Swiss Family Robinson is a 1940 family adventure film directed by Edward Ludwig. The film stars Thomas Mitchell and Edna Best, and it is an adaptation of 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss.
Director: Edward Ludwig
Production Company: The Play’s The Thing Productions
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Cast: Thomas Mitchell, Edna Best, Freddie Bartholomew, Terry Kilburn, Tim Holt
US Box Office: $2,225,000 ($88,700,000 adjusted for inflation)
Film Format: Black & White
Genre: Adventure, Family, Drama
Release Date: February 8, 1940
Plot Summary: In 1813, William Robinson, a Swiss man living in London, decides to move his family to a colony to escape the Napoleonic Wars and the negative influence that excesses London life are having on the development of his sons. William’s wife Elizabeth (Edna Best), and his four sons: would-be soldier Fritz (Tim Holt), elitist Jack (Freddie Bartholomew), bookish Ernest (Terry Kilburn), and toddler Francis, are less than thrilled with the idea. The family ends up shipwrecked on a tropical island, which is perfect for William, but is more difficult for Elizabeth and the children.
Production: In 1939, screenwriters Gene Towne and C. Graham Baker began working on a film adaptation of Johann David Wyss’s 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson. Swiss Family Robinson was the first film to be produced by Towne and Baker’s production company The Play’s The Thing Productions, which was affiliated with RKO Radio Pictures. The two established the company to make films based on popular stories in the public domain. In addition to producing Swiss Family Robinson, Towne and Baker also co-wrote the film’s screenplay along with Walter Ferris. Edward Ludwig was hired to direct the film. That same year, Towne and Baker also produced Little Men and Tom Brown’s School Days for their company.
Towne and Baker cast Thomas Mitchell as William Robinson, the main character in the film. Mitchell was primarily a character actor, who frequently gave memorably performances as supporting characters, but he was rarely cast one of the main leads. Mitchell recently had supporting roles in several of the most popular and beloved films of 1939 including: Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Only Angels have Wings, and Stagecoach. The part of Elizabeth Robinson was originally offered to Lillian Gish, who turned down the offer. Kay Francis was also considered for the role, before British actress Edna Best was cast in the part. Best had notably appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Gregory Ratoff’s Intermezzo (1939), which was Ingrid Berman’s first American film. Freddie Bartholomew, Terry Kilburn, and Tim Holt were cast as the Robinson sons. Child actors Bartholomew and Kilburn were borrowed from MGM. Although Tim Holt’s character is the oldest son, he only received fifth billing in the film, after the younger but more well-known Bartholomew and Kilburn. Freddie Bartholomew had recently starred in the acclaimed Captains Courageous (1937).
Swiss Family Robinson was shot in late 1939. Despite being primarily set in an island forest, Swiss Family Robinson was shot entirely on set at RKO Studios in Hollywood. The film had a relatively small budget, so replicating the forest on set would have been cheaper than shooting the island scenes at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, which was a frequently used film location for forests at the time.
Fun Facts and Trivia: Orson Welles narrated the introduction at the start of Swiss Family Robinson. This was Welles first role in a feature-length major studio film production. Welles was a famous radio star and stage director who had just signed his first film contract with RKO in 1939. Welles met producers C. Graham Baker and Gene Towne at the RKO Commissary where they told him that they needed a “radio voice” to narrate the introduction of Swiss Family Robinson. Welles agreed to take the part for a $25 dollar fee, which he later donated to charity. Welles also recorded a second narration as a joke for a private screening of the film in which he chided Towne (previously a screenwriter) for becoming a film producer. Edward Ludwig had previously directed Thomas Mitchell in the comedy film Adventure in Manhattan (1936) and would later direct him in the sports film The Big Wheel (1949). Freddie Bartholomew later starred in Tom Brown’s School Days (1940), another film produced by Baker and Towne that year.
Reception: Swiss Family Robinson was released on February 8, 1940 in the United States. The film was unsuccessful at the box office and lost around $180,000 for RKO. All three of the films Baker and Towne produced that year lost money, and The Play’s The Thing Productions shut down shortly afterwards. The failure of Swiss Family Robinson was likely due to its lack of any major stars.
Despite its poor box office, Swiss Family Robinson received generally positive reviews from critics at the time of its release. Frank Nugent of The New York Times gave the film a positive review. Nugent praised the performances of the cast members and thought that many of the scenes in the film were exciting, and he was particularly impressed by storm sequences. Film Daily thought that Swiss Family Robinson was a good family film and stated that it was, “a genuine accomplishment.” Harrison’s Reports praised the production quality and imagination of the film. John Mosher of The New Yorker gave the film a mixed review. He praised the storm sequences and thought that the animals were entertaining, but criticized Swiss Family Robinson for generally having a nervous and discontent mood that took away from its adventure aspects. He singled out Edna Best’s performance for epitomizing this mood.
In 1960, Walt Disney produced his own adaptation of The Swiss Family Robinson which was directed by Ken Annakin. Disney’s disappointed with the RKO’s version was what inspired him to make his own adaptation. According to a July 1959 Los Angeles Times article, Annakin used the RKO adaptation as “an example of what not to do,” and shot his film mostly on location rather than on set. To prevent the 1940 version from being rereleased to cash in on his film, Walt Disney purchased the rights to the 1940 film and removed it from circulation. As a result, Swiss Family Robinson (1940) received no home video release for decades. The film received a limited DVD release from Turner Classic Movies in 2010, and wasn’t widely available for viewing until 2019 when it was added to the Disney Corporation’s streaming service.
As it was generally unavailable for viewing until recently, Swiss Family Robinson is largely forgotten today, but has received some positive reviews. Leonard Maltin praised the film for its excellent special effects, good performances, and for being darker than Disney’s adaptation. Kat Halstead of Common Sense Media praised Swiss Family Robinson as being visually impressive for the time and noted that it was still good family element. However, she also criticized the film for lacking the special “flair” that could have made it a great classic.
Oscars: Swiss Family Robinson was nominated for one Oscar at the 13th Academy Awards ceremony: Best Special Effects (Vernon L. Walker for visual effects and John O. Aalberg for sound effects). Walker and Aalberg lost to Lawrence W. Butler (visual effects) and Jack Whitney (sound effects) for The Thief of Baghdad. The Best Special Effects category was very crowded that year with fourteen films receiving nominations.
Why You Should See It: Swiss Family Robinson is a mostly good family adventure film. Most of the actors give good performances, and Thomas Mitchell is particularly good in my opinion. Director Edward Ludwig’s cinematography and set design work is top notch, especially the forest and treehouse sets. The set design gives the film a very distinctive dream-like atmosphere. The special effects used for the shipwreck and storm sequences are also very good. The film showcases good family values as well, depicting the importance of working together and family unity, as well as depicting Christian faith in a positive light. RKO’s Swiss Family Robinson is not as memorable as Disney’s version, but I think that it is still interesting and worth watching.