5 Facts about 1970's Planet of the Apes sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes starring James Franciscus and David Watson
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BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970)
Directed by Ted Post.
In the second installment of the Planet of the Apes series an astronaut (James Franciscus) searching for George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and the rest of the crew that crashed on the planet in the first film has to contend not only with a world of civilized, talking apes, but a subterranean society of mutants harboring a potentially apocalyptic secret. Co-starring David Watson and Kim Hunter, take the plunge below to unearth 5 fast film facts on Beneath the Planet of the Apes. |
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5. In French speaking countries the film was titled ‘The Secret of the Planet of the Apes’, while in Finland it was called ‘Return to the Planet of the Apes’.
4. This is the only film of the original 5 which doesn’t feature Roddy McDowall in some capacity, the part of Cornelius instead being played by David Watson. He does however appear briefly as the character in a pre-title re-cap.
3. Due to budget constraints, it is quite clear that some of the background actors are wearing ape masks rather than the Academy Award winning make-up of the main players.
2. Although only making about half the money of the first film, having cost only $2.5 million (according to director Ted Post) to produce and grossing almost $17.5 million means the movie was even more successful than its predecessor in terms of returning well beyond its budget (7 times, as opposed to 5.5 times). However it should be noted that other estimates of the budget place it at various amounts between $2.5 and $4.5 million.
1. Charlton Heston only agreed to do the movie if his character George Taylor died at the beginning. He came to a compromise with the producers and was willing to make another appearance at the end, but only because it was his character that was responsible for the destruction of the world. He gave his fee to charity.
5. In French speaking countries the film was titled ‘The Secret of the Planet of the Apes’, while in Finland it was called ‘Return to the Planet of the Apes’.
4. This is the only film of the original 5 which doesn’t feature Roddy McDowall in some capacity, the part of Cornelius instead being played by David Watson. He does however appear briefly as the character in a pre-title re-cap.
3. Due to budget constraints, it is quite clear that some of the background actors are wearing ape masks rather than the Academy Award winning make-up of the main players.
2. Although only making about half the money of the first film, having cost only $2.5 million (according to director Ted Post) to produce and grossing almost $17.5 million means the movie was even more successful than its predecessor in terms of returning well beyond its budget (7 times, as opposed to 5.5 times). However it should be noted that other estimates of the budget place it at various amounts between $2.5 and $4.5 million.
1. Charlton Heston only agreed to do the movie if his character George Taylor died at the beginning. He came to a compromise with the producers and was willing to make another appearance at the end, but only because it was his character that was responsible for the destruction of the world. He gave his fee to charity.
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