Escape from the Planet of the Apes - A New Dawn (1971)

0:03 Calarogu Shark Media. Welcome back to TV in the Basement, your sanctuary for all things Simian Cinema. I'm your host, Journey Joe Mitchell, and today we're talking about Escape from the Planet of the Apes, the third and most unique entry in the original Apes series. How do you continue a series after the world has been blown up? How do you make a compelling movie without your biggest star? These were the questions facing the filmmakers after the cataclysmic ending of Beneath the Planet of the Apes. The solution they came up with was pretty and genius, a time travel plot that allows the story to continue while also serving as a prequel to the original film. By having Zira and Cornelius escape to the past, the movie can explore how the Apes came to dominate the Earth while still featuring the beloved characters from the first movie. It's a clever way to keep the franchise going without Charlton Heston, and that brings us to the importance of Roddy McDowell returning as Cornelius. McDowell had been absent from Beneath the Planet of the Apes due to a scheduling conflict and his presence was sorely missed. He brought such warmth, intelligence, and subtle humor to the role that made Cornelius one of the most memorable and sympathetic characters in the series.

1:21 In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, McDowell gets to take center stage and really shine. He plays Cornelius as a brilliant but naive outsider struggling to understand the strange world of twentieth century Earth. There's a wonderful playfulness to his performance, whether he's gleefully riding a tricycle or baffled by the concept of money. But he also brings great depth and pathos to the role, especially in the tragic final act. The movie simply wouldn't work as well without McDowell's heartfelt performance. He and Kim Hunter have such lovely chemistry as Zira and Cornelius, playing them as a devoted couple trying to make a life for themselves and their child in any hostile world. Their relationship forms the emotional core of the movie, and their ultimate fate packs a real punch. It's a testament to McDowell's talent that he was able to step back into the role so effortlessly after missing a film. He would go on to appear in every subsequent Apes movie.

2:19 The success of Escape from the Planet of the Apes also opened up new storytelling possibilities for the series. By depicting how the Apes first rose to power, it set the stage for further prequels exploring that backstory. The next film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, would depict the birth of the Ape Revolution in a dark, violent and provocative way, and the final film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, would bring the saga full circle. Escape from the Planet of the Apes is a real odd ball, completely shifting genres and tones from the previous films. It's less a sci fi adventure and more a satirical fish out of water comedy with some tragic elements. After the the uber downer ending of Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the filmmakers had written themselves into a corner. The Solution a prequel sequel hybrid that brings our lovable chimp scientists Zerra and Cornelius to then present day nineteen seventy three.

3:14 The movie opens with a spaceship splashing down off the California coast, revealed to contain Zerra, Cornelius, and their colleague, doctor Milo, turns out before Taylor detonated the Earth in the last film, they salvaged and repaired Taylor's spaceship, launching themselves through the same time warp and arriving in the past. After initial military suspicion and a hilarious sequence where the chimps try to pass as mute primitives, Zerra and Cornelius become beloved celebrities, adored by the public and the scientific community. But their newfound fame is threatened when Zera let slip that she dissected and lobotomized humans in the future. The US President played by William Windham grows paranoid that the chimp's offspring will spawn a future ape rebellion against mankind.

4:00 He orders them to be sterilized, forcing Zerra and Cornelius on the run. In a tragically ironic ending, the gentle chimp parents are killed in a shootout while protecting their baby, who secretly survives to carry on their legacy. The genius of Escape from the Planet of the Apes lies in inverting the formula, showing twentieth century human society through the eyes of hyperintelligent chimps. Watching Zerra and Cornelius navigate. Our world provides plenty of opportunities for social satire and rye observation. A lot of it is played for laughs, like the couple becoming swing in seventies jet setters, Zerra's fondness for women's lib or Cornelius gleefully riding a tiny tricycle. But there's a poignant undercurrent to their struggle as they go from beloved media darlings to feared enemies of the state in record time. The parallels to the civil rights movement and other activist causes are clear. One powerful scene has a bitter Cornelius sneer at the Statue of Liberty, that supposed symbol of equality and acceptance. The heart of the movie belongs to Roddy McDowell and Kim Hunter as Cornelius and Zerra. McDowell in particular shines bringing puckish wit and soulful humanity to Cornelius. He and Hunter have such endearing chemistry playing the chimp couple as a loving, playful, fiercely devoted duo, you really root for them and feel the unfairness of their plight. Other standouts in the cast include Ricardo

5:34 montalban as Armando, the kind circus owner who shelters the chimps, and Eric Braden as the bigoted doctor Otto, determined to prevent the ape future at all costs. But the human characters are really secondary to Zerra and Cornelius, the first time the apes were truly the protagonists of an ape's film. Behind the scenes, McDowell faced a crisis when he had a severe allergic reaction to the new ape Men makeup formula, causing his face to swell up grotesquely. He had to be hospitalized and filming shut down for several weeks. When he returned, the makeup process was less arduous, but still grueling, with frequent touchups needed as the masks deteriorated under the hot lights. The film also sparked a minor controversy with its shock ending as spoiler alert for a fifty year old movie.

6:23 Zerra and Cornelius are gunned down in a bloody shootout. While relatively tame by modern standards, the sight of the beloved chimps being machine gun to death was pretty intense for a PG rated film in nineteen seventy one. Some critics felt it was too dark for what had been a fairly light hearted romp up until that point. Despite that, Escape from the Planet of the Apes was another box office success, proving the franchise was still going strong. It was even nominated for a couple Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Yes Really, and Best Acting Debut for Zerra and Cornelius's baby Milo. The film mix of satire, humor and tragedy may not be to everyone's taste, but it was a bold way to keep the Apes series going while saying something meaningful about tolerance and fear of the other. And it's anchored by genuinely wonderful performances from McDowell and Hunter, who make you believe in Zira and Cornelius as fully realized characters, not just talking apes. Escape from the Planet of the Apes opened the door for even more prequels exploring how the Apes came to rule the world. Next up was nineteen seventy two's Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, which, well, we'll save that discussion for another day. In the end, Escape from the Planet of the Apes is a fun, funny, ultimately poignant detour in the Ape saga that tries something completely different and mostly succeeds. It may not be as epic or action packed as the other films, but it's got a big heart and a sly satirical bite. If you

7:53 can roll with the tonal shifts, it's a charming and thought provoking entry in the franchise. So what's your take on Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Does the humor work for you or do you prefer the more serious sci fi approach? Is the ending two bleak or a necessary gut punch? And how amazing is Roddy McDowell as Cornelius. If you'd like to receive episodes of this podcast commercial free, as well as the other programs from Calarogus Shark Media, including a show I Think You'd love called Monsters, Sharks and Dinosaurs, alongside daily comedy news, five good news stories, five daily trivia questions, and a whole lot more. Open up the Apple Podcasts app and find this show and hit subscribe. It's just four ninety nine a month, and you can test drive it for thirty days for free. Next time, we'll be going ape yet again with conquest of the Planet of the Apes as the story of the Ape Revolution continues. Until then, keep watching the skies and the screens