Mr. Robinson Crusoe

MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE (United Artists, 1932), directed by A. Edward Sutherland, from a story by Elton Thomas (alias Douglas Fairbanks), is an odd production that parodies author Daniel Defoe's literary tale of "Robinson Crusoe" by having its central character relive the adventures of his fictional hero in an attempt by making a myth into a reality. Before the story immediately gets underway, it opens with these words: "From the time of Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, man has vainly sought to find solace, comfort and earth pleasures in an artificial world of his own creation. Down through the ages has come that eternal heritage, the urge to every man to turn his back on so-called civilization to get back to nature and reveal in the glories of freedom of a primitive paradise."

Plot summary: Millionaires William Belmont (William Farnum), Professor Carmichale (Earle Browne), and adventurer Steve Drexel (Douglas Fairbanks) are sailing together on a yacht along the South Seas bound for Sumatra to hunt tigers. As they pass an uncharted island, Drexel makes a $1,000 bet with Belmont that he could live in seclusion on the island for two months with nothing but a toothbrush (which he soon discards, along with his watch and shoes) in the manner of storybook character "Robinson Crusoe." While Steve feels he'll be found living "the life of Riley," Belmont believes he'll find him tied to the stake by hungry natives. Diving off the yacht and leaving his friends to go on ahead with their plans, Steve swims ashore with his dog "Rooney." He makes good with his wager by surviving on coconuts, pineapple and bananas, constructing a giant tree-house, making wooded street signs reading Park Avenue and 52nd Street, befriending wildlife that includes Googy, a monkey; Sooky, a talking parrot whose only reply is "Okay"; a turtle that helps pump water; and a goat for the use of its milk. Although Steve isn't quite so lucky having a Robinson Crusoe's companion, "Friday," being that of a very nervous native (dubbed "Friday the 13th") he finds and loses, Steve goes one better by acquiring a beautiful native girl he names "Saturday" (Maria Alba), who had earlier escaped a forced marriage ceremony from another island. Aside from finding solitude with Steve, who finds time teaching her the English language, she learns her the method of kissing by rubbing his nose against hers. As his two months comes to a close, it appears that Steve, now slightly bearded, might win his bet after all until his friends, having returned from their hunting trip, arrive on the island with methods of their own to win the bet.

While far from being Fairbanks' best, it's the kind of entertainment expected of him, an adventure comedy highlighted by his familiar acrobatics, amusing scenes revolving around his animal friends, slight romance climaxed by threatening dangers of a cannibal attack in the best Tarzan tradition. With its small cast and location footage filmed entirely in Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa and the Marquee islands, this is very much a one man show for Fairbanks in a near solo performance with occasional cuts revolving around Belmont and Saturday in separate cases. Aside from his methods of survival, having accomplished a lot in such a short time with his man-made contraptions and ingenious inventions, thanks to his boy scout training and Dan Bear's Handy Book, it's acceptable to believe Steve could make rope out of bark and setting up fishing nets, but how is it possible for him putting together his own radio (after acquiring radio tubes from a native's neck) that miraculously picks up broadcasts from San Francisco and listening to Harry Richman vocalizing "Singing a Vagabond Song" from his 1930 motion picture musical, PUTTIN ON THE RITZ? Regardless of situations not being true to life, it's goal of vintage fun is evident throughout its 70 minutes.

Having all the ingredients of an innocently made 1920s silent film, it so happens that MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE was also distributed in the silent film tradition, with musical score, inter-titles, sound effects and the constant reply of "Okay" by the parrot and barking by Rooney. Alfred Newman's memorable underscoring of "The Moon of Manakoora" heard throughout proved so popular that it was used again for other South Seas stories, notably Samuel Goldwyn's classic, THE HURRICANE (1937) featuring Jon Hall.

Virtually unknown until the 1980s when distributed on video cassette in both silent (Video Yesteryear) and sound (Kartes Video Communications) versions, and airing on some local public broadcasting stations, at present, television revivals of MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE are rare, with known broadcasts on the Christian Broadcast Network prior to 1990, and a silent print as part of Nostalgia Channel's Saturday night presentation of "When Silents Was Golden" in 1994. Throughout those years, MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE has had the misfortune of circulating with inferior prints, thus, making this one of many films such as this in need of restoration.

Had MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE been remade in the 1940s when South Sea stories were in vogue, it would have been an interesting part of the "Road" series ("Road to Tahihi" perhaps) starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. As it now stands, this good-natured adventure tale, being more Fairbanks than DeFoe, simply displays how excellent Fairbanks can be in a role written especially for him, and what he's capable of doing when material matches his talent. (***)