Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, through newspaper archives

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On Christmas Eve, at noon MST on the Comet Network, “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” airs. Although not aired in theaters, or much on TV anymore, the 1964 holiday film lasted in theaters for a decade, and played often on TV for a couple more decades. It has become legitimate cult film. I’m fascinated with the film, its durability and its history as a staple of the Saturday Kids Matinee offerings once ubiquitous in movie world.

As you can see above, we’ve researched Newspaper Archives to find examples of ads, marketing, publicity reviews, etc. to provide our readers, this holiday season, a look at how it once was for this fun, goofy film. -- Doug Gibson

At the very top is an ad for SSCTM from the Sacramento Bee, Nov. 20, 1965. Below it is a review from The New York Daily News from Dec. 17, 1964. The terms "far out" is included to describe the film. Just below is a list of films playing published in the Dec. 18, 1965 Los Angeles Times. SCCTM is playing in several theaters. As my friend David Grudt (who located most of these clips) notes, the film was playing in my hometown of Long Beach, Calif., at The Towne Theater. I was about 27 months old. Maybe my parents took me to the show! Who knows?

Here are a couple of previously published reviews of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. The first is from my co-blogger, Steve D. Stones. Read on:

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS: LITTLE GREEN MEN AND SANTA on MARS! The critics have not been kind to this film over the years. Every time I view the film, I keep in mind that it is intended for children. With this in mind, I am willing to overlook the poor acting, bad make-up and cardboard sets. The title alone is so campy and kitsch that it grabs my attention immediately.

The children of mars have grown bored, depressed and discontent. A Martian father named Kimar, played by Leonard Hicks, concludes that the children of mars have become this way from watching “meaningless earth programs.” The children see a newscaster interview Santa on television from the North Pole and wish that mars also had a Santa Claus. The newscaster complains of the cold outside Santa’s workshop, yet he wears no gloves and his breath cannot be seen as he speaks. This adds to some of the unintentional humor of the film.

Back on mars, Kimar meets with the “council of the wise” at Thunder Forrest. The council consists of Lomas, Rigna, Hargo and Voldar, and seeks the advice of an 800 year old Wiseman named Chochum. Long before Yoda was seen on movie screens, Chochum the wise was seen in this film. Perhaps the two wise men knew each other and trained at the Jedi academy? Not very likely, I’m afraid!

Chochum suggests to the council of the wise that they kidnap Santa Claus from the North Pole and bring him to mars to bring joy and happiness to the children of mars. Voldar, the protagonist of the group, opposes Chochum’s plan. He insists that he does not want the children of mars to play with games and toys and run around joyfully. “The earth has had Santa Claus long enough! We will bring him to Mars!” proclaims Kimar.

Despite Voldar’s opposition, the group is lead by Kimar to the North Pole in a spaceship that looks like a painted toilet paper roll. Shortly after landing, they see two children in a park and ask them where they can find Santa. They kidnap the children so that they cannot run to the police to report Martians coming to earth.

After finally landing at the North Pole, the Martians use their giant robot named Torg to kidnap Santa at his workshop. Torg appears to be made of painted cardboard and ventilation pipes. Voldar freezes Mrs. Claus and many of Santa’s elves with his ray gun that looks like a toilet plunger. Santa is brought to the spaceship and taken back to mars.

What follows for the rest of the film is a series of attempts by Voldar and his henchmen to either kill Santa or sabotage his efforts on mars. For example, in one particular scene Voldar rewires the toy machines in Santa’s workshop so that they create poorly designed toys. On their way back to mars, Voldar locks Santa and the two kidnapped children in a compression room of the space ship in an attempt to open a door and have them sucked away into space. The group conveniently escapes before the door can be opened.

Eventually Santa’s workshop on mars is running smoothly. Voldar and his henchmen are captured and imprisoned by Kimar for threatening Santa and the children. Kimar decides to allow Santa to go back to earth in time for Christmas. A happy ending always concludes any Christmas movie, which is certainly the case with this film.

