Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Paul Dehn (written by)
Pierre Boulle (characters)

Release Date:

30 June 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

All new! The revolt of the apes. The most awesome spectacle in the annals of science fiction!

Plot:

In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.

Plot Keywords:

Ape | Future | Intelligence | Rebellion | Slavery

Cast

Roddy McDowall	...	Caesar
Don Murray	...	Breck
Natalie Trundy	...	Lisa
Hari Rhodes	...	MacDonald
Severn Darden	...	Kolp
Lou Wagner	...	Busboy
John Randolph	...	Commission Chairman
Asa Maynor	...	Mrs. Riley
H.M. Wynant	...	Hoskyns
David Chow	...	Aldo
Buck Kartalian	...	Frank - Gorilla
John Dennis	...	Policeman
Paul Comi	...	2nd Policeman
Gordon Jump	...	Auctioneer
Dick Spangler	...	Announcer
Joyce Haber	...	Zelda
Hector Soucy	...	Ape With Chain
Ricardo Montalban	...	Armando
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Bacon	...	Ape (uncredited)
Rayford Barnes	...	Riot Control Commander in Plaza (uncredited)
William Bryant	...	Man at Auction (uncredited)
Sam Chew Jr.	...	Controller (uncredited)
Erin Fleming	...	Cafe Customer (uncredited)
Daniel Keough	...	Jailguard (uncredited)
Ron Pinkard	...	Controller (uncredited)

Directed by
J. Lee Thompson

Writing credits
Paul Dehn		(written by)
Pierre Boulle		(characters)

Produced by
Frank Capra Jr.	....	associate producer
Arthur P. Jacobs	....	producer

Original Music by
Tom Scott

Cinematography by
Bruce Surtees		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Marjorie Fowler
Alan Jaggs		(as Allan Jaggs)

Production Design by
Philip M. Jefferies		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Philip M. Jefferies		(as Philip Jefferies)

Set Decoration by
Norman Rockett

Makeup Department
Jack Barron	....	makeup artist
John Chambers	....	creative makeup designer
Joe DiBella	....	makeup artist
Carol Pershing	....	hair stylist
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup supervisor (as Dan Striepeke)
Verne Langdon	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Jan Van Uchelen	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
William Eckhardt	....	unit production manager (as William G. Eckhardt)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David 'Buck' Hall	....	assistant director (as David 'Buck' Hall)
Jack Stubbs	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Terry Ballard	....	prop master (uncredited)
Thomas Gark	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Don J. Bassman	....	sound (as Don Bassman)
Herman Lewis	....	sound
Orrick Barrett	....	boom man (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Johnny Borgese	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Craig R. Baxley	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Brubaker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard E. Butler	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hank Calia	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Caruso	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roydon Clark	....	stunts (uncredited)
Erik Cord	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Couch	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paula Crist	....	stunts (uncredited)
Nick Dimitri	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bennie E. Dobbins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Russ Dodson	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Larry Duran	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Durock	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alan Gibbs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ted Grossman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Orwin C. Harvey	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Hice	....	stunts (uncredited)
Larry Holt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hubie Kerns Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hubie Kerns	....	stunts (uncredited)
Henry Kingi	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Denver Mattson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Troy Melton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Regina Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Regis Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Victor Paul	....	stunts (uncredited)
Allen Pinson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Wally Rose	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alex Sharp	....	stunts (uncredited)
David Sharpe	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Ron Veto	....	stunts (uncredited)
Rock A. Walker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard Washington	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Waters	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred M. Waugh	....	stunts (uncredited)
George P. Wilbur	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Barth	....	camera assistant (uncredited)
Bud Gray	....	stillman (uncredited)
Charles Holmes	....	electrical gaffer (uncredited)
Jack Richter	....	key grip (uncredited)
Charles W. Short	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Wesley Trist	....	wardrobe man (uncredited)
Barbara Westerland	....	wardrobe woman (uncredited)

Other crew
Jack Hirshberg	....	unit publicist
Don Record	....	title designer
Duane Toler	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Bill Venegas	....	location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)
• APJAC Productions (produced by) (as APJAC Productions,Inc.)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (released by) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.)
• Playhouse Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Centfox (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1972) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2001) (Japan) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1974) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• FS Film Oy (2001) (2007) (Finland) (DVD) (both 6-disc editions)
• Nelonen (1997) (1999) (Finland) (TV)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (Canada) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1991) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.®)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Brazil:12 | UK:15 (tv rating) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2003) (2009) | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:AA (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1972) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2001) | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In the film (set in 1991), the apes were enslaved after a new plague wiped out all of the Earth's cats and dogs a decade earlier before the events portrayed. In 1978, six years after the film's release, there was a worldwide pandemic of canine papillomavirus (a disease not known until then) that killed several thousands of dogs.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the almost 20 years since Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans have evolved to a perfectly humanistic form, a feat that would take thousands of years, not just one generation.

