Planet of the Apes (1968)
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Screenplay: Michael Wilson, Rod Serling
Based on: Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
Release Dates: February 8, 1968 (Capitol Theatre); April 3, 1968 (United States)
Stars: Charlton Heston (George Taylor), Roddy McDowall (Dr. Cornelius), Kim Hunter (Dr. Zira), Maurice Evans (Dr. Zaius), James Whitmore (President of the Assembly), James Daly (Dr. Honorius), Linda Harrison (Nova), Jeff Burton (Dodge), Robert Gunner (Landon), Lou Wagner (Lucius), Woodrow Parfrey (Dr. Maximus), Buck Kartalian (Julius), Norman Burton (Hunt Leader), Wright King (Dr. Galen), Paul Lambert (Minister), Dianne Stanley (Stewart )
Plot: Astronauts Taylor, Landon, and Dodge awaken from deep hibernation after a near-light-speed space voyage. Their spacecraft crashes into a lake on an unknown planet; Taylor’s estimate places them in Orion’s Bellatrix System, 300 light-years from their home solar system. Before they abandon their sinking vessel, Taylor, the mission commander, reads the ship’s chronometer as November 25, 3978 – 2,006 years after their departure in 1972. The three astronauts have been in hibernation pods and have aged slightly less than one year. A fourth astronaut, Stewart, is found to be dead, having aged rapidly after her hibernation pod was compromised.
The men travel through desolate wasteland, coming across eerie scarecrow-like figures and a freshwater lake with lush vegetation. While the men are swimming, their clothes are stolen and shredded by primitive, mute humans. Soon after, armed gorillas raid a cornfield where the humans are gathering food. Taylor is shot in the throat as the others and he are captured. Dodge is killed, and Landon is captured in the chaos. Taylor is taken to Ape City. Two chimpanzees, animal psychologist Zira and surgeon Galen, save Taylor’s life, though his throat injury renders him temporarily mute.
Taylor is placed with a captive woman, whom he later names Nova. He observes an advanced society of talking apes with a strict caste system; gorillas are the enforcers and laborers, orangutans oversee government and religion, and intellectual chimpanzees are mostly scientists and doctors. The ape society is a theocracy, while the apes consider the primitive humans as vermin to be hunted and either killed outright, enslaved, or used in scientific experiments. Taylor convinces Zira and her fiancé, Cornelius, that he is as intelligent as they are by communicating through written messages and by making a paper airplane. Dr. Zaius, their orangutan superior, arranges for Taylor to be castrated against Zira’s protests. Taylor escapes and finds Dodge’s stuffed corpse on display in a museum. He is soon recaptured and regains his voice, which alarms the apes.
A hearing is convened to determine Taylor’s origins. Taylor mentions his two comrades, learning that Landon was lobotomized and rendered catatonic. Zaius denounces Taylor, claiming that he is either from an unknown human tribe beyond their borders or was the subject of a mad scientist who gave him the power of speech. Zaius privately threatens to castrate and lobotomize Taylor for refusing to reveal his origins. With help from Zira’s nephew Lucius, Zira and Cornelius free Taylor and Nova and take them to the Forbidden Zone, a taboo region outside Ape City, where Taylor’s ship crashed. Ape law has ruled the area off-limits for centuries. To clear their heresy charges, Cornelius and Zira are intent on gathering proof of an earlier nonsimian civilization, which Cornelius had discovered a year earlier; Taylor focuses on proving he comes from a different planet.
When the group arrives at the cave, Cornelius is intercepted by Zaius and his soldiers. Taylor holds them off by threatening to shoot Zaius, who agrees to enter the cave to disprove their theories. Inside, Cornelius displays remnants of a technologically advanced human society antedating simian history. Taylor identifies artifacts such as dentures, eyeglasses, a heart valve, and, to the apes’ astonishment, a talking human doll. Zaius admits he has always known about the ancient human civilization. Taylor wants to search for answers. Zaius warns Taylor against finding an answer that he will not like, adding that the now-desolate Forbidden Zone was once a lush paradise and that it was destroyed by humans. After Taylor and Nova are allowed to leave, Zaius seals off the cave to destroy the evidence, charging Zira, Cornelius, and Lucius with heresy.
Taylor and Nova follow the shoreline on horseback. Eventually, they discover the remnants of the Statue of Liberty, revealing that this supposedly alien planet is Earth, long after a nuclear war. Understanding Zaius’ earlier warning, Taylor falls to his knees in despair, cursing humanity for destroying the world.
