The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (TV series)


The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is a French-German children's television drama series made by Franco London Films and based on Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe. The show was first aired in Germany in October 1964 under the title Robinson Crusoe as four 90-minute episodes by co-producers ZDF television, and syndicated in the USA the same year. It was first aired in the UK in 1965 as a 13-part serial. This English dubbed version produced by Henry Deutschmeister also had a new musical soundtrack composed by Robert Mellin and P. Reverberi replacing the music composed by Georges Van Parys for the French/German original. The production concentrated not only on events on the island but included Crusoe's other adventures, told in flashback.
The English-language version's theme music, which the BBC requested before they would buy the serial, has been praised. Radio commentator Glenn Mitchell said "The theme tune, with its rumbling introductory notes suggesting the rolling waves of the on-screen title sequence remains distinctive, as does the full incidental score, comprising numerous cues that in each case represent some part of Crusoe's existence. The score combines the maritime idiom of the late 17th and early 18th centuries with some very 1960s influences—" It has since been recreated by bands such as The Art of Noise.

Description

After its debut in 1965 it became a staple part of the BBC's school summer holiday schedules. Often shown Mondays to Fridays in the mid '70s, it was last screened in the early 1980s, after which the BBC's contract for repeat screenings expired. It is the story of a young Englishman's struggle for survival on an unknown desert island, and his recollections of his adventures prior to the shipwreck that brought him there, in particular his involvement with slave traders. He has his pet dog Dick, a parrot and a goat for company. In the latter half of the story a group of cannibals arrive on his island; he repels them by means of explosives, and in the process rescues a man from becoming their next meal; he names him Friday. In the end he comes to terms with his less than exemplary past, and becomes a better man thanks to his experiences on the island, befriending Friday and putting his life in order.
The serial was filmed on Gran Canaria, the 3rd largest of the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco. Robinson's Island locations were shot at Playa del Ingles on the southern tip of Gran Canaria; the Moroccan scenes were filmed further along the coast at Playa de Maspalomas and the Dunes of Maspalomas; the small village of Tejeda located inland at the notional centre of Gran Canaria was used as the location for Robinson's Plantation in Brazil. Most of this footage was shot mute because of the lack of dialogue and the time it saved on location, the sound being dubbed on later. The English locations were shot in Normandy, France. The filming took four months to complete. For the Gran Canaria footage a small 11 man film crew was used, all of whom also played small parts in the serial, such as assistant director Luc Andrieux who took the part of Kasir the fishmonger. This was Austrian, Salzburg-born, actor Robert Hoffmann's first professional acting job after leaving the French actors school in Paris in 1964.
Franco London Film made three different cuts of the show available to accommodate the broadcasting requirements of countries buying the serial. The success of this production led to a series of 16 French/German co-production adaptations of classic adventure and children's novels between 1964 and 1983, for ZDF and ORTF in France. These serials are known by German fans as the ZDF four parters. The man behind these mini epics was German producer/writer Walter Ulbrich. Franco London Film, in association with Deropa Films, were involved in the next four serials: Don Quixote the Man of La Mancha, produced by Walter Ulbrich and Henry Deutschmeister in 1965 ; Die Schatzinsel/L'ile au Tresor in 1966, an adaptation of Treasure Island that starred English actor Ivor Dean as Long John Silver; Les Aventures de Tom Sawyer in 1968 ; and finally Die Lederstrumpf Erzahlungen an adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novels featuring Natty Bumppo, collectively known as The Leatherstocking Tales, in 1969.
The serial has been dubbed into German, English, French and Italian.

Cast

Additional Cast of German Cut:
Certain scenes were shot with different actors for the German cut of Robinson Crusoe, and some extra scenes were filmed. For example; Wooseley's niece, the blind man and Jenny do not appear in the French/English version. Stills from the German scenes can be seen in the photo gallery on the Network DVD of the series.
Apart from Payant as Robinson Crusoe, the voice artists used for the English dub for other characters, such as Robinson's father or Captain Darrick etc. are uncredited.
Renzo Palmer was the Italian voice of Robinson Crusoe. The Italian dub also used the Robert Mellin/P.Reverberi musical score. It was first transmitted in Italy by RAI in the Winter 1964-1965, and the last Italian repeat was in the summer of 1978.

Episode list - 13 part English dub

While travelling on a ship from Brazil to Africa, a violent storm casts Robinson onto a deserted island off the coast of South America. He spends his solitude in remembering his youthful escapades in York.
Alone on his island, Robinson solves the problem of food and meets his first companion.
Robinson recalls leaving home and travelling to Hull to seek a ship. The remains of the Esmeralda are washed near the shore, and he busies himself salvaging as much as possible before it sinks.
Robinson recalls his first sea voyages and finds a cave which becomes his new home.
In the intervals of building a shelter and making furniture, Robinson recalls how he was assumed to be dead by his friends and was sold into slavery.
A fire in his cave destroys all he has created. While rebuilding his home he recalls how he escaped from slavery and the events that led him to become owner of a Brazilian banana plantation.
Robinson relates how he came to be involved in the wreck of the Esmerelda.
Robinson discovers an abandoned ship and pirate's treasure hoard.
Having drifted with the pirate ship Robinson lands on another part of the island.
Robinson encounters the cannibals and rescues Friday.
Robinson tries to teach Friday how to become civilised, but Friday runs away.
Friday returns, and other unwelcome visitors arrive on the island.
Friday and Robinson defeat the mutineers and escape from the island.

Broadcasts

Germany

The first German broadcast took place from 3 October 1964 – 24 October 1964, at 8.00 pm on ZDF and repeated:, and.
The East German channel DDR1 screened the 6 part version twice in 1973.
The last German broadcast was on Tele 5.
German digital channel ZDF Neo repeated all four episodes in a marathon screening from 12.55pm to 6.40pm on Monday 5 April 2010, and again on Thursday 30 December 2010 from 3.00pm to 8.15pm.

France

The first French broadcast started on 10 September 1965 on ORTF.

UK

The first BBC repeats began at 5.20 pm from 13 February 1967, then, beginning between BBC coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing, 21 June - 15 September 1969 at 5.20 pm and in the Summer of 1972 at 9.30 am before coverage of the Olympics, and one last evening repeat at 5.15 pm. The BBC also ran the serial during school summer holiday morning schedules during 1974 and 1975. The next run was on Saturdays at 9.35 am. The last BBC repeats began on Saturday 3 April 1982 on BBC1 at 10.00 am, concluding on Saturday 26 June 1982.

Crew

Jean-Paul Carriere is the credit on the English/French film prints but other sources state his name as Jean-Claude Carrière.

Audio