Review of Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) by Charles G — 03 Apr 2008

With a title and cast (featuring Paul Mantee and soon-to-be-Batman Adam West as astronauts Kit Draper and Dan McReady; Victor Lundin as Friday, a rather lunky humanoid escaped slave from Orion's belt; and a monkey named Barney playing a monkey named Mona) seemingly designed for maximum camp value, the first half is surprisingly good.

Later, the film devolves into rather typical B-movie fare, but is still watchable. Written by Ib Melchior as an adaptation of Defoe's classic "Robinson Crusoe" (Melchior also gave "Swiss Family Robinson" a science-fiction update in the story that became television's "Lost in Space") and directed by "War of the Worlds" director Byron Haskin.