Swiss Family Robinson is a 1940 American film released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by Edward Ludwig.

[5][6] Frank Nugent of The New York Times wrote: Variety called it "a good adventure yarn" but suggested that the tropical storm sequences went on too long, and that Edna Best's hairdo seemed "always too perfect" for a believable castaway.

"[10] John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote a mixed review, criticizing the change of the character of the mother from resourceful in the book to "fretful" and "discontented" in the film, a mood that "pervades the story and saps the vigor of the adventure element."

However, Mosher thought that "Some pleasant domestic animals and a pet or two add variety", and he found the tropical storm "satisfactory.

[1] Leonard Maltin calls the 93-minute version an "Excellent adaptation of [the] Johann Wyss book", and writes that it "boasts impressive special effects, strong performances, and much darker elements than the Disney film Swiss Family Robinson".

According to a July 1959 Los Angeles Times article, director Ken Annakin used the RKO adaptation as "an example of what not to do", that is, avoiding the 1940 film's soundstage reproductions and focusing instead on location shooting and realistic art direction.

Although the RKO version has not been released theatrically for decades, and no home formats from Disney were previously made commercially available, the film's 92-minute version was briefly made available on DVD in 2010 from Turner Classic Movies, on their own "Vault Collection" DVD label, a library of "rare and forgotten" films, produced "in only small quantities and available for a limited time.