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

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:

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!

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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 tubing on the side of the adult Martian helmets is actually a natural gas line like one used to hook up a water heater or furnace.

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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

Kimar: Santa, you will never return to Earth, you belong to Mars now.
Santa Claus: Ho Ho, Hooo...

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, Costume Designer is spelled "Custume Designer."

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Connections

Referenced in Christmas on Mars (2008)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

I loved this film as a child

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM HONEST

Growing up in Oxnard Ca this film always played on KTTV Channel 11 around Christmas time. It later moved to KTLA Channel 5 and Pia Zadora even did a fireside chat with television movie host Tom Hatten.

Even today watching this film is a huge part of my "Christmas traditions". It was a "Must See" when I was a child and today I still watch it (Around Christmas)". I also still watch "Rudolph" "Charlie Brown" "Frosty the Snowman" and MGM's "A Christmas Carol". One of the main reasons why I love this film is because I loved John Call as "Santa Claus". He is a huge delight. He is a terrific Santa.

In this film "Santa" gets kidnapped by Martians. The reason is that the children of Mars do not have a "Santa". They also do not know how to have "fun". So the leader of Mars goes to Earth and kidnaps Santa as well as 2 earth children. "Santa" then slowly wins over the Adult Martians even though there are certain forces against him.

Now if you are an adult (and you have never seen this) you will think this movie is terrible. Children (Who still believe in Santa) will be entertained. It is harmless fun! Even the theme song "Hooray For Santa Claus" is "Cute & Catchy".

The films low budget is all too apparent here however if this film did have a bigger budget then it might not have the weird charm.

I beg all of you to watch this film. Have a viewing party. It is a film that many people have seen and actually are afraid to admit that they enjoy it.

I am not afraid to admit that I even bought this film on Blu-Ray.