Santo vs. the Martian Invasion

One of my friend Anne’s specialties is finding great postcards to send to people based on their interests. Given our mutual interest in the history of flight, many of my favorites feature scenes and posters from the Golden Age of Aviation (ca. 1925-55, depending on who you ask). When I introduced Anne to Channel 37, it wasn’t long before she began sending postcards with classic science fiction and space opera imagery. And since Anne is a college professor, she doesn’t pick the simple or obvious ones; she picks the ones that make you go “huh?” and hit the books (or the Web) to find out more about where they came from.

Case in point: her latest postcard featured a poster for a movie that I had never heard of: Santo vs. la Invasion de los Marcianos (Santo vs. the Martian Invasion). It stars Mexico’s most famous pro wrestler, Santo (the Saint), whose silver mask has become iconic. Now, prior to receiving Anne’s postcard, pretty much the only thing I knew about Mexican pro wrestling is that the wrestlers, along with Strong Bad, wear masks. But it turns out that there’s a whole genre of action films from the 1950s through the 1970s — which of course dovetails nicely with Channel 37’s favorite era — in which Santo and other masked wrestlers fought zombies, mummies, vampires, Frankenstein’s daughter, an evil brain, a motorcycle gang of lepers, and karate masters; went in search of Montezuma’s treasure and the secret of the Bermuda Triangle; and thwarted nefarious plots by assorted crime kingpins, spies, and assassins. Great stuff! Where have I been?

Santo vs. la Invasion de los Marcianos was made in 1966 and was filmed in black-and-white (he made one more black-and-white film, Santo Contra los Villanos del Ring, or Santo vs. the Villains of the Ring, also from 1966, before making his first color film later in the same year — his busiest movie year). Altogether, Santo made 52 lucha (wrestling) movies between 1958 and 1982. But only a handful have ever been dubbed into English. This trailer for Santo vs. las Mujeres Vampiro (Santo vs. the Vampire Women, 1962) will give you some idea of what we’ve been missing:

Santo’s wrestling career spanned 48 years, during which he became a folk hero and one of Mexico’s greatest sports legends. Shortly after his retirement in 1982, at the age of 65, he appeared on a TV interview show and briefly removed his mask, the first time he had ever done so publicly in nearly 5 decades. Perhaps appropriately, Santo — aka Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta — passed away shortly after, his work done but chronicled forever in movies, comic books, two animated series, and in legend and lore.

Thanks, Anne, for introducing me to a whole new treasure trove of films to explore! I can’t wait to see what gems you uncover next. Whatever they are, I’m sure I’ll have some more fun discoveries ahead . . .