The "air pills" were stock M&Ms, while the "poi sausages" harvested from the Martian plants were pepperonis.

The snow was real in the scene where Kit and Friday were buried after the meteorite impacts the Martian North pole. Paul Mantee states in the DVD commentary that they had to stay under the snow and breathe through straws for quite a long time while the camera set-ups were completed--an experience he found very unpleasant. After Victor Lundin digs Mantee out, his jaw and lower lip can be seen trembling from the cold in the next shot.

The Martian spacecraft are leftovers from The War of the Worlds (1953). Director Byron Haskin was involved in both projects, although George Pal is often given sole credit for the earlier classic.

The scenes in which Mona the monkey imitates Victor Lundin's agonized gestures whenever the alien masters activated the slave bracelets were not something the monkey was taught to do. It began to imitate the actor during these scenes, and the director decided to film these moments.

Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin were both convinced that the fine work they had done on this ambitious and imaginative film would provide a substantial boost to their careers. However, the lackluster distribution that Paramount studios gave the film, along with the poor box office performance, caused both actors' careers to suffer severe lags for years afterwards. Mantee, in fact, said that he didn't work again as an actor for 11 months.

Female simian astronaut Mona was played by a male Woolly Monkey named "Barney", who wore fur trunks to conceal that fact.

The scene in which Paul Mantee contacts the Earth vessel that will rescue he and Friday was actually one of the last shots in the production. Mantee states on the DVD commentary that his strong emotions in that scene were based on his knowledge that the production was ending and his personal relationships with the cast and crew would soon be coming to a close.

The aliens are seen dressed in the spacesuits from Destination Moon (1950)

Paul Mantee states on the DVD commentary that Mona actually had a "stunt double"--a stuffed monkey. His own stunt double had the stuffed monkey wired to his back during the rigorous climbing scenes in Death Valley.

While filming in Death Valley, the cast and crew were ordered not to touch any of the plant life due to the fact that they were filming in a national park area and most of the plant life was federally protected.

After this film was released, screenwriter Ib Melchior and Victor Lundin collaborated on a script called "Columbus of the Stars". which they presented to Paramount. It was similar to Star Trek (1966), complete with illustrations similar to the Enterprise. Some time later, "Star Trek" went into production. Lundin does not claim that his ideas were borrowed by Paramount.

Paul Mantee was aware that Victor Lundin originally wanted the starring role, but during the production the two men became close friends who respected each other greatly, and Mantee speaks highly of Lundin's acting abilities.

A sequel titled "Robinson Crusoe in the Invisible Galaxy" was planned but it was scrapped due to the films lackluster box office.

Victor Lundin states on the Criterion disc commentary that his character was originally intended to have non-human physical characteristics, such as hands with just two fingers and a thumb. However, budget concerns caused the producers to abandon this idea. Lundin was disappointed by this, as well as his dislike for the simple costume they chose for him.

Many of the scenes of the Martian surface were filmed at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, California.

Victor Lundin suggested that the film use the Mayan term for a monotheistic deity--Kaho-chapek--during the discussion between Kit and Friday about the meaning of the word "god". The actual Mayan word for "the only god" is Hunab Ku, but since this is the Mayan word for the Christian god concept brought by the Spanish, Lundin's suggestion seems a reasonable variation for an alien version of the term.

To get the black ashes from the exploding meteorite to stick to Victor Lundin's body, the make-up man rubbed honey over Lundin's face, torso, arms and legs. The black ashes were actually polyethylene flakes.

The purple cold-weather clothing that Paul Mantee wears in the cavern scenes were based on the N.C. Wyeth illustrations for the "Robinson Crusoe" novel.

Both Victor Lundin and Paul Mantee passed away in 2013, five months apart--Victor, 83, on June 29 and Paul, 82, on Nov 7.

The rock walls the characters climb along in the Martian caverns were comprised of modular sections which could be rearranged for different scenes to prevent a repetitious look to the face of the cliffs the characters were negotiating.

