Escape from the Planet of the Apes
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.
- Director: Don Taylor
- Genre:Action / Drama / Sci-Fi
- Runtime:98 minutes
Cast
Roddy McDowall : Cornelius
Kim Hunter : Zira
Bradford Dillman: Dr. Lewis Dixon
Natalie Trundy : Dr. Stephanie Branton
Eric Braeden : Dr. Otto Hasslein
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The preceding film, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, ends with a nuclear weapon’s destruction of all life on the apes’ future Earth.
Escape from the Planet of the Apes begins by establishing that three apes (Cornelius, Zira, and Dr. Milo, played respectively by Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, and Sal Mineo) escaped the Earth’s destruction. They have managed this by salvaging and repairing the astronaut Taylor’s spaceship (which sank in the first movie) and piloting it through the shock wave of Earth’s destruction, sending the ship through a time warp back to 1973.
The apes arrive on Earth, splashing down on the Pacific coast. They are transported to a secluded area of the Los Angeles Zoo, under the observation of two scientists, Stephanie (Natalie Trundy) and Lewis (Bradford Dillman). The apes’ power of speech is revealed when Zira’s impatience gets the better of her during an experiment. Soon after this, Milo is killed by a gorilla who was agitated by an argument between the three chimpanzees. (Kim Hunter later said that Sal Mineo was happy to be killed off so early in the film because he hated the makeup process and was glad to be done with it.)
Meanwhile, a Presidential Commission has been formed to investigate the return of Taylor’s spaceship and how the apes, which they already are aware are atypically intelligent, came to be aboard it. The apes are brought before the Presidential Commission, where they publicly reveal their ability to speak, and are welcomed as guests.
The apes become celebrities, being lavished with presents and media attention. They come to the attention of a scientist, futuristic consultant Dr. Otto Hasslein (Eric Braeden), who discovers Zira is pregnant and fears for the future of the human race. Determined to force the issue, he gets her drunk on wine (which he assures her is harmless, calling it “grape juice plus”). The resulting interrogation enables him to convince the Commission that Cornelius and Zira must be subjected to more rigorous questioning. Read more