* * *
Planet of the Apes (1968) | Transcript
[Taylor] And that completes my final report until we reach touchdown. We’re now on full automatic in the hands of the computers. I’ve tucked my crew in for the long sleep… and I’ll be joining them soon. In less than an hour, we’ll finish our sixth month out of Cape Kennedy. Six months in deep space, by our time, that is. According to Dr. Hasslein’s theory of time… in a vehicle traveling nearly the speed of light… the Earth has aged nearly 700 years since we left it… while we’ve aged hardly at all. Maybe so. This much is probably true. The men who sent us on this journey are long since dead and gone. You who are reading me now are a different breed. I hope a better one. I leave the 20th century with no regrets. But one more thing, if anybody’s listening, that is. Nothing scientific. It’s purely personal. But seen from out here… everything seems different, time bends… space is… boundless. It squashes a man’s ego. I feel lonely. That’s about it. Tell me though—does man, that marvel of the universe… that glorious paradox who sent me to the stars… still make war against his brother… keep his neighbor’s children starving?
[Beeping]
[Rocket Jets Blasting Loudly]
[Rocket Accelerating]
[Crashing Sound]
You all right?
Stewart?
Stewart
[Loud Screeching]
We’re in the soup. She’s sinking.
Dodge, read the atmosphere.
Landon!
Get out a last signal!
What signal?
To Earth that we’ve landed.
The air’s okay.
Blow the hatch before we lose all our power.
[Flicking Switches]
It’s no use. The power’s gone.
Forget it. Abandon ship.
[Explosion]
She’s sinking.
Going… going… gone.
Okay. We’re here to stay.
Well, where are we?
Do you have any notions’ Skipper?
We’re some 320 lightyears from Earth… on an unnamed planet in orbit around a star in the constellation of Orion.
Is that close enough for you?
[Landon] Could be Bellatrix.
[Dodge] It’s too white for Bellatrix.
You didn’t have time to read the tapes.
So you really don’t know, do you?
What went wrong?
We weren’t programmed to land in the water.
[Dodge] The question is not so much where we are, as when we are.
[Taylor] All right, we’ve had enough sleep to hold us a while.
Let’s start earning all that back pay.
Dodge, run your soil test.
Got your sensors?
Right.
Geiger counter?
Got it.
[Man]
Let’s see, one pistol… twenty rounds ammo, a medical kit, camera, TX9.
We’ve got food and water enough for three days.
How long is a day?
That’s a good question. Landon.
Hey, Landon!
Join the expedition.
Sorry. I was thinking about Stewart.
What do you suppose happened?
Air leak.
She died in her sleep.
You don’t seem very cut up about it.
It’s a little late for a wake.
She’s been dead nearly a year.
That means we’ve been away from Earth for 18 months.
Our time.
You’ve gone gray.
Apart from that, you look pretty chipper for a man who’s 2,031 years old.
I read the clocks.
They bear out Hasslein’s hypothesis.
We have been away from Earth for 2,000 years… give or take a decade.
Still can’t accept it, huh?
Time’s wiped out everything you ever knew.
It’s all dust.
Prove it.
If we can’t get back, it’s still just a theory.
It’s a fact, Landon.
Buy it. You’ll sleep better.
Nothing will grow here.
There’s just a trace of carbohydrates.
All the nitrogen is locked into the nitrates.
No dangerous ionization?
No.
Well, if there’s no life here… we’ve got just 72 hours to find it.
That’s when the groceries run out.
Let’s go.
Which direction?
That way.
Any particular reason?
None at all.
Come on
[Laughing]
[Laughing Echoing]
[Both Panting]
[Thunderclaps]
[Loud Rumbling]
[Panting]
Everybody all right?
Water check.
Eight ounces.
It doesn’t add up.
Thunder and lightning and no rain.
Cloud cover at night, that strange luminosity, yet there’s no moon.
If we could just get a fix.
What would that tell you?
I’ve told you where you are and when you are.
All right, all right.
You’re 300 lightyears from your precious planet.
Your loved ones are dead and forgotten for 20 centuries.
Twenty centuries!
Even if you could get back… they would think you were something that fell out of a tree.
Ah, Taylor, quit riding him.
There is just one reality left—we are here and it is now.
You get a hold of that and hang on to it, or you might as well be dead.
I’m prepared to die.
[Chuckling]
He-He’s prepared to die.
[Laughing]
Doesn’t that make you misty?
Chalk up another victory for the human spirit.
Clue me in on something, will you?
Why did you sign on for this trip?
You volunteered. Why?
Never mind.
I’ll clue you in.
You were the golden boy of the class of ’72.
When they nominated you for the big one, you couldn’t turn it down… not without losing your All-American image.
Climb off, will you?
Oh, and the glory.
Don’t forget that.
There’s a life-size bronze statue of you standing out there somewhere.
