''Mars Needs Women'' is a 1968 independently made American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

from Azalea Pictures. The film was produced, written, and directed by self-proclaimed schlock artist/auteur

Larry Buchanan Larry Buchanan (January 31, 1923 − December 2, 2004), born Marcus Larry Seale Jr., was a film director, producer and writer, who proclaimed himself a " schlockmeister". Many of his extremely low-budget films have landed on "worst movie" lists or ...

, and stars

Tommy Kirk Thomas Lee Kirk (December 10, 1941 – September 28, 2021) was an American actor, best known for his performances in films made by Walt Disney Studios such as '' Old Yeller'', '' The Shaggy Dog'', ''Swiss Family Robinson'', '' The Absent-Minded ...

Yvonne Craig Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16, 1937 – August 17, 2015) was an American actress and ballerina, who was renowned for her role as Batgirl in the 1960s television series '' Batman''. Other notable roles in her career include Dorothy Johnson in the 196 ...

, and Byron Lord. The film was released in first-run syndication by

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

without a theatrical release.

Plot

A U. S. military station in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, the United States Decoding Service (U.S.D.S.),

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Wing, has intercepted a message from outer space. After decoding, the message contains only the cryptic statement: "Mars ... Needs ... Women" Martians have developed a genetic deficiency that now produces only male children. A mission to Earth is launched, consisting of five Martian males, led by Dop (Tommy Kirk). Once here, their team intends to recruit Earth women to come to Mars to mate and produce female offspring, saving their civilization from extinction. Using their sophisticated transponder, Dop attempts to make contact with the U.S. military, which has now tracked the aliens' arrival on Earth. The military eventually views the Martians as invaders, so the team takes on the guise of Earth men, acquiring human clothes, money, maps, and transportation. They finally select their prospective candidates, setting their sights on four American women: a homecoming queen, a stewardess, a stripper, and, most especially, a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning scientist, Dr. Bolen (Yvonne Craig), an expert in "space genetics". Resorting to hypnosis, they capture the women, but Dop quickly becomes enamored with Dr. Bolen; soon he is ready to sabotage their mission for her. After the military discovers their hideout, the Martians are forced to return home without their female captives. Mars still needs women.

Cast

Main roles and screen credits:"Credits: Mars Needs Women."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved: June 22, 2012. *

(as Dop, Martian Fellow #1/Mr. Fast, a '' Seattle Sun'' reporter) *

(as Dr. Marjorie Bolen) * Warren Hammack (as Martian Doctor/Fellow #2) *

Tony Huston Walter Anthony Huston (born April 16, 1950) is an American actor, writer, and assistant director. Biography He was born in Los Angeles County, California, the son of director John Huston and his fourth wife Enrica Soma. His siblings include An ...

(as Martian Fellow #3, billed as Anthony Huston) * Larry Tanner (as Martian Fellow #4) * Cal Duggan (as Martian Fellow #5) * Pat Delaney (as artist abductee) * Sherry Roberts (as Brenda Knowlan, abductee) * Donna Lindberg (as Stewardess, abductee) * "Bubbles" Cash (as Stripper, abductee) * Byron Lord (as Col. Bob Page, U.S.D.S.) * Roger Ready (as Stimmons) * Barnett Shaw (as Man at military conference) * Neil Fletcher (as Secretary of Defense) * Chet Davis (as network news reporter) *

Patrick Cranshaw Joseph Patrick Cranshaw (June 17, 1919 – December 28, 2005) was an American character actor known for his distinctive look and deadpan humor. He is best known for one of his last roles, that of Joseph "Blue" Pulaski, a fraternity brother, i ...

(as Drunk on pier)

Production

Development

Buchanan was making low budget films for AIP. He said he might've rejected an idea that AlP had and told them to call him back in an hour. "With Mars, I called Jim Nicholson with the opening. '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?' It was almost like a fond throwback to the days at Columbia, when they'd just trust someone with a project. We had a low-budget profile like an old Hawks movie. I don't put myself in the same class, but I do admire them and know how they worked with their bosses". John Ashley, who had just made ''

The Eye Creatures ''The Eye Creatures'' (a.k.a. ''Attack of the Eye Creatures'' istakenly written in the credits as ''Attack of Eye Creatures'' is a 1967 American made-for-television comedy horror science fiction film about an unnamed countryside that is invad ...

'' (1965) for Buchanan, says he was meant to play the lead role but got busy on another project, so Kirk then stepped in.Mark McGee, ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland, 1996 p238 Kirk called the film "undoubtedly one of the stupidest motion pictures ever made. How I got talked into it, I don't know". Kirk had previously played a Martian seeking Earth women in AIP's '' Pajama Party'' (1964). He had made his mark as a

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

child star, but after being fired, was hoping to revive his career with ''Mars Needs Women'' treating it as a serious project, to the extent of rewriting some of his dialogue.Nixon, Rob
"Article: Mars Needs Women."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved: June 22, 2012. Reportedly, Buchanan allowed Kirk to create his own

soliloquy A soliloquy (, from Latin ''solo'' "to oneself" + ''loquor'' "I talk", plural ''soliloquies'') is a monologue addressed to oneself, thoughts spoken out loud without addressing another. Soliloquies are used as a device in drama to let a character ...

for his scene in a planetarium (at Dallas Fair Park) as he explains that his world is dying.Dietrich, Christopher
"Review: Mars Needs Women."
''dvddrive-in.com.'' Retrieved: June 22, 2012. The other notable lead, Yvonne Craig, had starred in several films, and numerous television roles, including her portrayal of

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...

in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

TV series ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

''.

