Title tells all in this thoughtful and faithful adaptation of Daniel Defoe's novel... except it's on Mars. It was a clever idea to adapt a classic story about colonialism to the final frontier, though The Forbidden Planet (1956) got there first.
Commander Draper (Paul Mantee) crashes onto the surface of the red planet. He adapts to his new home (Mars has an atmosphere in this film) and changes his environment to support himself. The film establishes a hierarchy of needs, of the space-wrecked Commander's physical, psychological and then social being.
Draper happens upon Friday (Victor Lundin), who is being viciously exploited by inter-planetary slave traders. The Commander seeks to impose his own acquired values on his new companion; a class hierarchy. A relationship of master and servant. Only under duress can he accept an equality based on mutual respect and common needs.
The film benefits from its location shoot in the otherworldly terrain of Death Valley, California. The matte effects of the red sky, and the ruined remains of a Martian civilisation are both clearly limited by the budget but are still acceptable. The most poignant theme of the film (inspired by Defoe) is of the spaceman, exposed to the vastness of the universe, disconnected from the safety of his capsule, and alone in space. It is a potent image which is often revisited.