Oh, it’s probably turned green by now, nobody can read the nameplate.
But never let it be said that we forget our heroes.
Taylor, I’m telling you to climb off my back.
Hmm. And there’s one last item-immortality.
You wanted to live forever, didn’t you?
Well, you damn near made it.
Except for me and Dodge, you’ve lived longer than anyone ever born.
And with our lovely Lieutenant Stewart dead… looks like you’re the last of the line.
You got what you wanted, Tiger.
How does it taste?
Okay, you read me well enough.
But why can’t I read you?
Don’t bother.
Dodge, there, he’s not like me at all, but he makes sense.
He’d walk naked into a live volcano… if he thought he could learn something that no other man knew.
But you-you’re no seeker.
You’re negative.
And I’m not prepared to die.
I’d like to know why not.
You thought life on Earth was meaningless.
You despised people.
So what’d you do?
You ran out.
No. No, it’s not like that’ Landon.
I’m a seeker too.
But my dreams aren’t like yours.
I can’t help thinking somewhere in the universe… there has to be something better than man.
Has to be.
Taylor, over here!
Life.
Where there’s one, there’s another… and another and another.
Let’s find ’em.
Skipper!
Look.
Scarecrows?
Let’s see.
[Water Rushing]
To hell with the scarecrows.
Yeehoo!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
[Sighs]
[Yells]
Whoo!
Yea! Yea!
Ah!
Taylor.
Look at this.
Taylor, look!
They didn’t leave much, did they?
Well, at least they haven’t tried to bite us.
Blessed are the vegetarians.
[Taylor] They look more or less human, but I think they’re mute.
We got off at the wrong stop.
You’re supposed to be the optimist, Landon.
Look on the bright side.
If this is the best they’ve got around here… in six months we’ll be running this planet.
[Howling]
[Animal Grunting]
[Gunshots]
[Gunshot]
[Gunshot]
[Gunshots]
[Gunshots]
[Gunshots]
[Gunshots]
Smile.
[Laughing]
[Laughs]
Which one was wearing the strange clothes?
This one.
Will he live?
I don’t know.
This beast has lost a lot of blood.
[Sniffs]
There’s no probe here. Find one.
Yes, sir.
This place is dirty, Doctor.
Doctor’ these animals are dirty.
They stink and they carry communicable diseases.
Why aren’t they cleaned up before they’re brought here?
[Female Ape] You don’t sound happy in your work.
[Male Ape] I’m little more than a vet in this laboratory.
You promised to speak to Dr. Zaius about me.
I did. You know how he looks down his nose at chimpanzees.
But the quota system has been abolished.
You made it. Why can’t I?
What do you mean “made it”?
I’m an animal psychologist, that’s all.
We have no authority.
You do all right when it comes to getting space and equipment.
That’s because Dr. Zaius realizes our work has value.
The foundations of scientific brain surgery are being laid right here… in studies of cerebral functions of these animals.
They’re still dirty, Doctor.
And their bite is septic.
There, look at that.
Hold his jaw.
Good morning, Dr. Zira.
Good morning, Julius. How’s our patient today?
No change. The minute you open the door, he goes into his act.
[Rattling Cage]
Well. And what do we want this morning?
Do we want something?
Come on, speak.
Come on, speak.
Do we want some sugar, old-timer? Hmm?
You could get hurt doing that, Doctor.
Oh, don’t be silly.
He’s perfectly tame.
Ah, they’re all tame until they take a chunk out of you.
Well, Bright Eyes, is our throat feeling better?
[Zira] Still hurts, doesn’t it?
See, he keeps pretending he can talk.
[No Sound]
That Bright Eyes is remarkable.
He keeps trying to form words.
You know what they say… “Human see, human do.”
Now what?
He seems to want something.
[Julius] I’d be careful, Doctor.
What’d I tell you!
Try that again and I’ll break your arm!
[Julius] Good morning, Your Excellency.
[Zira] Dr. Zaius.
[Julius] Good morning, sir.
Open up, please.
I’m so glad you could come.
Sir, he’s over here.
Bright Eyes… show him.
Go ahead, do your trick.
Speak. Go on, speak again.
There! Can you believe it?
Yes, amusing.
A man acting like an ape.
Dr. Zaius, I could swear he’s answering you.
He has a definite gift for mimicry.
It’s most unusual.
He’s using that old blanket as clothing.
I wonder how he’d score on a Hopkins manual dexterity test?
An animal?
Look!
He’s moving his fingers.
Only because he saw you moving yours.
Oh, but perhaps he understood.
Man has no understanding.
He can be taught a few very simple tricks, nothing more.
I’m afraid I must disagree.
