Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Daniel Defoe (novel)
John C. Higgins (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

June 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A Lone U.S. Astronaut Space-Ship Wrecked on Mars!

Plot:

Stranded on Mars with only a monkey as a companion, an astronaut must figure out how to find oxygen, water, and food on the lifeless planet.

Plot Keywords:

Monkey | Mars | Alien | Stranded | Astronaut

Cast

Paul Mantee	...	Cmdr. Christopher 'Kit' Draper
Victor Lundin	...	Friday
Adam West	...	Col. Dan McReady
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
The Wooley Monkey	...	Mona

Directed by
Byron Haskin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Daniel Defoe		novel "Robinson Crusoe"
John C. Higgins		writer
Ib Melchior		writer

Produced by
Aubrey Schenck	....	producer
Edwin F. Zabel	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Van Cleave

Cinematography by
Winton C. Hoch

Film Editing by
Terry O. Morse

Art Direction by
Arthur Lonergan
Albert Nozaki		(as Al Nozaki)
Hal Pereira

Makeup Department
Bud Bashaw Jr.	....	makeup artist
Wally Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Goodstein	....	assistant director
Arthur Jacobson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Harold Lewis	....	sound
John Wilkinson	....	sound
Howard Beals	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lawrence W. Butler	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	matte artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Farciot Edouart	....	process photographer
Murray Young	....	key grip (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Richard Mueller	....	color consultant

Other crew
Edward V. Ashburn	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Aubrey Schenck Productions (as Devonshire Productions)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1966) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Criterion Collection, The (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Company:

Aubrey Schenck Productions

Trivia:

The Martian spacecraft are left-overs from The War of the Worlds (1953). Director Byron Haskin was involved in both projects, although George Pal is often given sole credit for the earlier classic.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Draper finds yellow rocks "burning like coal" (as the film's trailer claims) that give off oxygen when burned. Fire is the act of oxidation, in which oxygen is bound up in a mineral. Setting rocks aflame would take what little oxygen there is out of the Martian air, not release more of it.

Quotes:

Draper: How Long have you had these things on?
Friday: Sixty-two years.
Draper: How old are you?
Friday: Seventy eight.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hell in the Pacific (1968)

WAAAAAY ahead of its time!

Even though this movie was made in 1964, it puts to shame the more recent (and astronomically more expensive) "Mission to Mars" and "Red Planet".

The characters act much more like real people/enslaved extraterrestrials than was common in sci-fi films of that era. Mantee is well-trained and resourceful, handling most problems (with the exception of his forced isolation) with reasonable aplomb. He is much closer to what we expect an astronaut to be than the ridiculous characters from MtM and RP.

The equipment is also a notch above the usual 60s fare, with real cables, actual dials and knobs, and that utilitarian look so common in military hardware. I have to give this film and extra half-star just for the realistic technology.

Overall, a good, solid sci-fi film from the golden age. Like many others, I'm waiting for the DVD.

*** out of *****