| Santa Claus (1959) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Riffed by | RiffTrax |
| Riffers | Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett |
| Series | RiffTrax Live! |
| Date Released | December 4, 2014 (Live) |
Santa Claus is a 1959 live action Mexican motion picture featuring Santa Claus. In the film, Santa works in outer space and does battle with a demon sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by killing Santa and "making all the children of the Earth do evil." Santa Claus was directed by René Cardona and written by Cardona and Adolfo Torres Portillo. The original film was produced in Mexico and features primarily Spanish dialog. A dubbed and slightly edited English language version was produced for U.S. release in 1960 under the direction of K. Gordon Murray.
This film was riffed live by RiffTrax in December 2014. It was the fourth and final RiffTrax Live event of the year and originated from the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee.
Synopsis[]
RiffTrax Live Santa Claus
[Spoilers Begin]
On December 24, Santa makes preparations for his yearly journey at his Toyland castle in space. He plays the organ while his children helpers from all over the world sing. Meanwhile, in Hell, Lucifer instructs his chief demon Pitch to travel to Earth and turn the children of the world against Santa.
In a busy marketplace, Pitch attempts to convince five children to "make Santa Claus angry": Lupita, a poor girl; Billy, the son of wealthy but negligent parents; and three troublemaking brothers. Pitch fails at convincing Lupita to steal a doll from a vendor but succeeds in convincing the brothers to break a shop window. Santa's child workers alert him to these events.
Unable to travel to Earth before nightfall on Christmas Eve, he instead uses equipment to watch Pitch and the children. One device allows him to view Lupita's dream, induced by Pitch, in which she is tormented by life-sized dancing dolls who entice her to steal. He also listens as the three brothers plot to break into Billy's home and steal his presents. They also attempt to write a letter to Santa claiming they have been good, but Santa's voice informs them that he can see all they do.
Merlin the Wizard, Santa's most trusted assistant, gives Santa a sleep inducing powder and a flower that allows him to disappear. He then retrieves a magic key that will open any door on Earth from Vulcan and prepares his mechanical reindeer. On Earth, the three rude boys plot to capture and enslave Santa. Meanwhile Lupita and her mother say a prayer and Lupita says that she has wished for two dolls, one of which she will give to Baby Jesus.
During Santa's journey, Pitch makes several unsuccessful attempts to sabotage Santa's delivery of toys in Mexico City. Santa succeeds in reuniting Billy with his parents, who had left him alone to go to a restaurant. On a city rooftop, the three brothers prepare to capture Santa and steal his toys. They see Santa's sleigh in the sky and hurry indoors to find that they have only received coal. After a failed attempt to steal the sleigh, Pitch succeeds in emptying Santa's dream powder bag while Santa drops the disappearing flower.
Santa's trip is nearly complete when he is chased by a vicious dog outside a large house in Mexico. Finding himself without the powder or the flower he climbs a tree to escape the dog. Pitch appears and proceeds to wake the household and calls the fire department to report a fire at that location, so Santa will soon be seen by many people. With dawn approaching, Merlin assists with a last-minute escape and Pitch is defeated after being doused with the spray from a fire hose.
Before returning to the castle Santa makes one final stop, leaving a doll for Lupita. His labors now completed, Santa steers the sleigh back to the castle, content in the knowledge that he has brought happiness to all of the Earth's children.
[Spoilers End]
Cast and Crew[]
- José Elías Moreno as Santa Claus
- Cesáreo Quezadas (credited as Pulgarcito) as Pedro
- José Luis Aguirre as Pitch (Precio)
- Armando Arriola as Merlin
- Lupita Quezadas as Lupita
- Antonio Díaz Conde hijo as Billy
- Ángel Di Stefani as Vulcan
- K. Gordon Murray as The Narrator
Quotes[]
Notes[]
- This will be the fourth live show of 2014, with the other three being Sharknado, Godzilla and Anaconda.
- This will be the third classic MST3K movie to be riffed live, the other two being Manos: The Hands of Fate and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
- This will also be the third Christmas live show, the other two being Christmas Shortstravaganza and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
- This movie shares footage with Santa's Village of Madness.