Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a U.S. spacecraft. They become the toast of society, but one man believes them to be a threat to the human race.

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

Paul Dehn, Pierre Boulle (based upon characters created by)

Stars:

Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roddy McDowall	...	Cornelius
Kim Hunter	...	Zira
Bradford Dillman	...	Dr. Lewis Dixon
Natalie Trundy	...	Dr. Stephanie Branton
Eric Braeden	...	Dr. Otto Hasslein
William Windom	...	The President
Sal Mineo	...	Milo
Albert Salmi	...	E-1
Jason Evers	...	E-2
John Randolph	...	Chairman
Harry Lauter	...	General Winthrop
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Aide
Roy Glenn	...	Lawyer (as Roy E. Glenn Sr.)
Peter Forster	...	Cardinal
Norman Burton	...	Army Officer

Storyline

Following the events in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", Cornelius and Zira flee back through time to 20th Century Los Angeles, where they face fear and persecution similar to what Taylor and Brent suffered in the future, and discover the origins of the stream of events that will shape their world.

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Plot Keywords:

ape | future | fear | spaceship | spacecraft | 

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Taglines:

Are you ready to meet the new family that will be coming to your town?

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1971 (UK)

Also Known As:

Secret of the Planet of the Apes

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$12,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, APJAC Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed November 30, 1970-January 20, 1971; all of the sequels were shot during the winter.

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Goofs

The capsule that the Apes exit at the beginning of the film does not have enough mass, ie. length, that conforms to the interior of the ship that was established in the 1st film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Helicopter pilot: Red Baron Control. Red Baron Five. Orbiting southeast corner of sector Alpha Charlie. We've spotted what appears to be a spacecraft just outside the surf line. Alert rescue. Advise we can remain on station for 45 minutes and we'll squawk 7700 for a radar fix.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Followed by Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

User Reviews

Good sequel with a heart (yet people still don't get it)

MORD39 RATING: *** out of ****

This third APES film ingeniously manages to keep the franchise alive and produces what is arguably the second best film of the five originals.

After the ultimate ending in BENEATH, who could have believed a new story was possible? Here the tables are turned from the original film with a remarkable twist: now three of our chimpanzee characters take off in Charlton Heston's spaceship and wind up going BACK in time, to "present Day" Earth (1973 A.D.) Once it is learned that Zira (Kim Hunter in her best performance in the series) is pregnant with the child that could possibly turn our future into the PLANET OF THE APES, she and her husband Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) go from becoming honored celebrities to dangerous threats to humanity!

It's a brilliant idea, and now it is possible to start the series anew (chronologically, this movie comes first) and see whether or not Taylor's nightmare from the first film can be prevented or will rear its ugly head for mankind.

A little defending is in order here. Many people get hung up on the story's notion that the chimpanzees can actually manage to fix Taylor's ship from the first film and actually launch it. Well, I say that if you can suspend disbelief long enough to accept the idea of a society of talking apes, why can't you accept that one of them (Dr. Milo) is a super-intelligent ape, sort of the "Albert Einstein" or "Thomas Edison" of his time? Besides, when folks get stuck on a point like that it becomes impossible for them to have a good time with a film. As Cornelius said in the movie: "Dr. Milo was a genius well in advance of his time." He was able to fly the ship. Case Closed.

Next case: the "TV Movie" look of the film. SO WHAT? People have become so accustomed to garbage like 1999's THE MUMMY that unless all films are over-swamped with spectacular sets and numbing effects, they can't enjoy them. Well, ESCAPE needs none of these to tell its simple story. It's got something that sci-fi stories today have lost..."heart".