Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Admirable film.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Blistering performances.

When this film was made, NASA and space science were in their infancy. Still, this holds up well even now. Basically a space version of the famous novel, Two astronauts and a spider monkey accidentally crash land on mars. While there, the surviving Astronaut learns how to survive, makes an alien first contact and has several adventures. Yes, today we know that one can't survive on Mars without special gear, but, as I said, this was done in the dark ages of space exploration. The main characters are likeable, rounded characters and the story unfolds very quickly. It's a lot of fun and when watched people should remember that. A great movie.

This classic film should be compared with the 2017 movie "The Martian" based on the novel by Andy Weir.They tell similar stories about a lone astronaut trying to survive after being stranded on the planet Mars.The protagonist's initial struggle against the laws of physics (oxygen, water, etc.) is a lot like the story of Mark Watney's in "The Martian"...The chimpanzee and the aliens are fantasy elements, but they are useful parts of the story. Also I would compare "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" to the 1985 film "Enemy Mine" about a human and a reptilian alien stranded on a planet during an interstellar war... and how they learn to help each other and survive a hostile environment.

During a flight to Mars in the spaceship Mars Gravity Probe 1, Commander Christopher 'Kit' Draper (Paul Mantee) and Colonel Dan McReady (Adam West) are forced to deviate from an asteroid and they leave their spacecraft in pods. Draper lands on the surface of the Red Planet and survives. He learns how to produce oxygen and while exploring the planet, he finds McReady dead in his crashed pod. He finds also the monkey Mona and brings the animal to the cave where he is sheltered. He learns that he can breathe the Martian air for short periods but needs also oxygen. But Mona finds water and an edible plant in the underground. .After a long period alone, Draper feels the loneliness. One day, he sees a spacecraft landing on Mars and he believes it might be the rescue team to save him. But he finds aliens working on the planet and some of them are slaves. One of them flees and stumble with Draper and he names him Friday (Victor Lundin). Now he needs to find a way to be rescued and return to Earth."Robinson Crusoe on Mars" is a dated sci-fi based on Daniel Defoe's novel "Robinson Crusoe". This film seems to be the inspiration to Riddley Scott to "The Martian". Despite the beautiful cinematography, it is funny to see the concept of Mars with the present knowledge that we have of the Red Planet. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): Not Available on Blu-Ray or DVD

More Thought Than Usual and a Bigger Budget Than Most of its Ilk, This is Fondly Remembered by the Generation that Grew Up On and Adored these Youth Oriented Flicks in the Fifties and Early Sixties.The Decade's End Would be Even More Thought Oriented with the Likes of Planet of the Apes (1968) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Truth be Told it Wasn't Until the Late Seventies that Sci-Fi (like Comic Books) Would Gain Any Credibility Among the Cultural Elite.With That in Mind, This Visually Impressive Movie from Director Byron Haskin Resulted in a Solid Entertainment and Although it Failed at the Box-Office, Those "In the Know" Knew that this was Something Special.With a Nod Towards a Modicum of Scientific Accuracy and a Visual Template of Beautiful Imagery and Top Notch SFX (for the time), the Film Can be Considered One of the Best of the 50's-Early 60's Genre Gems.Credible Performances from All Three Leads (including Mona) Add to the Enjoyment. The Alien Space Crafts are Similar to the War of the Worlds (1953) Minus the Strings, but Create an Excitement of Their Own.Overall, Must See for Sci-Fi Fans and Others May Get a Kick Out of It, but if You are Looking to Make Fun of This Type of Thing, You Have to Go Elsewhere. This is Pretty Serious Stuff and Excellent Movie Making.