Santa Claus (1959)

[Andrew]

Old Saint Nicholas lives in an orbital fortress and uses child labor to keep costs low (the elves had a union).  However, this Christmas might not be so jolly.  A devil named Pitch is out to cause mischief and ruin everything.

Click here to go to the Review

[peter johnson]

     You can't mention everything about this movie, but one thing that struck me is the mechanical cat that takes off like a greyhound-racing bunny after Dante decides to chase it instead of Santa --
     Santa also pulls some pretty incredible faces throughout the movie -- faces that have nothing whatever to do with anything happening onscreen.
     I saw this several times as a very young -- 5 or 6 or 7 year old -- child in Kilmarnock, Virginia, as the Fairfax theatre would run it every Christmas as a kiddie matinee.  The whole theatre would erupt in screams when Pitch got the cannon dart in his behind.  Ass humour probably predates Astrolopithecus.
     I recall too that over the years, the print that the theatre used got greener and greener as the colour was bleached out of it, until it started to resemble a green-tinted black & white film with yellow scratches.
Just a plain weird picture . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

[Rob Michel]

dear lord I wouldn't watch the un-MST3Ked version of this unless i was paid well for my pain and suffering. Saw this on there and it is pretty painful...

[Keiper]

You made my day with that Burgermeister Meisterburger reference. My Christmas is now complete! Thankyou.

[Mr. Director]

I have this on DVD, and it's one of my favorite holiday films. I only wish the uncut version was available on home video. The current DVD release omits the scenes of the damned souls being led off to Hell, something I believe every family film needs.

[HarlotBug3]

dear lord I wouldn't watch the un-MST3Ked version of this unless i was paid well for my pain and suffering. Saw this on there and it is pretty painful...

I still have this one on my to-watch pile (gotta love the dollar bin) and I'm motivated now twice over! MST3K must have taken this one to the cleaners!

Oh, and don't think we didn't catch Santa's plan to give the boy a baby brother in 9 months...

[onionhead]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006HU2YG/badmoviesorg
This is the unedited, unexpurgated, unabridged version that I picked up during the summer.  It hurts, but I think it's worth it.

EDIT By Andrew:
That is the same version I link to in the review and also the DVD I used to write the review.  However, it does not include the scene with the damned souls being led to Hell like "Mr. Director" mentions above.  I have never seen that scene.

[onionhead]

Oops, sorry.  I stand corrected.
Yer lucky--it doesn't happen very often.

[AmandaW]

Oh God I've seen this one...  gotta love how Pitch is ordered to make EVERY CHILD ON EARTH do evil, and he spends pretty much all night on poor little Lupita...

[Giant Claw Jr]

Tjis along with SANTA CLUASE CONQUES THE MARTIANS,SANTA CLUASE THE MOVIE,POLAR EXPRESS, and CHRISTMAS WITH THE STUPIDS have got to be the worse holiday movies save for that GRINCH movie

[Karla]

I absolutely adored this film! Definately the BEST Christmas movie!!!!!

[FLU-BIRD]

was this movie real nessecary to make i mean the devil PITCH looks like the one from  UDERWOODS DEVILED HAM without the pointy tail and its as painful as that crappy ROBIN WILLIAMS movie TOYS

[HarlotBug3]

Yes, the bargin bin is a treasure trove.

It's so very cliche, I know, but this is absolutely NOT a movie to watch sober. Use egg nog if you start to feel guilty.

[chris]

Saw the uncut spanish version on youtube it includes the damned souls being led to hell bit as well as different opening title screen also santa doesn't laugh as much in the spanish version and the narrator doesn't narrated as much, but still has that creepy feel to it anyway. It just doesn't sound as badly dubbed as the english version

[Josh]

How could you give this horrible piece of turd four slimes?? It deserves a skull, or at least ONE slime! I couldn't even sit through the MST3K version! I can't believe you could sit through the non-riffed version. You're a braver man than I thought.