An enjoyably offbeat story and a fun role for Douglas Fairbanks make "Mr. Robinson Crusoe" an entertaining light feature. The story is kept as simple as possible, because the highlights are Fairbanks' athleticism, his character's wide variety of gadgets and animal companions, and Maria Alba as the very endearing Saturday.
The story is never intended to be taken seriously, but it certainly works as entertainment. It starts with Fairbanks's character accepting a bet that he and his dog can survive on an isolated desert island. A long stretch of the movie is devoted simply to showing his numerous inventions and tricks for surviving in the wild, while at the same time he makes several animal friends. This part works surprisingly well, and plenty of imagination went into all the devices and such. Of the animals, the monkey is particularly entertaining, and is rather talented itself.
Fairbanks does quite well carrying the load during the parts in which he has no human to talk to. Once the more action-oriented part begins, he is of course in familiar territory, and at least in this one feature he looks just about as energetic and youthful as ever.
The most action-oriented sequences are interspersed with the tenderer scenes with Alba's character, which makes for an interesting contrast during that part of the movie. This is the kind of movie that is very enjoyable if you are in the mood for something a little different, and/or for anyone who has fond memories of Fairbanks's fine silent-era classics.