In his book “Cult Science Fiction Films,” Welch Everman suggests that Santa Claus Conquers The Martians is such a terrible film that not even children would enjoy watching it, and would find it “stupid.” I disagree with this statement. Although I did not see Santa Claus Conquers The Martians until I was an adult, I can imagine myself enjoying this film even more so if I had seen it as a five-year-old child. If I had been aware of it as a child, I may have included it in my long list of Christmas films to view every December. I encourage you to gather up your family and watch Santa Claus Conquers The Martians this Christmas Season.

And here’s my more brief take on "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians."  (I love the above ad from the Nov. 4, 1972 Park Forest (Illinois) Star (Carnal Knowledge on at nights and Santa Claus in the kiddie matinee. — This 1964 film was shot in an abandoned airport hangar in Long Island, N.Y., using many minor cast members from a NYC stage production of "Oliver Twist." It has a catchy theme song, "Hurray for Santy (sic) Claus," that you'll hum afterward. The plot involves Martians coming to earth, kidnapping Santa and whisking him away to cheer up the Martian kiddies. Two earth children are kidnapped along with Santa. Santa and the earth kids fight off a Martian baddie, prep a goofy Martian to become that planet's Santa, and launch off to earth in the spaceship.

 

We never know if they made it home — perhaps the budget didn't allow that. The acting has to be seen to be believed, but the film has a goofy charm. It was a big hit on the now-gone "weekend matinee" circuit and played theaters for years. Pia Zadora, who was briefly a sexy starlet in the 1980s, plays one of the Martian children. John Call, as Santa, does a mean "ho, ho, ho."

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Here is a video podcast Steve and I did for Plan9Crunch 11 years ago on SCCTM. Below is another fun ad, also from the Dec. 17, 1964 New Yotrk Daily News, that shows SCCTM playing at the same theater also showing "roughie" horrors "The Awful Dr. Orloff" and "The Horrible Dr. Hichcock."

Finally, a couple more ads to see. The top is from the Dec. 1, 1967 edition of the Roselle-Register (Illinois). It played at the same theater showing a Best Picture Oscar. Notice Santa Claus Conquers the Martians secure perch as a perennial Saturday children's movie. Below the Roselle-Register as is one from the Nov. 19, 1965 Daily Independent Journal of San Rafael, Calif. It's advertised as a "small-fry matinee."

We hope you enjoyed this blog. Again, our thanks to David Grudt for his help.

A Christmas Past - Silent-era Holiday Films

 

By Steve D. Stones

This Kino Video DVD collection of 10 short silent era Christmas holiday films is an interesting treat, considering that most of the films are over 100 years old. The films really communicate a sense of what life was like at the beginning of the 20^th century in the early days of the age of automobiles and the airplane. The collection of films dates from 1901 to 1925.

On this DVD set is included the nine films – A Holiday Pageant At Home (1901), A Winter Straw Ride (1906), A Trap For Santa (1909), A Christmas Accident (1912), The Adventure of The Wrong Santa Claus – An Adventure of Octavius, Amateur Detective (1914), Santa Claus vs. Cupid (1915), Santa Claus (1925), A Christmas Carol (1910) and The Night Before Christmas (1905). Most of the films run less than 20 minutes long.

A Winter Straw Ride (1906). A group of young, playful girls climbs on board a horse sleigh for a casual ride through the snow. The girls are happy and giddy, even when they encounter a group of young boys who throw snowballs at them as they pass on a road. The sleigh eventually gets stuck in the snow and overturns, dumping all the girls out into the deep snow. The girls attack a middle-aged man and smear snow in his face. Running through the snow, the girls throw snowballs at each other. Everyone appears to be having lots of fun in this short film. You'll be reminded of those winter days of the past playing out in the snow with your childhood friends when you see this film.

A Trap For Santa (1909). This short film opens with the text on screen: No Work For Father. Misery And Want – The Family's Lot. A hardworking father and husband is out of work, unable to make a living for his family. It's Christmas time, and the father is greatly depressed that he cannot provide a good Christmas for his family during this time that is supposed to be cheerful and merry. The father spends his time at the local bar drinking his problems away. One day he leaves his house for good and places a note under the door to his wife and children saying that they would all be better off without him. His wife later receives a letter in the mail that she has inherited a moderate fortune from her deceased aunt's estate.

