Franklin
Schaffner
Pierre Boulle (novel)
Michael Wilson
Rod Serling
Jerry Goldsmith
Charlton Heston
Roddy McDowell
Kim Hunter
Maurice Evans
Linda Harrison
...
Director
... Writer
... Writer
... Writer
... Original Music By
... George Taylor
... Dr. Cornelius
... Dr. Zira
... Dr. Zaius
... Nova
On its deepest level Planet
of the Apes is an allegory on the social class structure and racism,
but it has plenty of the standard Hollywood fare. Charlton Heston as George
Taylor runs around mostly naked fighting mean talking apes with good old machismo.
Along the way, he picks up a beautiful girl who can't speak (a fantasy that
every man has at least once in his life).
Taylor finds a couple of sympathetic apes who can look beyond his humanity and
see his intelligence (there's that allegory popping up). The world of the apes
is well constructed and logical and aids the story. Even after winning his freedom,
Taylor is numbed by a startling revelation that ends the movie. Planet
of the Apes was the first big movie merchandising franchise, spawning
several sequels,
a television series and now a remake.
