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

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:

...in a democracy we do not shoot unarmed suspects on sight for a murder in which their participation is still legally unproven

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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

The opening scene was filmed on the same beach location where Taylor had discovered the Statue on the first movie.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, when the "astronauts" emerge from the capsule in full spacesuits and helmets, they are walking fully erect, unlike the hunched over gait of the apes in previous films.

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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

Featured in Behind the Planet of the Apes (1998)

User Reviews

You Hear the one about the Chimps as Astronauts?

The 3rd film in the Apes series (after "Beneath..."), this one is easily the most whimsical, at least in the first half. The writers had to stretch believability in getting the two primary apes of the 1st 2 films into our present times from the future, when Earth is destroyed by a doomsday bomb, but the first few scenes are almost classic farce disguised as science fiction storytelling. We view our central characters first as 'ape-onauts' and then stuck in a zoo, followed by a brief turn at celebrity when our populace becomes enamored of the two as the latest fad. The best and most clever thing about this sequel is that it utilizes the already well-known captivating characteristics of the chimps, delightfully performed again by McDowall and Hunter. They're kind of like old friends by this time and seeing them get acquainted with our modern-day culture is just good times. It's also a neat reversal on the ape society of the first two films, which was visited by aberrant intelligent humans.

Things turn grim in the 2nd half, as the fad wears off and our leadership begins to take the threat of possible future ape domination rather seriously. The most interesting character becomes the chief human scientist, played by Braeden, who starts out typically dispassionate but soon reveals an intense personal desire to preserve the human race and society, to the point of fanaticism. In his coldly intelligent eyes, only he sees the truly apocalyptic threat presented by the chimps' pregnancy. He's the nominal villain, but he sees himself as the only one who gives a damn. Some of the sf plot lines regarding time travel are very clever, while others are a bit clumsy. It's clever that the two evolved time-traveling chimps may now be the cause of the future time-line ruled by an ape society. But they reveal to have a knowledge of their history that did not exist in the previous two films. Also, rather than letting events evolve over a century or more following what happens here, the next film accelerates everything to change the world in the next 20 years - see "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes."