Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission searches for the only survivor of the previous expedition. He discovers a planet ruled by apes and an underground city run by telekinetic humans.

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

Paul Dehn (story), Mort Abrahams (story),

Stars:

James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Franciscus	...	Brent
Kim Hunter	...	Zira
Maurice Evans	...	Dr. Zaius
Linda Harrison	...	Nova
Paul Richards	...	Mendez
Victor Buono	...	Fat Man
James Gregory	...	Ursus
Jeff Corey	...	Caspay
Natalie Trundy	...	Albina
Thomas Gomez	...	Minister
David Watson	...	Cornelius
Don Pedro Colley	...	Ongaro
Tod Andrews	...	Skipper
Gregory Sierra	...	Verger
Eldon Burke	...	Gorilla Sgt.

Storyline

Astronaut Brent is sent to rescue Taylor but crash lands on the Planet of the Apes, just like Taylor did in the original film. Taylor has disappeared into the Forbidden Zone so Brent and Nova try to follow and find him. He discovers a cult of humans that fear the Apes' latest military movements and finds himself in the middle. Tension mounts to a climactic battle between ape and man deep in the bowels of the planet. Sequel to "Planet of the Apes." Film 2 of the series of 5

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Plot Keywords:

ape | astronaut | planet of the apes | survivor | mutant | 

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Taglines:

An army of civilized apes...A fortress of radiation-crazed super humans...Earth's final battle is about to begin - Beneath the atomic rubble of what was once the city of New York!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Planet of the Apes Revisited

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, APJAC Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An early draft of the script, called "Planet of the Men", and written by Pierre Boulle in his native French, featured a messianic Taylor 14 years after the events of Planet of the Apes. It involved an uprising against the apes, following which they revert back to their primal states.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film where Brent meets Nova for the first time, taped position markings can be seen clearly behind the actors.

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Quotes

Ursus: The only thing that counts in the end is power! Naked merciless force!

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox logo does not appear on this film.

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Connections

Featured in Nightmare Theatre's Late Night Chill-o-Rama Horror Show Vol. 1 (1996)

User Reviews

It moves well.

The film keeps the viewer's attention, but in terms of the story and whole "Planet of the Apes" zeitgeist, I'm curious why they ended the series here, and why they ended it like they did.

Technically there're no missteps. Everything is in order. This is classic film making before the big shift in human psychology film came about in the 70s. Here we witness a kind of sociological study, and in the end things kind of go from bad to worse.

It's one of the better Ape films. Well shot, a good story and good plot, with fairly multidimensional characters (if somewhat static). If you're a classic sci-fi fan, then you've probably already seen this. Younger viewers, give it a shot, even if some of the SFX don't pass CGI muster.

Enjoy.