Robinson Crusoe on Mars

A manned mission to Mars goes wrong when the orbiting spacecraft is forced to abandon its crew. Commander Christopher Draper survives the landing on the planet's surface, but finds himself alone apart from Mona, a monkey that came down with him. With no immediate hope of rescue, he has to work out how to obtain oxygen, water and food in an environment that offers none of them, while the fate of his fellow astronaut, Colonel Dan McReady, remains unresolved. His situation changes when he encounters a humanoid being held in captivity by alien pursuers, frees him and names him Friday, after the companion in Daniel Defoe's novel.

Byron Haskin directed the film, the fifth in the run of features listed for him that began with Treasure Island in 1950 and continued through The War of the Worlds and Conquest of Space. Paul Mantee plays Draper, Victor Lundin plays Friday, Adam West appears as McReady, and the monkey Mona is credited as herself. Ib Melchior and John C. Higgins wrote the screenplay, and Aubrey Schenck produced for Paramount and his own company, with a budget of about one million dollars.

Audience response has been moderate and durable: on IMDb the film holds a 6.4 rating from roughly 7,600 votes, and on TMDB a 6.3 from around 158 votes, figures close to the 6.2 average from 17 critics' reviews.