According to my experiments…
[Zaius] Dr. Zira, I must caution you. Experimental brain surgery on these creatures is one thing, and I’m all in favor of it. But your behavioral studies are something else again. To suggest that we can learn anything about the simian nature… from a study of man is sheer nonsense. Besides, man is a nuisance. He eats up his food supplies in the forest… then migrates to our green belts and ravages our crops. The sooner he is exterminated, the better. It’s a question of simian survival.
[Ape] Is this the one you wanted, Doctor?
[Zira] Ah, yes. Thank you.
Bright Eyes’ I’ve got a present for you.
[Chuckling]
[Zira] Put her in with him.
[Sniffing]
[Sniffing]
[Sniffs]
[Chuckles]
Cornelius, up here.
Do you have to work tonight?
No.
Neither do I.
[Chuckles]
Oh, Cornelius.
[Chuckles]
There’s
There’s Bright Eyes.
Hmm?
The one I was telling you about.
What’s so special about him?
Watch. Hello, Bright Eyes.
How’s our throat today?
[Cornelius Giggling] Look, she remembers!
Remembers what?
The blood transfusion.
Zira, really.
You know they can’t
Hey. Hey, watch out.
Here comes Number One.
Something’s bothering him. He’s been prying around the lab for the last two days.
Shh, shh, shh.
Uh, good morning, Dr. Zaius.
You, uh, know my, uh
Dr. Cornelius, my fiancé.
Of course.
The young ape with a shovel. I hear you’re planning another archaeological expedition.
With the Academy’s approval, sir.
The project will require my support, of course.
I hope I may count on it, sir.
Cornelius, a friendly warning.
As you dig for artifacts, be sure you don’t bury your reputation.
Stop!
[Whistle Blowing] Stop!
[Whip Cracking]
[Zira] Stop! You’ve hurt him!
Take him inside.
[Whip Cracks] Cornelius? Cornelius, if you have a moment today…
I’d like to discuss this expedition of yours in more detail.
Oh, certainly, sir. I’ll pick up my notes and I’ll come right over.
I don’t understand these animal psychologists.
What’s Dr. Zira trying to prove?
That man can be domesticated.
[Laughing]
What happened?
Oh, those fools and their torches!
Do you have any ointment?
I’ll see.
I’m sorry, Bright Eyes.
Julius!
I told you what you’d get!
Julius, don’t, don’t, don’t.
It doesn’t matter.
[Zira] Julius, don’t hurt him!
Julius!
Natural-born thieves, aren’t they?
Get me a collar and leash.
I’m taking him out of here.
He’s vicious, Doctor.
Besides, it’s against the rules.
Do as I say!
You
You wouldn’t hurt me, would you…
Taylor?
[Chuckles]
It’s a stunt.
Ah, humans can’t write.
Dear, you’re a scientist.
Don’t you believe your own eyes?
Where did you learn to do this?
“Jefferson Public School.”
“Fort Wayne, Indiana.”
Back on that planet you say you came from?
Uh-huh.
[Chuckles]
Yes, yes.
Maybe he is intelligent, but he’s also’ uh, crazy.
Cornelius. Cornelius, please.
“Dodge was killed in the hunt.
What happened to Landon?”
I don’t know.
They fell out of the sky with you?
“Not fell, flew.”
Flight is a scientific impossibility.
And even if it weren’t, why fly?
Where would it get you?
“Do you have maps?”
Uh
[Clears Throat] We’re here. You were captured here.
You fell into the water here?
You came ashore, marched across the desert… mountains… many days and nights
[Sighs] and reached the jungle.
Out of the question.
Cornelius, why do you insist on provoking him?
No creature can survive in the Forbidden Zone.
I know. I’ve been there. I’ve seen it.
“Then how do you account for me?”
I don’t.
And I’m not going to try.
But what about your theory?
The existence of someone like Taylor might prove it.
Zira, do you want to get my head chopped off?
Don’t be foolish.
If it’s true, they’ll have to accept it.
[Chuckles]
Oh, no, they won’t.
Oh. Cornelius has developed the most brilliant hypothesis…
But I’m probably wrong.
…that the ape evolved from a lower order of primate, possibly man.
In his trip to the Forbidden Zone… he discovered traces of a culture older than recorded time.
The evidence was very meager.
You didn’t think so then.
That was before Dr. Zaius and half of the Academy said that my idea was heresy.
How can scientific truth be heresy?
What if Taylor is exactly the proof you needed? A mutation?
A missing link between the unevolved primate and the ape?
[Bangs Table]
Touchy, isn’t he?
Hmm. “I am not a missing link.”
Well, if he were a missing link, the Sacred Scrolls wouldn’t be worth their parchment.
