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Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

From The Sacred Scrolls

Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Director Don Taylor
Production Company 20th Century Fox and APJAC Productions
Writers Paul Dehn
Released May 21st, 1971
MPAA Rating G
Runtime 97 min.
Continuity Movies


Primary Cast:

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

'Escape from the Planets of Apes' is the second sequel to the original Planet of the Apes and its premise is to reverse the plot of of that movie. Cornelius and Zira, the simian ape couple from the first two ape films, flee from their doomed planet (after the events in Beneath the Planet of the Apes) in the same spaceship used by Taylor in the first film, and travel back through the same space/time porthole and land on late 20th Century Earth where they are received with fascination and fear from the people they meet.

It can be described as thus: Apes crash to Earth! Apes are Persecuted! Apes have a baby! Apes must Escape the Planet of the Apes! Tragic ending!

As has become expected by this time, the film makes good use of social commentary - the obvious is all there: ape rights, equality for all. But it gets into the battle of the sexes, duplicitous scientists, abortion, forced sterilization and the question just about every sci fi movie about time travel struggles with - do humans have the right to alter their future? It even asks the classic question - if you could, would you go back in time and kill Adolf Hitler?

'Escape from the Planet of the Apes' answers how the Earth got to the state it was in the first two ape movies. Cornelius described how a plague killed all the dogs and cats which lead to the enslavement of all the apes as pets who eventually revolted against man.

Overall, 'Escape from the Planet of the Apes' is not as thrilling as the first two movies, suffering from third-movie-itus however it has it's moments, a few good jokes and a nice small twist ending and is a fun Sunday afternoon DVD.

[edit] Cast And Crew

Supporting Cast:

Cornelius and Zira arrive

Locations:

Filming Locations:

  • Los Angeles Harbor, San Pedro, California
  • Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California
  • South of San Clemente, California, USA

Items:

Production Crew

Dr Hasslein hunts down the evolved apes
  • Assistant Director ... Joseph 'Pepi' Lenzi, Joseph E. Rickards
  • Director of Photography ... Joseph Biroc
  • Editor ... Marion Rothman
  • Music ... Jerry Goldsmith
  • Orchestrations ... Arthur Morton
  • Sound ... Dean Vernon, Theodore Soderberg
  • Make Up ... Dan Striepeke, Jack Barron
  • Hair ... Mary Babcock
  • Creative Makeup Design ... John Chambers
  • Special Photographic Effects ... L.B. Abbott, Howard A. Anderson Co.
  • Art Directors ... Jack Martin Smith, William Creber
  • Set Decorators ... Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss
  • Art Illustrator ... Bill Sully

[edit] Notes

  • The movie was novelized by Jerry Pournelle. The book is notable for having added names and background details on many of the minor characters who featured on-screen or in the shooting script, or even adding new characters to the story.

[edit] Inconsistencies

[edit] Behind the Scenes

The working title in the early stages of production was 'The Secret of the Planet of the Apes'.

Besides Arthur P. Jacobs, Roddy McDowall, and Kim Hunter, the other major veterans of the first films still on hand for the third film were art director William Creber and make-up genius John Chambers. Creber's job was simpler for this film; for in the first, he had to dream up an entire ape city, in the second he had to create a mutated New York city underground. For Escape he merely had to cope with present day Los Angeles. Make-up man Chambers' job was easier too as he had only three simians to deal with. John, who again teamed up with Dan Striepeke, Fox's chief make-up man, had won an oscar for his original ape make-up. One of only two Oscars ever given to make-up men in the Acadamy's 43-year history.


There has been much fan speculation over the years about the 'missing scene' from the opening of Escape - a scene outlined in the script in which the Ape-onauts witness the destruction of their planet and begin to travel through time. On the basis of the evidence it seems likely this scene was in fact filmed, but cut from the final edit. The evidence being that an elaborate ship interior was constructed specifically for this scene (it wasn't used again in the movie, but the the interiors were reused for the opening episode of the TV series a few years later, with alterations because the filming was taking place from the front of the ship rather than from the interior). A few photos also seem to show the apes being filmed in the cockpit, but they have their helmets on. Information given on the Blu-Ray release (2008) suggested that the scene was shot but that the producers prefered to hold the element of surprise until the apes removed their helmets on the beach. If this scene (and others: see entries for General Brody, Hercules & Brunhilde) was filmed, there is good reason to suppose it may be released eventually, given the recent extended releases of Battle for the Planet of the Apes and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. The Marvel Comics' adaptation of Escape was based on scripts rather than the finished film, and so included the scene. In fact, it inspired one of the best cover illustrations of the Marvel series (by Ken Barr). In the final screenplay (reprinted in the comic adaptation), the dialogue ran:

Astronaut 1 (Cornelius): "We made it."

