Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.

Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.

Directed by Byron Paul
Produced by Ron W. Miller
Bill Walsh
Walt Disney (uncredited)
Written by Walt Disney
Don DaGradi
Bill Walsh
Daniel Defoe (novel)
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Nancy Kwan
Music by Robert F. Brunner
Cinematography William E. Snyder
Edited by Cotton Warburton
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
Release dates
 July 29, 1966 (1966-07-29)
Running time
 110 min.
Country United States
Language English
Box office $22,565,634[1]

Lt. Robin Crusoe USN is a 1966 comedy film released and scripted by Walt Disney,[2] and starring Dick Van Dyke as a U.S. Navy pilot who becomes a castaway on a tropical island. Some filming took place in San Diego, while a majority of the film was shot on Kauai, Hawaii.[3]

The story was loosely based on Daniel Defoe's classic novel Robinson Crusoe. It was Walt Disney's idea to make the adaptation, and this is the only film in which he received a story credit (as "Retlaw Yensid").[4]

Plot

While flying a routine mission for the U.S. Navy from his aircraft carrier, an emergency causes Lieutenant Robin "Rob" Crusoe (Van Dyke) to eject from his F-8 Crusader into the ocean. Crusoe drifts on the ocean in an emergency life raft for several days and nights until landing on an uninhabited island. Crusoe builds a shelter for himself, fashions new clothing out of available materials, and begins to scout the island, discovering an abandoned Japanese submarine from World War II. Scouring the submarine, Crusoe also discovers a NASA astrochimp named Floyd, played by Dinky.[5]

Using tools and blueprints found in the submarine, Crusoe and Floyd construct a Japanese pavilion, a golf course, and a mail delivery system for sending bottles containing missives to his fiancee out to sea.

Soon after, Crusoe finds that the island is not entirely uninhabited when he encounters a beautiful island girl (Nancy Kwan), whom he names Wednesday. Wednesday recounts that due to her unwillingness to marry, her chieftain father, Tanamashuhi (Akim Tamiroff), plans to sacrifice her and her sisters to Kaboona, an immense effigy on the island with whom he pretends to communicate.

The day Tanamashu arrives on the island, Crusoe uses paraphernalia from the submarine to combat him, culminating in the destruction of the Kaboona statue.

After the battle, Crusoe and Tanamashu make peace. But when Crusoe makes it known that he does not wish to marry Wednesday, he is forced to flee to avoid her wrath. Pursued by a mob of irate island women, Crusoe is spotted by a U.S. Navy helicopter and he and Floyd narrowly escape with their lives. Large crowds turn out for their arrival on an aircraft carrier deck, but Floyd steals all the limelight.

Cast

Release

Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. premiered on June 29, 1966. Because the U.S. Navy cooperated by allowing the producers to film on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, Walt Disney arranged the world premiere to be on the ship, with its crew as the only guests.[6][7]

Cameraman Robert King Baggot (father of King Baggott) died of injuries received during the filming.

The film had its theatrical release on July 29, 1966. It was paired with the live-action short Run, Appaloosa, Run![7] Upon its initial release, critics gave it mostly negative reviews. However, likely because of Dick Van Dyke's popularity, the film proved to be a financial hit grossing over $22 million at the box office.[1] It was re-released to theaters in 1974.

In 1986, the film had its first home video release on VHS. On April 12, 2005, it was released on to DVD.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N., Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  2. ↑ Zibart, Eve : "Today in History Disney", Emmis Books, 2006, ISBN 1-57860-276-9
  3. ↑ Wade Sampson (November 26, 2008). "Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. Remembered". Mouse Planet. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  4. ↑ Smith, Dave (1996). Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia. New York: Hyperion. p. 287.
  5. ↑ http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2010/12/13/101213ta_talk_goodyear
  6. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060640/usercomments
  7. 1 2 "Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. - 1966". Blogspot. October 11, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
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