Well, maybe they’re not.
[Chuckles]
Oh, no, thank you.
I’m not going to get into that battle.
Cornelius, show some strength.
Zira, listen to me!
Now we both have fine futures-marriage, stimulating careers.
I’m up for a raise.
[Door Opens]
[Cornelius] Dr. Zaius.
Did you forget our appointment, Cornelius?
Oh, no, sir.
I was, uh, just collecting my notes.
You know Dr. Maximus, of course, our Commissioner for Animal Affairs?
Yes, sir. It’s a pleasure to see you again.
What is that?
A man, Dr. Maximus.
I know it’s a man.
And you know the rules…
No animals allowed outside the compound… and, most especially, not without a leash.
Uh, yes, sir. But–
But this, uh, creature is a
is a special case.
Why special?
Um, we’re conducting a new experiment.
Wouldn’t that more properly be done in your office?
Yes, sir.
Guards, return this beast to the compound.
What is this?
A toy. It floats on the air.
Zira.
Try it.
Nonsense.
[Door Opening]
What’s up, Lieutenant?
We’re taking Number Four over to surgery in five minutes.
Have him ready.
How come?
The beast’s throat is nearly healed.
It’s not his throat this time.
The vet’s gonna geld him.
[Julius] Dr. Zira won’t like it.
She wants that pair to mate.
These orders come from Dr. Zaius himself.
There’s nothing she can do about it.
[Sighs]
[Keys Jangling]
If only you knew what they’re going to do. [Chuckles] Stay still now.
Don’t give me any trouble.
[Screams]
[Female Ape, Gasps]
[Male Ape] Weep if you must, but make an end of sorrow.
He lives again.
Yes, he has found peace in heaven.
He was a model for us all.
A gorilla to remember.
Hunter, warrior… defender of the Faith… cherished husband, beloved father… generous master.
Yes.
He was a font of simian kindness.
The dear departed once said to me “I never met an ape I didn’t like.”
Look! It’s a man!
[Screams] In Heaven’s name, get rid of that creature!
[Male Ape] Catch him!
[Male Ape #2] Follow me! This way!
Catch him! Catch him!
[Apes Screaming, Shouting]
[Screaming]
[Whistle Blowing]
[Whistle Blowing]
[Screams]
Come on, Quintus.
[Both Scream]
[Apes Scream]
[Chattering]
Go get him.
Taylor, why did you run away?
Security police.
I’m in charge of this man.
No longer, madam. He’s now in the custody of the Ministry of Science.
Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape.
No one will listen to me.
Only you.
You–
[Chuckles] Nova.
You Nova. No–
Yeah, me Tarzan, you Jane.
[Grunts]
Wait! What are you doing?
Leave her alone, damn you!
Where are you taking her
[Grunts]
[Chittering]
You–
Where are you taking her?
[Continues, Indistinct]
[Chittering]
Damn you, you hairy scum!
Shut up, you freak!
Julius, you
I said shut up!
It’s a madhouse!
A madhouse!
[Panting]
[Exhales]
Now I don’t even have you. [Chuckles]
[Taylor] Imagine me needing someone. Back on Earth I never did. Oh, there were women, lots of women. Lots of lovemaking, but no love. That was the kind of world we’d made. So I left because there was no one to hold me there.
Did I tell you about Stewart?
Now there was a lovely girl.
The most precious cargo we brought along.
She was to be the new Eve… with our hot and eager help, of course.
Probably just as well she didn’t make it this far.
Do you love me, I wonder?
Can you love, I wonder?
Yeah. You’re not as smart as Stewart… but you’re the only girl in town.
Look at that. I-I taught you to smile.
[Door Opening]
[Footsteps Approaching]
[Bars Rattling]
It’s been weeks.
What happened?
here have you been?
Why didn’t you come see me?
Shh!
What is this?
A hearing.
Be clever. Be quiet.
All rise!
Be seated.
[Gavel Banging Table] This ad hoc tribunal of the National Academy is now in session.
President of the Academy presiding.
On my right, Dr. Maximus, Commissioner for Animal Affairs.
And on my left, Dr. Zaius, Minister of Science and chief defender of the Faith.
And appearing for the state, Dr. Honorious, Deputy Minister of Justice.
[Gavel Bangs On Table]
[Sniffing]
Bailiff! You had instructions to clean up the beast.
All these rags he’s wearing give off a stench… that’s offensive to the dignity of this tribunal.
You may proceed, Dr. Honorious.
By your leave, Mr. President, this tribunal… has not yet defined the purpose for this inquiry.
You asked for the opportunity to present your case.
Surely you must know why you’re here.
