Sunday Movie: Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Paul Mantee stars as Commander Draper, the aforementioned Robinson Crusoe of the title. He is forced to find a way to live on Mars after ejecting from a Mars Explorer vessel. His only companion (for the first half of the movie) is a monkey who is obviously the brains of the group, because she finds the native water and food for Draper to live on.

I'm impressed with this film, and not just because of Criterion's sharp DVD transfer. The movie has this wonderful blend of practicality and imagination. "Crusoe" does find water, oxygen, and food, but in relatively realistic or at least semi-plausible ways. One of the more interesting aspects that the film brings up is that, even finding such necessities, Draper is unhappy, because he still lacks companionship, and the isolation weighs on him so much that he hallucinates his dead partner.

Many may balk at the dated ideas of how Mars is depicted, but being filmed at Death Valley does not hurt this film. In fact, one of the only problems I have with the effects is that the studio sets cannot match the breathtaking look of the location shots. The special effects were all done using "old fashioned" techniques such as matte paintings and model work. I think the effects are just as impressive as that other science fiction movie that will turn up thirteen years later. (That would be 1977 for those of you who need a hint.)

In the second half of the movie, Draper meets "Friday," an escaped slave from a group of unknown aliens who come to Mars every so often with their chain gangs to mine Mars's ore. When they first meet, Draper is the Big Shot American, insisting on Friday learning English immediately, and it looks like Friday is doing the work for Draper, i.e. Friday's his servant. This all changes when Friday saves Draper's life. Their relationship becomes more mutual, and both men are willing to learn each other's languages and culture.

This film reminds me of another semi-realistic film of astronauts trying to survive on Mars: "Red Planet." Both films were flops in the box office, (correct me if I'm wrong) but both appeal to the little kid in me who always wanted to explore other planets and jump headfirst into the unknown.