Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)

Lobby card image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Embassy Pictures brought the sci-fi camp classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians to movie theaters in 1964. John Call plays the fat man in the red suit, with Leonard Hicks, Vincent Beck and Pia Zadora as Martians. Hooray for Santa Claus!

Nicholas Webster Directs Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Glenville Mareth wrote the screenplay for Jalor Productions based on a story idea by producer Paul L. Jacobson. Nicholas Webster directed the interplanetary action. Webster’s other directorial credits included Dead to the World (1961), Gone Are the Days! (1963), Mission Mars (1968) and television episodes of The Big Valley, Get Smart, The Immortal, Mannix, The F.B.I., Bonanza and The Waltons.

John Call Heads Cast

John Call (1908-1973) stars as Santa Claus. Call’s previous movie credits included Boots Malone (1952), The Kid from Left Field (1953) and Happy Anniversary (1959).

Other players include Leonard Hicks (Kimar), Vincent Beck (Voldar), Victor Stiles (Billy), Donna Conforti (Betty), Bill McCutcheon (Dropo), Christopher Month (Bomar), Pia Zadora (Girmar), Leila Martin (Momar), Doris Rich (Mrs. Claus), Charles Renn (Hargo), James Cahill (Rigna), Ned Wertimer (Andy Henderson), Ivor Bodin (Winky), Al Nesor (Stobo), Josip Elic (Shim), Jim Bishop (Lomas) and Don Blair (TV News Announcer).

Speculation abounds that Leonard Hicks (1918-1971) looks and sounds an awful lot like Charlton Heston. But rest assured, Heston did not appear in this film under Hicks’ moniker.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians Filmed in New York

Budgeted at a paltry $200,000, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was filmed in four days at Michael Myerberg Studios in Long Island, New York. The production facility had once served as an airport hangar located at Roosevelt Field in Garden City.

Producer Paul L. Jacobson knew something about churning out quickie productions. He had previously worked as a unit manager on the iconic children’s TV show Howdy Doody (1947-60).

Supplying various props were the Louis Marx Toy Co. and Vogue Dolls, Inc. Also on hand were “Martian ray guns,” which were actually painted toy Air Blasters provided by Wham-O, the famous California toy company who also introduced the Hula-Hoop, Frisbee and Super Ball.

Producers lifted stock footage from Dr. Strangelove (1964) in which Air Force jets are seen taking to the skies to intercept the Martian UFO.

Hooray for Santa Claus!

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians opens with a rousing rendition of “Hooray for Santa Claus,” a catchy little holiday number written by Martin Delugg and Roy Alfred and performed by an off-camera chorus of youngsters.

Two Martian kids are tuned into an Earth broadcast of KID TV, where they observe a jolly Santa Claus at the North Pole. Chochem, the revered Ancient One, advises the elders that Mars is in need of such a happy figure for its children.

A Martian spaceship is dispatched to Earth to snatch Santa Claus. The ship lands near Lake Welch, where its occupants encounter two kids, Billy and Betty Foster. “Are you a television set?” little Betty asks, spying the Martians’ antennae sprouting from their heads.

Torg, the Martian robot, seizes old St. Nick at his workshop, resulting in the blaring Daily Tribune headline: “SANTA CLAUS KIDNAPPED BY MARTIANS!” What ensues is a wild cinematic free-for-all, featuring a good Martian/bad Martian routine, an impromptu alien rendition of “Jingle Bells,” a sabotaged toy-making machine and a wonderful dust-up on the Red Planet where the evil Voldar and his henchmen are repelled by toy-wielding kids!

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians Premieres in Chicago

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians opened in Chicago on November 14, 1964.

“A Christmassy little movie, with science-fiction trimmings for fledgling astronauts,” reported an upbeat Howard Thompson of The New York Times (12/17/64).

“Without exaggeration, one of the single worst films ever made,” opined The Motion Picture Guide (Cinebooks, 1985).

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians Box Office, Movie Memorabilia, DVD

• Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, whose alternate video title is Santa Claus Defeats the Aliens, turned a tidy profit at the box office. The sci-fi film was subsequently re-released year after year during the holidays, where it continued to rack up revenue for its thrifty makers.
• Auction results for original Santa Claus Conquers the Martians movie material, courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries, Dallas, Texas: one sheet poster ($131.45), lot of two lobby cards ($30), Dell tie-in comic book near mint condition ($262.90).
• On DVD: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (Alpha Video, 2004).

“All this trouble over a fat man in a red suit,” grumbles Voldar, the mean Martian.

Well, Merry Christmas anyway – at least that’s the salutation at the end of the movie.