Mars Needs Women

A Martian expedition travels to Earth in search of women, because a genetic crisis on Mars has left the planet with far more boys than girls and no way to sustain the population. The visitors need human genetic material to survive as a species, so they set out to recruit suitable women and take them back home. Their leader, Dop, makes contact with Dr. Bolen, a scientist whose knowledge puts her at the center of the mission. The aliens' intentions meet resistance from military and government authorities, who see the arrivals as a threat rather than as desperate survivors, and the contest between the two sides shapes the story.

Larry Buchanan directed and wrote the screenplay, and produced it with Edwin Tobolowsky for Azalea Pictures. The film came late in a run of low-budget science fiction features Buchanan made during the 1960s. Tommy Kirk, previously known for family comedies, plays Dop, and Yvonne Craig, cast after her work in television, plays Dr. Bolen. Byron Lord appears as Col. Bob Page, with Roger Ready, Barnett Shaw and Neil Fletcher in supporting roles among a credited cast of twenty-two.

Made as a television movie and released in 1968, the film runs eighty-three minutes. Its reputation is poor: on IMDb it holds a rating of 3.2 from about 1,200 votes, and on TMDB it stands at 3.9 from a much smaller number of votes. Both figures point to a film remembered less for its execution than for its premise.