Swiss Family Robinson (1960) – Nostalgia Central

This wholesome slice of family entertainment from Disney follows the Robinsons – a Swiss family from Bern as they are shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island after being attacked by pirates while en route to New Guinea, fleeing the Napoleonic Wars.

Forced to remain on the uninhabited island because of the damage to the ship and the pirates roaming the islands, the family – father (John Mills), mother (Dorothy McGuire) and three sons – create a home on the island in the shape of an elaborate tree house, complete with a water wheel.

The island is home to a diverse array of wildlife (including a dangerous tiger), and the youngest son, Francis (Kevin Corcoran), collects various animals, including a young Asian elephant, a monkey, and an ostrich.

The Robinson brothers set out to explore and come across the pirates, who have captured another ship and taken its captain, Moreland (Cecil Parker), and its cabin boy, Bertie, captive.

They rescue Bertie and flee the pirates through the jungle – later learning that the “boy” is really a girl named Roberta (Janet Munro). Moreland (her grandfather) cut her hair and dressed her as a boy to disguise her gender from the pirates.

Surviving an attack by a green anaconda, they rescue a zebra from hyenas and a quicksand trap, and arrive back at the tree house just in time for Christmas.

Anticipating that the pirates will come looking for Roberta, the family scuttles their wrecked ship to hide their location and fortify a rocky clifftop, building defences and booby traps.

Brothers Fritz (future Hawaii Five-O star James MacArthur) and Ernst (Tommy Kirk) become rivals for Roberta’s affections, and a romance eventually develops between Fritz and Roberta.

The family is eventually attacked by the pirates, but just as they are about to be overwhelmed, a ship captained by Moreland appears, destroying the pirates and their ship with cannon fire.

Captain Moreland offers to help Ernst get into a London university and to take the rest of the family back to Europe or on to New Guinea.

Father and Mother, however, decide to stay on the island and keep Francis with them for a few more years.

Moreland speculates that the island will become a new colony and that Father will be nominated to be its governor.

Fritz and Roberta also decide to stay on the island, and the family waves goodbye to Ernst as he sets out for England with Moreland and the ship.

Shot in Tobago, this iconic adaptation of Johann Wyss’s castaway adventure grossed roughly $40 million against a $5 million budget, making it the most successful movie released that year.

The treehouse from the film was slated for destruction at the end of production, but locals managed to convince the crew to leave it standing.

It became somewhat of a local tourist site, even attracting curious fans from abroad. The tree was eventually sold for a reported $9,000.

The treehouse was ultimately destroyed by a hurricane, but the tree is still alive, tucked away on the property of an auto repair shop in Tobago.

Father Robinson
John Mills
Mother Robinson
Dorothy McGuire
Fritz Robinson
James MacArthur
Ernst Robinson
Tommy Kirk
Francis Robinson
Kevin Corcoran
Roberta
Janet Munro
Kuala (Pirate Chief)
Sessue Hayakawa
Captain Moreland
Cecil Parker
Auban
Andy Ho
Battoo
Larry Taylor
Big Pirate
Milton Reid

Director
Ken Annakin