Saturday, June 19, 2021

Robinson Crusoe on mars [dir. Byron Haskin]

Robinson Crusoe on Mars was directed by War of the Worlds' Byron Haskin and based on a script by Ib Melchior, who seems to have written several space adventures. Like with recent years' The Martian, it deals with the survival of an astronaut marooned on the surface of the Red Planet. The astronaut is played by Paul Mantee, a buffed All-American type that embodies the hearty golden age SF image of future-age humans visiting and conquering new planets. In a nice bit of misdirection, the character we are first introduced to is his co-astronaut, played by a pre-Batman Adam West, who seems at home with the campily colorful spaceship console design (who knows if part of it wasn't re-assembled into the Bat-computer?). After a space mishap, they both eject out in capsules heading towards the Martian surface. Most of the remaining feature focuses on Mantee.

Of course the depiction of Mars (exteriors stood in for by California's Death Valley) was limited by our awareness of the planet at the time. In this movie, Mars has oxygen (in thinner amounts), water and native edibles. Mantee must gather and ration his resources, so he can survive as long as possible. Since this is an adventure movie in the 60's he has the company with of the ship's monkey - Like Kirk Douglas in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and Pat Boone in Journey to the Center of the Earth, I was half-expecting Mantee to burst into song to entertain his simian co-actor, but we get away with only some improvised bagpipes.

One of my problems with the film was Mantee's behavior. Early on, it is critical for him to conserve oxygen and not exert himself, since he cannot survive beyond a quarter of an hour in the Martian atmosphere. He even rigs up an hour-glass that will awaken him from sleep when his oxygen levels are about to drop below safe level. But when he sees the place where West's capsule is supposed to have landed, Mantee careens at top speed down the loose pebbled mountain, not even considering the risk of cracking his helmet, yelling like a clueless idiot. It's hard to believe this boob is a trained astronaut and harder still to sympathize with his plight. In a later scene where he meets his Man Friday, his imperialist tone with the stranger is again grating, but thankfully that is dealt with in a cannily subversive way.

Some of the film's most effective moments for me are the long shots featuring the character standing / climbing the gravelly slopes. They are the only parts of the film that convey something of an alien landscape (Some of the matte work is striking but also too obvious). There's one highly effective spooky scene involving an unexpected visitor. The bulk of Robinson Crusoe on Mars is, however, clunky and prosaic. The worst is when Mantee comes across the aliens with their spaceships and their slaves. After Ray Harryhausen's marvelously designed creations in Earth vs the Flying Saucers, these spaceships appear static and the scenes of large-scale destruction feel stock and repetitive instead of thrilling. The aliens are all-too-briefly seen generic spacesuit dudes wielding guns; their slaves are just actors in bad haircuts and cut-price Egyptian outfits. Despite the widescreen ratio and some striking outdoor vistas, the overall feeling is that of a TV movie.

Blame me for falling for the gloriously pulpy space adventure poster art, but in all I felt Robinson Crusoe on Mars promised a lot more than it delivered.

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