Swiss Family Robinson
A Swiss settler family are shipwrecked on a desert island.
- Director: Ken Annakin
- Genre:Adventure / Family
- Runtime:126 minutes
Cast
John Mills : Father Robinson
Dorothy McGuire : Mother Robinson
James MacArthur : Fritz Robinson
Janet Munro : Roberta ‘Bertie’
Sessue Hayakawa : Kuala, Pirate Chief
A family on their way to New Guinea is chased by pirates into a storm. The captain and crew abandon the ship leaving the family shipwrecked off an uninhabited island. Father (John Mills) and his two eldest sons Fritz and Ernst (James MacArthur and Tommy Kirk) salvage as much as they can from the wreck including livestock, tools, and even an organ. The three men construct a tree-house home on the island while the youngest boy Francis (Kevin Corcoran) investigates the wildlife (and starts an impressive collection of animals) and Mother (Dorothy McGuire) prays to be rescued. The boys, particularly Ernst, also build inventions to provide modern amenities to the family such as drawing water and preserving food. While on the ship, gathering what can be removed, the pirates return and begin shooting at the ship. Fritz and Ernst begin readying the ship’s cannon, but they only have one shot. Suddenly, the pirates turn around; Father has put up a flag indicating the ship is under quarantine and that there is Black Death aboard.
Fritz and Ernst head off to explore the island and try to see if anyone else lives on it or if it is connected to any other lands. While at a distant corner of the island, they again spot the pirates who originally drove them into the storm. The pirates have captured another ship and have the ship’s captain and cabin boy “Bertie” captives for ransom. Fritz and Ernst rescue Bertie but the captain, Bertie’s grandfather, stays behind. The three dodge the pirates and head back to the family’s treehouse. En route, they discover that Bertie is really Roberta (Janet Munro) and not a boy at all. The three fend off snakes and hyenas as they head home. They arrive back at the treehouse at Christmas.
Father realizes the pirates will try to reclaim her and decides to make a stand against them. Defenses are prepared by building booby-traps and fortifying a rocky outcropping. They blow up the ship’s wreckage in an attempt to make it difficult for the pirates to remember where the family went aground. While prepping for the pirate attack, Fritz and Ernst vie for the affections of Roberta. Ernst is more studious and attempts to sway her with his knowledge and intelligence while Fritz, older and not studious, uses his charm and physical attributes to attract her. Fritz and Ernst eventually come to blows over her and are only stopped by the intervention of Father. He declares the next day the first holiday for “New Switzerland” in an attempt to divert everyone. While prepping for the race (everyone has an animal to ride: Francis has the elephant, Ernst the ostrich, Roberta the zebra, the monkey on Duke, etc.) When Mother fires the gun to signal the start of the race, the pirates, who are at that time sailing the coast looking for the place they last saw the ship that brought the family to the island, hear the gun and know the family is near. Read more
