page_title: Planet of the Apes
section_title: Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
hierarchical_section_title: Planet of the Apes / Original film series / Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
caption_attribution_description: Roddy McDowall at the Academy Awards (cropped)
context_page_description: Planet of the Apes is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on French author Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel La Planète des singes, translated into English as Planet of the Apes or Monkey Planet. Its 1968 film adaptation, Planet of the Apes, was a critical and commercial hit, initiating a series of sequels, tie-ins, and derivative works. Arthur P. Jacobs produced the first five Apes films through APJAC Productions for distributor 20th Century Fox; since his death in 1973, Fox has controlled the franchise.
  Four sequels followed the original film from 1970 to 1973: Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. They did not approach the critical acclaim of the original, but were commercially successful, spawning two television series in 1974 and 1975. Plans for a film remake stalled in "development hell" for over ten years before Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes was released in 2001.
context_section_description: Following the financial success of Beneath, Arthur P. Jacobs recruited Paul Dehn to write a new script with a brief telegram: "Apes exist, sequel required." Dehn immediately started work on what became Escape from the Planet of the Apes. The producers hired a new director, Don Taylor. Fox gave the production a greatly diminished budget of $2.5 million, which required a tight production schedule.
  To work around the budget, as well as Beneath's seemingly definitive ending, the film took the series in a new direction by transporting Zira (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (Roddy McDowall, returning to the role after being absent from Beneath) back in time to the contemporary United States, reducing the need for expensive sets and ape make-up effects. In the film, Zira and Cornelius are initially accepted by American society, but fears that their child will bring about the domination of the human race by evolved apes leads to conflict. Jacobs' wife, Natalie Trundy, who appeared as a mutant in Beneath and would play the ape Lisa in the next two sequels, was cast as Dr. Stephanie Branton. Bradford Dillman played Dr. Lewis Dixon, Ricardo Montalbán played Armando and Eric Braeden portrayed the villain, the president's science advisor Otto Hasslein.
  Compared to its predecessors, Escape dwelt more heavily on themes of racial conflict, which became a primary focus through the rest of the series. The film opened on May 21, 1971, less than a year after Beneath. It was well received by critics. From this point critics began seeing the films less as independent units and more as installments in a greater work; Cinefantastique editor Frederick S. Clarke wrote that the burgeoning series had "the promise of being the first epic of filmed science fiction." It also performed well at the box office, though not as strongly as its predecessors. Fox ordered a third sequel.
caption: Roddy McDowall returned as Cornelius in Escape from the Planet of the Apes. He would go on to star in two more Apes films and the live-action television series.
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