At the very least, this man has the right to know whether there’s a charge against him.
Objection!
This exhibit is indeed a man.
Therefore, he has no rights under Ape Law.
Well, Dr. Zira, this is a man, is it not?
He is unlike any man you have ever seen, as we hope to prove.
Answer the question, Dr. Zira.
Is it a man?
Uh, sir, perhaps the question is the point at issue.
Is he a man? Is he a deviate or a freak of nature?
Objection.
Sustained.
Now, Dr. Zira, in all fairness, you must admit… that the accused is a non-ape and therefore has no rights under Ape Law.
Then why is he called “the accused”?
Your Honors must think him guilty of something.
Creature’s not being tried, he’s being disposed of.
It is scientific heresy that is being tried here.
Well put, Dr. Zaius.
Let us warn our friends… that they endanger their own careers by defending this animal.
[Taylor]
Then I’ll defend myself.
Dr. Zira, would you tell…
Bright Eyes to be quiet?
My name is Taylor
Bailiff! Silence the animal.
Wait, let me
[Grunts]
You may proceed, Mr. Prosecutor.
Learned judges, my case is simple.
It is based on our First Article of Faith.
That the Almighty created the ape in his own image.
That he gave him a soul and a mind.
That he set him apart from the beasts of the jungle… and made him the lord of the planet.
These sacred truths are self-evident.
The proper study of apes is apes.
But certain young cynics have chosen to study man.
Yes. Perverted scientists who advance an insidious theory called evolution.
Come to the point, Dr. Honorious.
The state charges that Dr. Zira and a corrupt surgeon named Galen… experimented on this wounded animal… tampering with his brain and throat tissues… to produce a speaking monster.
That’s a lie!
Mind your tongue, madam.
Did we create his mind, as well?
Not only can this man speak, he can think. He can reason.
[Scoffs]
That can reason?
With the tribunal’s permission, allow me to expose this hoax by direct examination.
Proceed, Doctor, but do not turn this hearing into a farce.
Tell the court, Bright Eyes, what is the Second Article of Faith?
I know nothing of your culture.
I-I admit that.
Of course he doesn’t know our culture because he cannot think.
Tell us, why are all apes created equal?
Some apes, it seems, are more equal than others.
Ridiculous.
Tell us, Bright Eyes, why do men have no souls?
What is the proof that a divine spark exists in the simian brain?
Huh?
[Scoffs]
Read this for me.
Since the defendant has been forbidden to speak in his own defense… he requests that the, uh, following statement be read into the record.
You, Dr. Cornelius.
Read it.
Yeah. [Clears Throat] “I have come to you… from a planet in a different solar system. I am an explorer in space”–
Stop right there.
Let me see that paper.
[Chuckling]
It’s a joke… in very poor taste.
Is it a joke to seek the truth about this man?
Dr. Zira, you state here that a ship from outer space… sank in an inland sea of our eastern desert.
You also state that Bright Eyes had two intelligent companions… with him at the time of his capture.
That is his assertion.
Mr. President, in addition to Bright Eyes…
I believe the prosecutor has reassembled… all the surviving humans that were captured in the hunt.
That’s true, Dr. Zaius.
Very well.
Then I suggest that we go take a look at them.
[Taylor]
That’s him! That’s Landon.
Which one?
The tall one in the back.
Do you acknowledge kinship with any of these creatures?
With one them’ yes.
Identify him then. Speak to him.
Landon? Landon?
Oh, they cut him.
Did you know about this?
No. I swear.
I never saw this man before.
But they–
You did it.
You cut up his brain, you bloody baboon!
Stop him!
Take him inside!
Mr. President, a word of explanation.
The human specimen you saw outside… suffered a skull fracture in the course of the hunt.
Two fine veterinary surgeons under my direction were able to save his life.
But the beast could not speak, of course. Nor will he ever speak.
You did that to him, damn you!
You cut out his memory!
You took his identity, and that’s what you want to do to me!
Bailiff, gag the animal!
Damn you!
[Muffled Yelling]
May it please the tribunal, I for one grant you… that this creature cannot have come from another planet.
But this much is certain. He does come from somewhere in the Forbidden Zone.
He’s described the region to us and described it accurately, for… I have been there.
You’ve visited the Forbidden Zone?
Yes, sir.
A-A year ago with the special permission of the Academy.
He exceeded his orders.
His travel permit was canceled immediately.
Yes, sir’ that is true. Thanks to you.
But not before I discovered evidence… of a simian culture that existed long before the Sacred Scrolls were written.
Objection! These remarks are profane and irrelevant.
Sustained. Your archaeological theories have no bearing… on the disposition of this creature.
