EDITOR’S NOTE: Mars Needs Women was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, September 21, 1968 at 1:00 a.m., Saturday, October 24, 1970 at 1:00 a.m., Saturday, September 11, 1971 at 1:00 a.m. and Saturday, August 5, 1972 at 1:00 a.m.
Larry Buchanan made low-budget TV movies for American-International Pictures.
He called them with this idea: “We get this signal from outer space… What is it, Mr. Nicholson? What is it?” And I said, Mars Needs Women! He said, ‘When can you start?”
As for Tommy Kirk, he was a Disney kid, and when he got the lead while John Ashley was busy, he wanted to make this his comeback. After all, he knew the role. He had already been a Martian seeking Earth women in AIP’s Pajama Party. Buchanan allowed Kirk to create his own soliloquy in the film, which is pretty great. However, Kirk looked back and said that this was “…undoubtedly one of the stupidest motion pictures ever made. How I got talked into it, I don’t know.”
“Mars … Needs … Women.” That’s the message from space, and Mars can only make boy children, so five of their race, led by Dop (Kirk), come to Earth to steal our most perfect women, mainly from Texas. Larry didn’t have much of a budget, after all.
The women are an artist (Pat Delaney), a housewife (Sherry Roberts), an air hostess (Donna Lindberg), a stripper (Bubbles Cash, the inspiration for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who is also in Hot Thrills and Warm Chills and, according to a fan, signed her autograph like this: “the B in Bubbles was a pair of breasts with nipples. Her last name was a dollar sign.”) Dot falls in love with scientist Dr. Marjorie Bolen, which shouldn’t surprise you, because she’s played by Yvonne Craig.
Shot in black and white on 16mm, blown up to 35mm and filled with stock footage, this was shot all over Dallas, which was playing Houston in the movie.
Someday, sadly, I will run out of Larry Buchanan movies. But that day is not today. Today is a good day.
You can watch this on YouTube.