Shooting

Over a two-week shooting schedule, Buchanan shot ''Mars Needs Women'' in his hometown of Dallas, pretending it to be Houston. Faced with his usual meager budget, he resorted to using available spaces, including office buildings, to serve as NASA headquarters. Typical shoddy "B" movie production values are evident throughout the film. Southland Life Insurance Building is clearly visible as the Martians drive among the humans. Other prominent Dallas landmarks, including

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

, are also featured. Footage from a SMU Homecoming game is used, and the

Homecoming Queen Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

is one of the Martian's "recruits". Footage was also shot at Dallas Fair Park (Planetarium, Lagoon, and Science Building). Additional footage was shot at

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 10, 2008 It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened. Love Field covers an area of a ...

, where a man is shown reading the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'', and at the Gypsy Room on Harry Hines Blvd. One scene with dancer Bubbles Cash was shot at an actual Dallas striptease bar The Athens Strip, located on what is now Lower Greenville Ave. Other scenes were shot inside the empty White Rock Lake Pumphouse, once used when the lake was a city water source (the City of Dallas Water Dept eventually converted the building to offices on the southwest end of White Rock Lake). The scene at the NASA "Space Center" was filmed in Richardson, Texas, north of Dallas, in the Antenna Building, which belonged to

Collins Radio Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Compa ...

, a NASA contractor; their large radio satellite dish antennas can be seen in some background shots. ''Mars Needs Women'' is padded with long sequences taken from stock aviation footage (the

North American X-15 The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed an ...

spacecraft being launched from its Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress

mother ship A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...

and

General Dynamics F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons c ...

fighter-bomber in particular). Due to poor lighting, parts of the film were made by

undercranking Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...

the camera and having the actors move slower, sometimes shooting at 18 or 12 frames per second instead of the usual 24. Actors also stretched out scenes with long sequences with no dialogue, either walking or doing menial tasks. One lengthy scene involves the camera focused on a loudspeaker.

Critical reception

A review of the film in

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

reported that "Cheap, amateurish, and dull are words that don't even come close to defining this sci-fi mess. It may be considered as one of those films that represents Hollywood filmmaking at its worst." Film critic Richard Scheib wrote that "there is no particular plot to the film," but that "there is a certain amusement to be found in some of the Martian takes on Earth culture" and "the most unintentionally funny scenes in the film feature Tommy Kirk ..like his intense and over-the-top attempts to provide the narration when the soundtrack at a planetarium breaks down or his hilarious cliche declaration of love for Yvonne Craig." Although originally intended for theatrical release, ''Mars Needs Women'' was distributed directly to television.

Legacy

One of the film's more notable fans was

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

, who referenced the film in the title of an instrumental composition, "Manx Needs Women" (a pun on the inhabitants of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

), which was regularly performed by Zappa in concert in 1976; recordings of the song's performances appear on Zappa's albums ''

Zappa In New York ''Zappa in New York'' is a double live album by Frank Zappa released on his own DiscReet Records label. It was recorded in December 1976 at a series of concerts at the Palladium in New York City. The album was scheduled for release in mid 1977 b ...

'' and ''

Philly '76 ''Philly '76'' is a live album by Frank Zappa, recorded on October 29, 1976 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and released by the Zappa Family Trust on December 21, 2009 to commemorate Frank Zappa's 69th birthday. It is the fourth i ...

''. Samples from the film appear in the track "Mars Needs Women" by

Meat Beat Manifesto Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers (the only ...

, the B-side of the God O.D. single in 1988. The track itself was resampled on track 4 of the

Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre ...

remix album '' Brothers Gonna Work It Out''. The introduction to the 1988 hit record " Pump Up the Volume" by the group

MARRS MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit " Pump Up t ...

("Mars ... needs ... women ...!") is taken from the film's original preview trailer. The demo release of the 1994 game

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

contained a level named after the film. It was included as a network-only level in the final release, and again in the sequel Marathon Infinity. Heavy metal musician

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

released a song of the same name on his 2010 album, ''

Hellbilly Deluxe 2 ''Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool'' is the fourth solo studio album by former White Zombie frontman Rob Zombie. The album is a sequel to his debut album ''Hellbilly Deluxe''. It was ...

''."Hellbilly Deluxe 2."
''robsombie.com''. Retrieved: November 27, 2015. Tonio K. wrote and recorded a song of the same name, with sarcastic lyrics detailing the end of a tempestuous love affair. The song appears on his 1998 album ''Rodent Weekend '76-'96 (Approximately)''.

Proposed sequel

In the early 1990s Buchanan announced a sequel was in development at

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

with John Avnet and Jordan Kerner. It was intended to be "a sophisticated romantic comedy based on the ideas first set forth in the original".Goodsell, Greg. "The Weird and Wacky World of Larry Buchanan". ''Filmfax'', No. 38, April/May 1993, p. 60. The film was never made.