I recently bought this DVD and watched it today. It is an Italian movie made in the 1960s aimed at very young kids. When I was between the ages of about 5 and 8 years old in the late 1960s and early 70s, it used to show up in theaters every December. I remember seeing it in the theater and thinking that it was great.
I STILL think it's great . . . but only because it is so BAD. It would make an excellent triple feature with SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS and the Mexican SANTA CLAUS movie.
Here are a few highlights:
* Rossano Brazzi directed it, and also co-stars as the evil Mr. Prune (or "Prugna," in Italian), who is trying to ruin Christmas.
* They used EXTREMELY obvious miniature models to represent the houses and buildings in the town where it takes place.
* Santa's home/workshop consists of 2 small rooms.
* The exterior shots of Santa's home were obviously filmed on a soundstage with fake snow all over the place.
* Santa has 7 elves, who all look like Munchkins who escaped from the Land of Oz.
* Santa's sleigh and reindeers are miniature mechanical toys, and you can CLEARLY see the wires holding them up when the sleigh is flying through the air.
* The beginning and end credits on the DVD are in Italian.
What are some other classic BAD holiday movies?
Post Edited (10-11-03 19:50)
Pee Wee Hermans Christmas special with guest star Grace Jones. She sang the best "little drummer boy" I had ever seen and heard.