Monster of the Day #1463

This guy as “Dr. Nadir” was an absolute hoot, leering at the bikini girls that Mars was stealing (a weirdly popular plot in the ’60s) and yelling with relish for their space ray to be fired at “MAXIMUM…POWER!!!” If you think of John Lovitz playing in full Master Thespian mode, you’d be about 98% correct. I actually wouldn’t be surprised to learn the guy was a relative.

Of course, the Martian guys looked like this, while their Princess was played sans make-up by an early Playboy Playmate.

  • bgbear_rnh

    Who did not go to school with a guy who looked like this?*

    *if you do not think you did, it may have been you

  • Flangepart

    Lovitz! That’s who he reminded me of. More shaved ham than a Poland China in a wood chipper.

  • I was shocked at how *competent* this film was. It was much better put together than the average ultra-cheapie of the era. Not a good movie per se, but at least an actual movie and one made by someone who knew what that should entail. Excellent use of diagetic music as well. If nothing else it is worlds better than the similarly plotted but execrably boring “Mars Needs Women”. Now there’s one that, to my knowledge, we’ve never featured in the Texas movie slot at Tween-Fest and it would definitely qualify, having been filmed at Baylor. Maybe I’d hate it less in a crowd.

  • Eric Hinkle

    He lead the Martians who were kidnapping Earth’s lovely ladies?

    So, the movie was about Nadir’s Raiders?

  • kgb_san_diego

    I almost thought that it WAS Lovitz, despite how impossible that is… :-)

  • Rock Baker

    Marilyn Hanold, in fact. She was a beauty, looking rather like Jane Russell but with bigger, prettier eyes.

    I suppose it does make sense on some level, that the Martians would’ve protected both their Queen and her royal blood line. Her being a physically superior specimen to her drones does figure. Their social order does seem similar to that of insects.

  • Rock Baker

    I realize individual tastes are everything when it comes to movies, but I’ve always rather liked MARS NEEDS WOMEN. It’s cheap, but effective. I’d argue it’s easily the best of Larry Buchanan’s TV movies, though that might be damning with faint praise.

  • Ericb

    I’m seeing Rex Reed (anyone remember him?) rather than John Lovitz.

  • The Rev.

    I could see that. I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie? Because the first time I heard “MAXIMUM…ENERGY!!!!” I immediately expected him to turn to the camera and shout, “ACTING!!!!” Honestly, you could take just about any line from any Lovitz “SNL” character and fit it at some point in the movie.