Astronaut 2 (Milo): "So far. But one thing is for certain. Whoever wins the war, there'll be no place on Earth for us."

Astronaut 3 (Zira): "Where are we going?"

Astronaut 2: "Probably to our death. But just possibly -- The fools... they've finally destroyed themselves."

Astronaut 1: "My God, the Earth is no more."

Astronaut 3: "And we've escaped."

Astronaut 2: "We have, if we survive the shock wave."


A scene in the first draft screenplay (as The Secret of the Planet of the Apes) hinted at the accelerated evolution of the primitive apes already occuring before the appearance of the ape-onauts. This was presumably intended to tie-in to the history outlined by Cornelius and prepare the way for the advanced ape society to develop in further sequels. Why, therefore, it was dropped from the final screenplay is not clear. In the scene, Armando shows Lewis and Stevie around his circus. Inside the big-top, he has three cages (there were only two in the movie):

Armando: (showing first cage) "Here we have put the bad-tempered and troublesome Nero. He gets headaches and, like his namesake... ideas. His brain is growing faster than his cranium."

Stevie: "It's endemic among young chimps--"

Lewis: "--and incurable."

Armando: (sadly) "I know. He will have to leave."

Nero slaps his aching head and pounds the floor of the cage.

Armando: (showing second cage) "Here we have bundled the rest of the troupe, including Heloise, Abelard and -- Salome, your god-daughter."

(When the police later arrive to look for Zira and Cornelius, the script notes that Nero is also no longer in his cage.) [1]


One further change, though perhaps a minor one, between the initial script and the final screenplay, dealt with the deaths of Zira and Cornelius. The original sequence of events had Hasslein shoot the baby chimp dead, followed by Cornelius shooting Hasslein, then throwing the gun into the sea, grief-striken over the death of 'his' baby and also over having killed two humans. As the police bloodhounds reach the ship, Zira tries to run down the gangplank to escape but is savagely mauled by the dogs. The police shoot her 'to put her out of her misery'. Cornelius, now suicidal, pretends to still be armed and walks toward the police with a hand in his pocket. He is shot first by E-1, then, fatally, by police.


Jacobs was aware of disappointing returns from Escape when interviewed in December 1971: "I've tried to analyze why ['Escape' did not do as well as 'Beneath'], and I think there are three reasons. First, there were some who were disappointed in the second picture. Secondly, it's really not so much science fiction as the others were, and I think that was a letdown for some kids, even though it received better reviews and was I think a better film. It was an intimate picture, not a spectacle. Third, I think Fox took the attitude it was pre-sold, and therefore not spending too much money in selling it. However, it will gross about $10 million from its budget of less than $2 million. The fourth picture has great size and big spectacle, more than any of the others." [2]

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Quotes

Cornelius: Please do not use the word "monkey"! It is offensive to us. As an archaeologist, I had access to history scrolls which were kept secret from the masses, and I suspect that the weapon which destroyed Earth was man's own invention. I do know this: one of the reasons for man's original downfall was your peculiar habit of murdering one another! Man destroys man. Apes do not destroy apes!

Milo: We have returned to Earth nearly 2,000 years before it's destruction. And there's another reason for us to keep silent: our human captors will not be edified to learn that one day their world will crack like an egg and burn to a cinder because of an ape war of aggression. Apes, at this instance in time, cannot yet talk. For the moment, we should follow their example.

Zira: Of course the female knows! We came from your future.

[edit] Related Articles

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ 'The Secret of the Planet of the Apes' at Hunter's Planet of the Apes Scripts Archive
  2. ↑ 'Cinefantastique Planet of the Apes Issue' (1972) at Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive
Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes Beneath the Planet of the Apes Escape from the Planet of the Apes Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Battle for the Planet of the Apes


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