Quotes:

Lisa:N-No...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: Episode #22.9" (1999)

Dramatic and intense followup in which simians undergo a rebellion at a climatic final

4th movie in the series initiated by ¨Planet of Apes¨ that at time of its release regarded as the most extraordinary Scifi in years, in which he simians turn the tables when they carry out a riot in this acceptable but lackluster sequel in which humans battle the apes led by Caesar . Again the Apes along with a modern civilization of human beings living in future , a distant year 1990 and occurs twenty years after the deaths of Cornelius and Zira, the chimpanzees couple who fled the future destruction of Earth by traveling a spacecraft . Passable and stirring science-fiction movie with a first rate Roddy McDowall who plays here the son of the character he first created and special intervention of Ricardo Montalban as kindly circus owner who's hidden him from the humans for long time . This known story is the fourth of the primates sequels, saga that had begun little years before ; it starts on a culture where humans rule over simians and they are divided in three lineage : gorilla , chimpanzee and orangutan . A plague has murdered cats and dogs and people adopted apes as pets , began using them as workers, waiters and hard employments . Militaristic governor (Don Murray) wishes apes to be treated as animal of burden and regarded as scum , slaves and torturing them into submission. The chimpanzee leader named Caesar( Roddy McDowall) meets Lisa (Natalie Trundy replacing the usual Kim Hunter) and falls in love with her . Caesar itching a coup de état but at the ending he thinks otherwise and even agree a peaceful existence with humans . Caesar is son of Cornelius and Zira from ¨Escape from the planet of apes¨ and turns into leader in this ¨Conquest of the Planet of the apes¨ , attempting to ease disputes between apes and men . Meantime , mean gorillas murder violently every human in sight . At the ending happens a spectacular , fierce confrontation between a human army ruled by governor and the simians commanded by Caesar .

This is an average , lackluster sci-fi flick plenty of metaphysical significance with thoughtful reflexion about origin of human being , racism , political pursuit, apartheid, though also packs action, intrigue and entertainment . Although several elements of the screenplay strain credibility to the limit the story turns out to be pretty interesting and amusing . It happens a parallelism between US racial tension ( Kent State slaughter, revolts in York ,Pennsylvania, 1969, and Camden, New Jersey , 1971) and the events described on the flick . Roddy McDowall's distinctive features prove to be recognisable even under John Chambers' wonderful ape make-up . The performers , particularly Roddy McDowall who provides the sturdy central pivot the tale surely needs , Natalie Trundy and Don Murray are pretty good , the characters are well drawn and in spite of makeup they are still oddly convincing . In spite of time and being mostly a regular follow-up of the former stories , some moments of energy remain and results to be a B movie full of action, battles and suspense . Writing credits by habitual Paul Dehn based on the characters from Pierre Boulle novel , however his screenplay is not just clever and was cut , eliminating some violent revolt scenes and obligated to pacific ending . Nice production design with interior sets taken from ¨Voyage to the bottom of the sea¨ and ¨Time tunnel ¨ produced by Irwin Allen and with great visual effects . One of the important attributes of this work, is the magnificent and luminous cinematography by Bruce Surtees who previously did such a good job for Clint Eastwood . Phenomenal creative make-up design by John Chambers, a first-rate expert . Fine musical score though imitating sounds from the great Jerry Goldsmith .The picture is lack budgeted by usual Arthur P. Jacobs , producer of whole saga, along with 2oth Century Fox . It's full of fury and sound , being professionally directed by J. Lee Thompson during four weeks in Los Angeles , at University and a lavish commercial development , using sometimes a nice visual sense. It's followed by ¨Battle for the planet of Apes¨ and a short-lived TV series, in with Roddy McDowall is again on hand as simian to sustain our interest and feeling .