Santa Claus Conquers the Martians… if there ever was a movie with one of the weirdest titles in cinema history – this would be it. What would a movie countdown be without a really bad B-movie?

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The plot of Santa conquers the Martians is simple: The Martians kidnap Santa because there is nobody on Mars to give their children presents.

The 1964 science fiction film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is frequently included on lists of the worst films ever made. It was featured in an episode of the 1986 syndicated series, the Canned Film Festival, and is usually included in the Internet Movie Database’s “lowest 100” list.

Nicholas Webster directed the film, which stars John Call as Santa Claus. It also features an 8-year-old Pia Zadora as one of the Martian children, as well as the earliest documented appearance of Mrs. Claus in a motion picture (Doris Rich plays the part), three weeks before the TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. After being aired on an episode of the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the 1990s, the film gained newfound fame. Following its airing in 1991, the show became a holiday favorite on the Comedy Central cable channel. It has since found new life again, as it has been the subject of new riffing by Cinematic Titanic and RiffTrax, both productions of former MST3K writers and performers. The movie was also featured on the current run of Elvira’s Movie Macabre.

We would recommend that if you are curious and want to watch this movie, rather watch the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version which is a lot funnier than the original and makes it more watchable; otherwise just watch the highlight reel for the movie.