Walt Disney, himself, was credited with the idea of updating the Daniel Defoe classic to modern times as a comedy vehicle for TV star Dick Van Dyke. Naval officer Robin Crusoe (Van Dyke) has to eject from his plane in mid-flight and drifts for days at sea in a life raft, finally landing on an uninhabited island. He passes the time constructing makeshift luxuries for himself and a message-in-a-bottle delivery system to try to communicate with his unit and his fiancée. One day he is surprised to find he is not entirely alone – he meets a native girl (Nancy Kwan) whom he dubs Wednesday. It turns out she has been exiled to the island by her patriarch (Akim Tamiroff) who plans on sacrificing her to the god Kaboona for her refusal to marry. When Wednesday’s father arrives with tribe in tow, Crusoe destroys the Kaboona idol and makes peace with the elder chieftain. However, when Crusoe makes it plain he cannot marry Wednesday, all hell breaks loose. Could the U.S. Navy possibly be right around the corner to save the day? The film was a huge box office hit, grossing over $22,000,000.
