armadillo, but a monkey was deemed more believable and easier to train. Paul Mantee was chosen out of approximately 70 actors (including Vic Lundin) based on his being an experienced unknown, and by Haskin, because he resembled Alan Shepard, the first American in space. The film was originally to be titled Gravity Probe One: Mars, but Paramount's sales manager Charles Boasberg thought that title sounded too much like a documentary. According to Mantee, because Barney the monkey was a male playing Mona, a female, he had to wear a fur-covered diaper. At the time of production, it was still plausible to depict Mars as having an atmosphere and water. Scientific discoveries shortly thereafter confirmed neither was the case. Songs Two songs were inspired by and named after the film. One was sung by Johnny Cymbal, the other by Victor Lundin. Lundin wrote the song "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" to perform during his science fiction convention appearances. He recorded it for his 2000 album Little Owl. Reception Despite positive critic reaction at the time, Robinson Crusoe on Mars did not do well at the box office. Film reviewer Glenn Erickson opined, "Despite laudable efforts from all concerned, the film didn't click with audiences. Indifferent distribution was blamed, but it's also likely that the public preferred to see its astronauts on the 6 O'Clock News". Film historian Leonard Maltin considered Robinson Crusoe on Mars, "a surprisingly agreeable reworking of the classic Defoe story ... beautifully shot in Death Valley by Winston C. Hoch; the film's intimate nature help it play better on TV than most widescreen space films". In the Time Out review editor John Pym saw Robinson Crusoe on Mars as "... intelligently imaginative sci-fi ... most remarkably (director) Haskin avoids sentimentality when dealing with the monkey, such is the assured sensitivity of the film". Kevin Thomas in the Los Angeles Times said, "Robinson Crusoe on Mars ... has superb special-effects and strong performances by its space age hero, his man Friday and an irresistible monkey name Mona. ... The film’s overall design and the careful composition of each scene make it a work of art". At the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Robinson Crusoe on Mars has an overall rating of 94%, with an average single viewer rating of 6.5/10, with 62% of that audience liking it. Home media The Criterion Collection, a video company known for its painstaking