How a telegram saved a franchise by sending talking apes back to 1973
In short: When the second Planet of the Apes film ended with Earth's total destruction, the studio faced a dead end. A simple telegram changed everything: Apes exist, sequel required. The result was a time-traveling satire that flipped the script, turning the apes into celebrities and then targets in 20th-century Los Angeles.
Released on May 26, 1971, Escape from the Planet of the Apes serves as the third installment in the original series. To bypass the apocalyptic finale of the previous film, screenwriter Paul Dehn crafted a narrative where the chimpanzees Cornelius, Zira, and Dr. Milo repair a spaceship and are propelled through a time warp to 1973. Directed by Don Taylor, the film shifts the focus from grand spectacle to character-driven drama, exploring themes of human guilt and the fear of the unknown.
The production was constrained by a low budget, leading to a rushed six-week filming schedule between November 30, 1970, and January 19, 1971. Despite these limitations, the film garnered critical acclaim, with many reviewers considering it the best sequel in the series. It features nuanced performances from Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter, who portray the apes as sympathetic figures caught in a political firestorm. The story incorporates satirical elements and religious allegories, including a comparison to the Massacre of the Innocents, as government officials like Dr. Otto Hasslein grow fearful of a future where humans are dominated by apes.
The film's tragic conclusion sees the death of the main ape characters, yet it ends on a note of mystery. It is revealed that Zira successfully swapped her infant with a circus ape's baby before her death. The final scene shows the surviving infant, named Milo, beginning to speak. While the film earned $5,560,000 in North American rentals, its legacy remains tied to its ability to reinvent the franchise's trajectory through clever, character-focused storytelling, proving that even a seemingly impossible narrative hurdle could be overcome with the right creative pivot.
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