Here's a movie that created a lot of buzz when it came out, and, we should all know by now that Taylor and two other astronauts come out of deep hibernation to find that their ship has crashed on an unknown planet. Escaping with little more than their clothes, they figure out that they have landed on a planet where men are uncivilized while apes have learned speech and technology. Taylor is captured and taken to the city of the apes after his throat is damaged and he cannot communicate with the apes.... It's a madhouse!!
Charlton Heston was a popular actor at the time, he would go on to star in THE OMEGA MAN and SOYLENT GREEN. Other actors include Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore and James Daly.
The spaceship Icarus crashes into an ocean on an unknown planet, the crew abandon the ship and head toward the shore.
I always liked this part where the crew come across these, I guess, scarecrows, as they're walking through the hills on their journey,
Then, the crew come across a band of humans looking for food, what the heck is going on here?!.. Obviously, they like corn!
Taylor and the crew find out that the dominate species are a bunch of damn dirty apes with horses, rifles and clubs to exercise their authority.
Here are the three faces of reason on the Planet Of The Apes. It's hilarious when one covers his eyes, one covers his ears and the other covers his mouth when they are confronted with information that they don't want to acknowledge.
Probably the most memorable scene for me is when the ape douses Taylor with a fire hose, calling him a freak. Then, Taylor says his famous line... It's a madhouse!!
It's decided that Taylor mate with the human girl, Nova. How intimate can you get with the lights on and a bunch of apes watching and giggling!
Taylor and Nova make their escape with the help of Cornelius and Zira, now, what will they find in the forbidden zone?
Well, anyway, Taylor finally solves the mystery... They are on Earth and man is responsible for destroying the planet in a nuclear war, game over, man!!
We're back on Wednesday with more Xmas stocking stuffers, just for you!
The scarecrow scene was on one of the trading cards that came out in the late 196O'S.
ReplyDeleteHeston once said in an interview that the "see no evil, say no evil, hear no evil" scene was just done as a gag, and they intended to edit it out before the movie went into general release. But a preview audience liked it, so the studio bosses said, "Don't change anything."
He also mentioned that he once met Kim Hunter at the Oscar awards or something, and he didn't recognize her at first because he had never seen her in person without the ape make-up. Peter Cushing once told a similar anecdote about Christopher Lee the first time they worked together (on a movie with Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Lee as the monster).
It's almost ironic that Heston was an award-winning actor, known for making big epics, and yet his most remembered lines of dialog seem to be from POTA and Soylent Green.
Great stuff TC! - We are always interested in the extra info we receive in the comments section...
ReplyDeleteI've always been fond of "Shut up, you freak!" too. The ape who says it sound genuinely SCARED of Taylor, just like Dr. Zaius.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it isn't something to be terribly proud of, but "G-- D---" is easily my favorite expletive. The funny thing is, thanks to this movie, using that phrase can make you feel like there's a little of larger-than-life Charlton Heston in you!
ReplyDelete