Rent Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

Literary Sci-Fi. - Robinson Crusoe on Mars review by Steve

Title tells all in this thoughtful and faithful adaptation of Daniel Defoe's classic adventure... except it's science fiction! It was a clever idea to adapt a story about colonialism to the final frontier, though The Forbidden Planet (1956) got there first.

Paul Mantee plays an astronaut who crashes onto the surface of the red planet. He adapts to his new home (Mars has a breathable atmosphere in this film) and changes his environment to support himself. The film establishes a hierarchy of the space-wrecked castaway's physical, psychological and then social needs.  

 He finds a companion (Victor Lundin) who is viciously exploited by inter-planetary slave traders. The astronaut seeks to impose his own values on his new companion; they become master and servant. Only under duress can he accept an equality based on mutual respect and common interest. Presumably this alludes to the contemporary civil rights movement.

It benefits from the location shoot in Death Valley, California. The matte effects of the red sky, and the ruined remains of a Martian civilisation are clearly limited by budget but are still ok. The most poignant theme is straight from Defoe; a human alone in space exposed to the vastness of the universe. It is a potent, enduring image.