Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

Paul Dehn (written by)
Pierre Boulle (characters creator)

Release Date:

21 May 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Meet baby Milo who has Washington terrified.

Plot:

The world is shocked by the appearance of two 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.

Plot Keywords:

Ape | Future | Spacecraft | Chimpanzee | Planet Of The Apes

Cast

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
William Woodson	...	Naval Officer
Tom Lowell	...	Orderly
Gene Whittington	...	Marine Captain
Donald Elson	...	Curator
Bill Bonds	...	TV Newscaster
Army Archerd	...	Referee
James Bacon	...	General Faulkner
Ricardo Montalban	...	Armando
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Bradley	...	(unconfirmed)
John Alderman	...	Marine Corporal (uncredited)
Walker Edmiston	...	Talking Baby Chimp (voice) (uncredited)
James W. Gavin	...	Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	Bodyguard (uncredited)
Robert Gunner	...	Landon (archive footage) (uncredited)
Robert Nichols	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Janos Prohaska	...	Heloise (uncredited)
Stephen Roberts	...	General Brody (uncredited)
James Sikking	...	Control Room Officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Taylor

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

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

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Marion Rothman

Art Direction by
William J. Creber		(as William Creber)
Jack Martin Smith

Set Decoration by
Stuart A. Reiss
Walter M. Scott

Makeup Department
Mary Babcock	....	hair stylist
Jack Barron	....	makeup artist
John Chambers	....	creative makeup design
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup supervisor (as Dan Striepeke)
Verne Langdon	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Jan Van Uchelen	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Francisco Day	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pepi Lenzi	....	assistant director

Art Department
Bill Sully	....	art illustrator

Sound Department
Theodore Soderberg	....	sound
Dean Vernon	....	sound
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)
Howard A. Anderson	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
James W. Gavin	....	aerial stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator
Bob Bain	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Jack Hirshberg	....	unit publicist
Roy Kabat	....	animals furnished by

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 (1971) (USA) (theatrical) (released by) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.)
• 20th Century Fox (1971) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2001) (Japan) (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 (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Playhouse Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Howard A. Anderson Company (special photographic effects)

Also Known As:

Secret of the Planet of the Apes (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Brazil:Livre | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12 (original rating) | Norway:12 (1972) | Sweden:11 | UK:PG (video rating: 1987) | UK:U (original rating) | USA:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The third of five Planet of the Apes movies starring Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: It would seem highly unlikely that three apes with no knowledge of flying machines could repair a derelict spaceship to perfect joyriding condition. However, that is exactly what happened, so in the movie's world, the feat was "possible." Novelizations, promotional materials and fan speculations have offered many compelling theories regarding this accomplishment. A missing scene or script page may yet surface to explain this plot point. Though it seems like a goof to the casual viewer, it isn't.

Quotes:

Dr. Zira: Because I loathe bananas!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Big Bang Theory: The Pancake Batter Anomaly (#1.11)" (2008)

Sure this is worth watching......

You have Ricardo Montalbon, you have Soap star Eric 'mustache' Breaden, and you have Sal 'Rebel without a Cause' Mineo. How can you go wrong? You have guys in Chimp suits. You have Roddy. You have Kim Hunter from the first flick. It's great.

My chief memory/image of the flick is seeing them, the trio of apes, being given the Star treatment, getting outta a limousine in front of a crowded city street, etc. That is very much a part of the flick. It was made in '71, and yeah it really, really looks it-but ya gotta like it. William Windom as da Prez is pretty cool too, def. a knockoff of hostile Nixon in places I would say.

This sets up the next two fine, though its both better than them and better than #2 in the run also. I think you can do worse than to sit through this.......

**1/2 outta ****