On Christmas Eve, the children set a trap for Santa by placing a tight wire wrapped around a chair next to the Christmas tree that leads to their bedroom. Their depressed father climbs through a window to get into the house. The mother suggests that he dress up as Santa and give the children gifts that she has purchased from her estate inheritance. Dressed as Santa, the father distributes the gifts to the children, and the whole family is happy for Christmas.

The Adventure of The Wrong Santa Claus (An Adventure of Octavius – Amateur Detective) (1914). A man named Octavius receives an invitation to play Santa Claus in the Randall family home in Oakville. He packs a Santa suit in a suitcase and travels to the Randall home. After having dinner with the Randall family, Octavius goes upstairs to get into his Santa suit. While putting on the suit, a burglar enters the Randall home, knocks out Octavius unconscious and locks him in a bedroom. The burglar puts on a different Santa suit and goes downstairs to steal gifts from under the Christmas tree. Mrs. Randall finds Octavius knocked out in the locked bedroom. Octavius chases the burglar down the street as they are both still dressed as Santa. After chasing the burglar on board a moving train, Octavius is finally able to confront the burglar at a street corner news stand and have him arrested. The Randall family gets their basket of gifts back for Christmas. Octavius falls in love with the oldest daughter of the Randall family.

Santa Claus (1925). I consider this film to be the best in the entire set. It is also the longest film – running at 28 minutes. The opening title tells the viewer that this is a fantasy filmed in Northern Alaska. Children sleeping in their beds on Christmas Eve awaken to sneak downstairs to the home Christmas tree to wait for the arrival of Santa. They want to ask Santa what he does when it's not Christmas.

When Santa arrives, the children sit on his knees and he tells them that he lives in the Land of Winter near the Polar Sea. He tells them his home is guarded by goblins of the deep, which are sea lions. A polar bear patrols the land and sometimes Layluk, the northern wind, comes howling from ice caves to Santa's ice castle. On nights like these, Santa hurries back to his ice castle to help his elves and gnomes work on Christmas toys. He also tells the children that he cares for reindeer during the entire year. He even occasionally drinks reindeer milk.

Once a year, Santa meets with the Easter bunny to tell him which girls and boys deserve the prettiest Easter baskets at Easter. He watches children all over the world in his giant telescope. He also keeps a record book of all children to record their behaviors and what gifts they want at Christmas.

Santa also meets with Jack Frost, who he considers to be the greatest artist in the world. Here we see a man dressed in a white snow suit with a magic wand with a star wave his wand across snow to create beautiful ice crystals. 

The scenes of Santa's workshop and all the toys being made are some of the most amazing scenes in the film. Santa meeting with Eskimos before Christmas, and entering their homes on Christmas Eve to bring toys for Eskimo children are also some of the interesting highlights of this film. Santa's sleigh even overturns in the deep snow, showing the viewer some of his challenges of getting toys to children on Christmas. Santa loves his job so much that he overcomes these challenges.

This Holiday Season, consider viewing some silent era holiday films that take you back to the early days of the 20^th century. These films may not be big-budget, Hollywood-produced films with famous directors and great cinematography, but they capture an interesting moment in time that communicates what Christmas time was like over 100 years ago. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Black Christmas a scary cultish holiday flick

By Steve D. Stones

A film like this could never be made for today’s audiences because most phones have caller IDs. The plot evolves around a killer making obscene phone calls to a university sorority house. Wes Craven’s Scream and John Carpenter’s Halloween both owe a great deal of credit to this film.

The opening sequence is a point of view shot of someone wandering outside a sorority house and peaking in a window. This same technique was used in the opening sequence of the 1978 Halloween to establish the point of view of little Michael Meyers walking up to his sister’s room to stab her to death. Carpenter may have borrowed this idea from Black Christmas, made just four years earlier in 1974.

The film immediately sets up the premise that someone is lurking in the attic of the sorority house just before college students are leaving for their Christmas break. The opening point of view shot continues with a shot indicating that someone is crawling through the window from outside the attic. The shot then cuts to an interior shot inside the house showing the opening of the attic uncovered.

Sorority sister Jess, played by Olivia Hussey, answers the telephone to someone making loud obscene noises. She holds up the phone so that everyone in the room can hear the call. A girl in the room asks if the caller is only one person. “That’s the Mormon Tabernacle Choir doing their annual obscene phone call,” says Barbara, played by Margot Kidder.


