum up all the stuff that sucks about this film, so I'll break it down into what I remember most strongly: a man in an ingeniously fake-looking polar bear costume (funnier than the "bear" from Hercules in New York); an extra with the most unnatural laugh you're ever likely to hear; an ex-dope addict martian with tics; kid actors who make sure every syllable of their lines are slowly and caaarreee-fulll-yyy prrooo-noun-ceeed; a newspaper headline stating that Santa's been "kidnaped", and a giant robot. Yes, you read that right. A giant robot.

The worst acting job in here must be when Mother Claus and her elves have been "frozen" by the "Martians'" weapons. Could they be *more* trembling? I know this was the sixties and everyone was doped up, but still.

This wins the Dung Beetle Award of the year. Destined to become a Christmas classic for me!