Let them talk, Mr. President.
Let them talk.
Sirs, our theories have a bearing on his identity.
[President] How so?
Let us assume, as common sense dictates… that the prisoner’s story is false.
But if he did not come from another planet… then surely he sprang from our own.
Yes, sprang!
As an animal psychologist, I have found no physiological defect… to explain why humans are mute.
Objection!
Sustained!
[Zira] Their speech organs are adequate.
The flaw lies not in anatomy, but in the brain.
[Honorious] Objection!
Sustained!
Sustain all objections, but face the truth.
Yes. Behold this marvel, this living paradox.
This missing link in an evolutionary chain.
Silence! You go too far!
[Zaius] I think an indictment is in order.
Yes, sir. The state charges Dr. Zira and Cornelius with contempt of this tribunal… malicious mischief and scientific heresy.
It’s so ordered.
This tribunal will examine all the evidence presented here… and in due course, render its verdict as to the proposed indictment… and as to the disposition of the deviate in question.
This hearing is adjourned.
[Zaius] Wait outside.
Well, the verdict is in.
At the moment, your two simian friends… and sponsors are free on bail.
But they’ll soon be brought to trial for heresy.
What about me?
[Chuckles] Your case was preordained.
In a way, you did the state a service… because you made it possible for us to expose Zira and Cornelius.
Now the tribunal has placed you in my custody… for final disposition.
You realize what that means?
No.
Emasculation, to begin with.
Then experimental surgery on the speech centers on the brain.
Eventually, a kind of living death.
However…
I have it in my power to grant a reprieve.
That is why I summoned you here tonight.
Tell me who and what you really are and where you came from… and no veterinary shall touch you.
I told you that at that hearing of yours.
You lied!
Where is your tribe?
My tribe. [Scoffs] They live on another planet in another solar system.
Even in your lies, some truth slips through.
That mythical community you’re supposed to come from, Fort Wayne.
What about it?
A fort!
Unconsciously, you chose a name that was belligerent.
Where were you nurtured?
Then you don’t believe that prosecutor’s charge… that I’m a monster created by Dr. Zira?
Certainly not.
Uh, you’re a mutant.
That’s what Zira and Cornelius claim.
You’re talking heresy, Doctor.
Hmph. Of course.
Well, suppose I am a mutant?
How can the appearance of one mutant send you into a panic?
Because you’re not unique.
There’s the one you call Landon.
Oh, then you admit that
I admit that where there’s one mutant… there’s probably another and another and another—a whole nest of them.
Where is your nest, Taylor?
Where are your women?
Thank you.
Thank you for calling me Taylor, Dr. Zaius.
I know who I am.
But who are you… and how in hell did this upside-down civilization get started?
[Grunts]
You may well call it upside-down… since you occupy its lowest level—and deservedly so.
Our eastern desert has never been explored… because we’ve always assumed that life cannot exist there.
Taylor, save yourself.
Tell me, is there another jungle beyond the Forbidden Zone?
[Sighs]
I don’t know.
If you’re trying to protect others of your kind, it’ll cost you your identity.
I’m not protecting anyone.
This whole thing is insane. What have I done?
You are a menace.
A walking pestilence.
I do know who you are, Taylor.
I’ll give you just six hours to make a full confession.
After that, I shall use surgery to obtain one. Guards!
All right’ you can cut pieces out of me.
You’ve got the power.
Return this creature to his cage.
But you do it out of fear.
Remember that!
Remember that! Because you’re afraid of me! What are you afraid of, Doctor?
[Rattling Door]
Are you Julius?
Who are you?
I’m from the office of Animal Affairs.
That male is to be transferred to the zoo.
At this hour?
Who says so?
Don’t they tell you anything?
The Antivivisectionist Society is up in arms.
They’re gonna save this beast from those butchers in the lab.
If he can speak, he belongs in the public zoo.
But what’ll probably happen is that some money-mad grownup will put him in a circus.
Then we’ll have to pay to see what rightfully
Stop making speeches… and show me the order.
[Paper Rustling]
[No Audible Dialogue]
Ha, this order’s no good.
It must be countersigned by Dr. Zaius.
Grab him!
Who are you?
So you can talk. I’m Dr. Zira’s nephew.
This abduction was her idea.
You’re not really going to the zoo.
That’s just our story in case somebody stops us.
Get me out of this.
We’ve gotta move fast.
She comes along too.
Zira doesn’t want your female.
I want her.
If you insist.
But I’m not taking any orders.
All right. Come on.
Let’s go.
I told you not to bring the other one!
He wouldn’t leave her.
Oh, all right.
Come on!
Here, put this on. Come on.
Don’t you have any clothes for me?