One of the sorority sisters named Claire Harrison is in her room packing to leave for the Christmas break. Her father is to pick her up later that evening. As she walks into her closet to remove some of her clothes, a figure can be seen hiding behind plastic. The figure lunges at her and strangles her with the plastic. Next we see Claire dead in a rocking chair in the attic with the plastic wrapped around her head. The killer is rocking her back and fourth in the chair.

Claire’s father, Mr. Harrison, comes to pick her up at the bell tower on campus later that evening. She never shows up, so he decides to go directly to the sorority house to find out what happened to her. The drunken housemother Mrs. Mack meets him. She suggests that Claire could be at the fraternity house on campus visiting a boy.

Mr. Harrison cannot find Claire anywhere on campus so he goes to the local police station with some of Claire’s friends to file a missing persons report. Lieutenant Fuller, played by John Saxon, forms a search party later that night.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Mack is now housemother to an empty sorority house, and is desperately trying to find Claire’s cat named Claude. She climbs up to the attic to discover the corpse of Claire as the killer swings a meat hook on a rope, killing her.

Jess arrives back at the sorority house to another obscene phone call. Another point of view shot shows legs coming down the stairs towards Jess. It is Jess’s boyfriend Peter. This is where the audience is led to believe that the killer has to be Peter.

Peter proposes marriage to Jess, but she refuses. Peter is concerned over Jess’s decision to have an abortion, since he is the father. The two have a fight and Peter angrily leaves the house.

Lieutenant Fuller has a tracing device put on the sorority house phone. Jess sits by the fireplace in the house to wait for another obscene phone call so that the police can trace the call. She hears the loud sound of someone choking, and rushes into Barbara’s room as she is having an asthma attack in her sleep. Christmas carolers begin singing loudly outside the house. Jess opens the door to listen to the carolers as the killer comes out of the attic and kills Barbara in her room.

Jess comes back into the house as the carolers leave. The phone rings and Jess picks up the phone, only to hear more obscene noises. A close up shot of Jess’s face as she tries to talk to the obscene caller puts the viewer on the edge of their seat.

The police are able to trace the phone call to the house itself. Police clerk Nash calls Jess and tells her to get out of the house immediately. Jess grabs a fire poker from the fireplace and walks up the stairs to discover Barbara and another girl dead. She sees an eye staring out of the bedroom closet. This is the most haunting shot in the entire film.

Jess runs down the stars, but is unable to get the front door open. As she runs back towards the stairs, we see a hand reach out and grab her hair. She is able to get away and lock herself in the basement. A shadowy figure peeks into the windows of the basement and begins to call Jess by name. He breaks the window and we discover it is Peter her boyfriend.

The police arrive to find Jess lying on top of dead Peter. She has killed him with the fire poker. The police take her up to her bedroom to rest. The film ends with the camera traveling back up to the attic to reveal that the killer is still there with the corpses of Claire and Mrs. Mack. Peter was not the killer after all.

I think it would be safe to say that this film sets up many of the typical clichés that we now recognize in the slasher genre that saturated 1980s horror films. However, that is not to say that they are not effective in this film. There are many false scares in this film where the viewer is lead to believe one thing, but later discovers something else. Much of the horror in this film is implied, not shown.

For example, in one clever sequence, the parents of Claire Harrison are helping with the search effort to find their daughter. They see a girl screaming in a park and run to her. The camera shows a look of horror on their faces as they look down at something on the ground. The camera never shows what they are looking at, but we later discover they are seeing a murdered child, and not their daughter. The audience is led to believe it is their daughter they are looking at.

It is also quite clever that we never get to see what the killer looks like. As Jess runs down the stairs towards the end of the film and a hand reaches out over the banister to grab her, we never see who the person is, just the hand grabbing her. We also never see the killer as the camera travels back up to the attic at the end of the film, but we do know the killer is there. This is a clever tactic in never revealing to the audience who the killer really is.

As an interesting side note, producer/director Bob Clark went on to create A Christmas Story and the first two Porky’s films. All three films were a huge hit in the 1980s. Have yourself a scary little Christmas with Black Christmas this Christmas Season! And watch the really cool complete original trailer for the film above!