Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) starring Paul Mantee, Victor Lundin, Adam West, and directed by Byron Haskin.
©Criterion Collection
Robinson Crusoe on Mars
By: themovielordDate: Friday, December 21, 2007
Cmdr. Christopher 'Kit' Draper (Paul Mantee) is stranded on the planet Mars and must a find air and other means to survive.
Having recently been released by the Criterion Collection (arguably the best company for DVDs with their special features and an eye for preserving exceptional films) I thought I would venture into a story that I knew was based on Daniel Defoe original novel yet set on another planet. Surprisingly the film had several moments that obviously inspired both Brian De Palma’s ‘Mission to Mars’ (2000) and Antony Hoffman's ‘Red Planet’ (2000) which were both huge disappointments, thankfully this film was charming in its 1964 optimistic and realistic portrayal of space travel.
Right off the bat it was strange to see Adam West in a role other than Batman. West plays the doomed Col. Dan McReady in a role that is small and haunting because he is the only other person we see in the film (for a time). Quickly a fireball takes out the ship and the two astronauts are forced to eject. The dialogue is sparse after the crash due to conserving air and more importantly setting the mood of loneliness against an already barren back drop. The scenes bounce back and fourth from realistic desert with a map painting to a studio set. Unfortunately, you can the set lights in Paul Mantee’s space helmet ruining some early moments in the cave. Yet, the score (by Van Cleave) keeps you in a place where you are haunted with the possibility of complete and utter loneliness for this man. Then later a heroic theme ensues giving you the hope that this lone astronaut may overcome the obstacles.
The film is slow moving but having the Commander take the natural steps and mistakes in finding food and air are clever and believable. Thankfully the ships space monkey, Mona, survived as well. She is savior and sole companion.
There are few bits of humor in the film and the “How to survive a crash” video is both funny and sad because this could be the only face and voice the poor Commander may hear again. It isn’t and just like in Daniel Defoe’s novel there is a Friday (Victor Lundin) character and he brings a bit a different twist with his interstellar slavery plot (probably inspiring Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich’s ‘Stargate’(1994)). Though at first I was reminded of Wolfgang Petersen’s ‘Enemy Mine’ (1985) when Friday and the Commander start breaking down their language barrier. Both actors play the scenes well and don’t rush the “getting to know you moments” allowing their friendship to develop naturally.
The film is great testament to man’s survival. An optimistic and realistic view of space exploration and above all, this classic story is still fun to watch.
The effects are a bit dated, but it's a good story and a lot of fun. It's definitely one of the last great "Mars fantasy" movies, along with "The Martian Chronicles." This came out in a time when we still didn't know a lot about the Martian surface and there was still some mystery to it.
If you've never seen it, give it a shot. It's a fun movie.