DON TAYLOR
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB.5.
USA, 1971. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, APJAC Productions. Screenplay by Paul Dehn, based on the characters created by Pierre Boulle. Cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc. Produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Production Design by William J. Creber, Jack Martin Smith. Film Editing by Marion Rothman.
High-level entry in the film series, much better than the previous Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, and almost as fun as the original. In this exciting adventure, Cornelius (Roddy McDowall), Zira (Kim Hunter) and Dr. Milo (Sal Mineo) escape their world in a rocket ship to avoid a war, mysteriously landing on Earth in the present day. The authorities retrieve them from their vessel and immediately take them in for examination, fascinated by their ability to speak and reason and turning them into national celebrities for the world to admire. Fear enters the scene, however, when the President’s Science Advisor (Eric Braeden, later to be known as Victor Newman on The Young And The Restless) warns the government that the doom that is to befall mankind in the future (which the apes have told him about) can be avoided if they are killed before they can produce any offspring. Now, our heroes must go undercover and escape before they are assassinated, and can do so with the help of some kindly scientists and their reliance on their own wits. Definitely one of the best sequels, though the following entries Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes are still pretty fun too.
