From The Monster Island News Archives
Trivia Compiled By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: IMDB / Wikipedia
Okay I know it's Christmas time and all of you have food to stuff down and presents to unwrap and I do to. I figured that many of you may want to escape from your family for a few minutes and read Monster Island News so I cleared a few minutes from my busy day to put something together for you, after all this is the season for giving isn't it.
So Merry Christmas!
Throughout the history of cinema there have been some truly special and memorable Christmas themed movies ... this isn't one of those. Indeed "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" belongs on the bottom of the list of truly horrible Christmas movies of which there is as many as there are great ones.
Though the film has earned a well deserved cult status, which it has achieved by being truly terrible, there are some things you may not know about this ... um... family favorite (?).
Did You Know?
The Martian guns are actually painted Whammo Air Blasters.
This was Pia Zadora's debut.
This is Pia Zadora!
(Pia Zadora (born May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the highly criticized Butterfly, she won a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year.
When her film career failed to take off, she became a singer of popular standards and made several successful albums backed by a symphonic orchestra; as a singer she earned a measure of respect from critics who had previously written her off as an actress.)
Note: I was tempted to post a rather naughty picture of Pia but it's Christmas. Go look for that one on your own time!
Okay now I'll continue ...
The Air Force stock footage seen as the military "pursues" the Martians is the same footage used in the opening credit sequence of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Most of the film was shot in an abandoned aircraft hangar on Long Island, New York.
This 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.
One of the films included in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Lowell.
When Santa starts making toys, one of the Martians is fascinated by a toy that's "a coiled spring that walks down stairs." The year this film was released (1964) was a huge year for Slinky, which had a resurgence in the early 1960s.
Most of the cast came from Broadway shows of the time.
It has been named one of the worst films ever. A remake has been rumored since 2000 with David Zucker as producer and Jim Carrey attached to play Dropo, though it is currently believed to be in development hell.
The movie spawned a tongue-in-cheek novelization by Lou Harry, released by Penguin Books/Chamberlain Bros. in 2005. The book, which includes a DVD of the original film, presents the story from the perspective of a now-adult Girmar, who has not only succeeded her father as ruler of Mars, but also narrates the tale in a 'valley girl'-esque type of language.
In 1993 a theatrical production of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, the Musical premiered at the Factory Theatre in Chicago, adapted and directed by Sean Abley. In 2006 a second theatrical production premiered at the Maverick Theater in Fullerton, California, this version was adapted by Brian Newell and Nick McGee. The Maverick's production has become a comedic success, a local tradition and performed every holiday season there since 2006, with the next production to be performed in December 2010.
Brazilian comedy group Hermes & Renato spoofed the film in their MTV program Tela Class, redubbing it as "Santa Claus e o pozinho mágico" (Santa Claus and the Magic Powder; "magic powder" being more loosely translated here as "angel dust"). In this version, Santa is a drug dealer.
Though the KIDTV reporter is introduced by the Anchorman as "Andy Henderson", Santa refers to him as "Andy Anderson".
One of the newspaper headlines after the abduction sequence says that Santa has been "Kidnaped".
When Stobo looks in on the toy fight, the popping sounds and flying projectiles suddenly cease (film was stopped to put the ball in his mouth).
In the Polar Bear sequence where the costume is clearly a bear-rug draped over someone's body the back legs are the same way a man's are when crawling with his knees on the ground and shins to feet level with the floor.