Victor Lundin states in the DVD commentary that the voice of the astronaut in the Earth vessel that rescues Kit and Friday is provided by director Byron Haskin.

Victor Lundin was very excited about playing an alien because he remembered childhood fantasies in which he traveled to alien worlds.

Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin discussed the occasional dialog that used words from the alien character, Friday's, own language. They decided to improve the script (and the character of Friday) by using words derived from the Mayan language, because of the commonly held belief that Mayans were descendants of alien visitors.

Paul Mantee claims that the scene in the Martian caverns when he hands Mona to Victor Lundin by holding the monkey's tail was shot using the stuffed monkey "stunt double". However, Mantee was clearly mistaken. The monkey can be seen moving before, during and after it is passed from Mantee to Lundin.

The lobby card for this movie has an official-looking statement: "This film is Scientifically Authentic ... It is only one step ahead of present reality!"

The music score is by Nathan Van Cleave, who is also known for his music for Conquest of Space (1955), The Space Children (1958) and The Colossus of New York (1958). The latter two were released together on a double bill in 1958.

Double-billed with Law of the Lawless (1964) in some situations.

Victor Lundin has recently (as of early 1999) written and recorded a "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" song.

The purple cold-weather clothing which Paul Mantee wears in the cavern scenes were based on the N.C. Wyeth illustrations for the Robinson Crusoe novel.

Paul Mantee states on the DVD commentary that Mona actually had a "stunt double" - a stuffed monkey. His own stunt double had the stuffed monkey wired to his back during the rigorous climbing scenes in Death Valley.

Mantee claims that the scene in the Martian caverns when he hands Mona to Victor Lundin by holding the monkey's tale was shot using the stuffed monkey "stunt double". However, Mantee was clearly mistaken. The monkey can be seen moving before, during, and after it is passed from Mantee to Lundin.

Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin discussed the occasional dialog which used words from the alien character, Friday's, own language. They decided to improve the script (and the character of Friday) by using words derived from the Mayan language, because of the commonly held belief that Mayans were descendants of alien visitors.

Victor Lundin played a Klingon on the original Star Trek series.

Paul Mantee and Adam West work together again on Batman, Catwoman goes to College.

Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin were both convinced that the fine work they had done on this ambitious and imaginative film would provide a substantial boast to their careers. However, the lackluster distribution that Paramount studios gave the film, along with the poor box office performance, caused both actors' careers to suffer severe lags for years afterwards.

To get the black ashes from the exploding meteorite to stick to Victor Lundin's body, the make up man rubbed honey over his face, torso, arms, and legs. The black ashes were actually black polyethylene flacks.

Victor Lundin states on the Criterion disc commentary that his character was originally intended to have non-human physical characteristics, such as hands with just two fingers and a thumb. However, budget concerns caused the producers to abandon this idea. Lundin was disappointed by this, as well as his dislike for the simple costume they chose for him.

Victor Lundin was very excited about playing an alien because he remembered childhood fantasies in which he traveled to alien worlds.

Around 0:50:30, Draper declares it's "4 months and 3 days" since his March 17 landing on Mars. That would mean it's July 20, coincidentally the date on which the Viking 1 lander touched down on Mars years later, in 1976.

Director Byron Haskin told interviewer Stuart M. Kaminsky that he thought this was a better film than the 1953 "The War of the Worlds," which he also directed. But he disliked the title "Robinson Crusoe on Mars," which was the distributor's idea, and felt the silly title led to the film's box-office failure.

At the top of Draper's tally of days on Mars, around 0:38:42, is the evident beginning date: 3/17 [March 17].

The films music composer, Van Cleave, was well known in science fiction circles. In addition to films he composed background scores for 12 Twilight Zones.

Although the Martian spacecraft resemble the models used in the original War of the Worlds, they are in fact special effects paintings that utilized animated traveling-matte processing to appear and disappear.

Some of the props, posters, and scripts from "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" that actor Paul Mantee collected over the years, were destroyed by a fire that burnt down his home.