Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

A Swiss family must survive being shipwrecked on a deserted island.

Director:

Ken Annakin

Writers:

Lowell S. Hawley (screenplay), Johann David Wyss (novel) (as Johann Wyss)

Stars:

John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Mills	...	Father Robinson
Dorothy McGuire	...	Mother Robinson
James MacArthur	...	Fritz Robinson
Janet Munro	...	Roberta
Sessue Hayakawa	...	Kuala - Pirate Chief
Tommy Kirk	...	Ernst Robinson
Kevin Corcoran	...	Francis Robinson
Cecil Parker	...	Captain Moreland
Andy Ho	...	Auban - Pirate
Milton Reid	...	Big Pirate
Larry Taylor	...	Battoo - Pirate

Storyline

A family in route to New Guinea is shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island. They are forced to remain on the island because of the damage to the ship and the pirates that are roaming the islands. They create a home on the island (centering around a huge tree house) and explore the island and its wildlife. Plenty of adventure ensues as the family deals with issues of survival and pirates, and the brothers must learn how to live on the island with an uncertain future.

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Plot Keywords:

tropical island | survival | stranded on an island | tropical island paradise | remake | 

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Taglines:

A new world of excitement is yours as a man, his wife, and their sons--bonded by courage and strengthened by love--turn a wild tropic jungle into an exotic island paradise!

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Genres:

Adventure | Family

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir John Mills was felt to be out of place, as he was English, and the rest of the family were played by Americans.

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Goofs

The "Quarantine" flag Father raises to drive off the pirates, a black spot on a yellow field, is actually the "India" signal flag. The actual Quarantine flag at the time would have been a plain yellow "Quebec" signal flag.

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Quotes

Ernst: Fritz! Listen! Do you think when we get to New Guinea, *if* we ever do, there'll be any girls our age?
Fritz: By the time we get to New Guinea, we won't care *what* age they are!

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Connections

Featured in The Making of 'Tron' (2002)

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Soundtracks

Swisskapolka
(uncredited)
Music by Bob Jackman and Buddy Baker

User Reviews

a bit of 60s-era trivia

IMBD refused to post this in the "Trivia" section, so I'll add it as a comment: note that throughout the film, the men are often shirtless; however their pants and shorts are always carefully tailored to cover their navels, like Barbara Eden's harem-pants in "I Dream of Jeannie".

If you have access to the DVD, it is very well worth it to watch the special-features documentaries and interviews on disc 2. What the actors and crew went through to make this thing is incredible! The many animals used are mostly nasty and potentially very dangerous. That no one got disemboweled by a zebra or ostrich kick, or a tiger-claw, is a miracle; let alone the face-off scene with the hyenas! Wrestling an anaconda chest-deep in a mosquito and leech-infested swamp is probably not a role most actors dream of. James MacArthur was told by the snake's handler to just dunk the snake's head under water when it started to constrict him; apparently it worked, as he lived to tell the tale!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Swiss Family Robinson

Filming Locations:

Richmond Bay, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$40,356,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$40,356,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1