What do you expect, an ape’s new suit?
This stuff stinks.
Well, so do you, like all men.
Taylor, remember, all men look alike to most apes.
So put it on and keep quiet, and we may just get away with this. Hurry!
Cornelius!
How’d it go?
Hey!
Come on.
Let me out of this.
Well, Taylor, we’re all fugitives now.
Do you have any weapons, any guns?
The best. But we won’t need them.
I’m glad to hear it.
I want one anyway.
Now look here, Taylor’ I’m in charge of this expedition.
Good for you. But you’re not in charge of me.
[Cocks Gun] Not anymore.
I don’t plan to be caught again.
As you wish.
Dr. Zaius seemed to think there was another jungle beyond the Forbidden Zone.
I’ll try for that.
What about you?
Cornelius and I have been indicted for heresy.
Unless we can prove our theories, we don’t stand a chance of acquittal.
You’re going back to the Forbidden Zone?
We’re going back to the diggings I worked at over a year ago.
It’s a three-day ride across the desert… and near the place where you claim you landed from that planet of yours.
Still don’t believe me, do you?
It’s a long detour to Dead Lake.
What would we find?
Nothing much. An empty rubber life raft.
Maybe a little flag… the emblem of my countrymen.
The terrain around that lake is poisonous.
There’s no fresh water, no vegetation, nothing.
Anyway, I ought to thank you for saving me. You’ll be in trouble for that.
We’ve been in trouble since the moment we met you.
What’s she pointing at?
This must be close to home for her.
She knows it.
Nova, no. Nova. Nova!
You can’t go there.
It’s not safe. Nova.
We better get started.
If the mounted police pick up our trail, they’ll come this far at least.
Right. Let’s get the water and provisions into the wagon.
[Taylor] Cornelius.
Where does this river lead to?
It flows into a sea some miles from here.
That’s where we’ll find the diggings.
And beyond that?
I don’t know. You can’t ride along the shore at high tide… and we had no boats on our last expedition.
You never told me, why do you call this a Forbidden Zone?
No one knows.
It’s an ancient taboo… set forth in the Sacred Scrolls.
The Lawgiver pronounced this whole area deadly.
Shouldn’t we be moving on?
I’m for that.
There, do you like it?
Why did you do that, scrape off your hair?
In my world when I left it, only kids your age wore beards.
Beards?
I don’t go in for fads.
Somehow… it makes you look less intelligent.
When will you show me what’s in that cave?
Right now, if you like.
Cornelius!
Lucius, don’t fire at them.
You’re all under arrest.
If there’s any more shooting, Dr. Zaius, you’ll be the first to go.
You can count on it!
Taylor, you are not in command here.
Put down that gun.
Shut up!
Very well.
Lower your weapons.
Tell them to pull back around the rocks. Out of range.
Withdraw!
How did you know we’d come here?
It wasn’t difficult.
Only an apostate would flee to the Forbidden Zone.
And only a fool would give a gun to an animal.
I see you’ve brought the female of your species.
I didn’t realize that man could be monogamous.
On this planet, it’s easy.
I’ll ask you to reconsider the rash course you’ve undertaken.
If you’re convicted of heresy, the most you’ll get is two years.
But, if you persist in pointing guns in my direction, you’ll hang for high treason.
We never meant to be treasonous, sir.
But up there in the face of that cliff, there is a vast cave… and in that cave a fabulous treasure of fossils and artifacts.
I’ve seen some of your fossils and artifacts.
They’re worth–
There’s your Minister of Science… honor-bound to expand the frontiers of knowledge.
Taylor, please!
Except that he’s also chief defender of the Faith.
There is no contradiction between faith and science. True science.
Are you willing to put that statement to the test?
Taylor, I would much rather–
Take it easy. You saved me from this fanatic. Maybe I can return the favor.
What is your proposal?
When were those Sacred Scrolls of yours written?
Twelve hundred years ago.
All right.
Now, if they can prove those scrolls don’t tell the whole truth of your history… if they can find some real evidence of another culture… from some remote past, will you let them off?
Of course.
Let’s go up to the cave.
Sorry, Lucius, you’ve got to stay here and guard the camp.
Always giving orders, just like every other adult.
Relax, you’ll get to see it all later on.
Present your evidence, Cornelius.
It was at this level that I discovered traces of an early ape creature—a stage of primitive barbarism, really, dating back some 1,300 years, roughly.
It was at this level I discovered cutting tools and arrowheads of quartz… and the fossilized bones of carnivorous gorillas.
But the artifacts lying here… were found at this level… and date back, uh, 700 years earlier.
That’s the paradox. For the more ancient culture is the more advanced.
Now, admittedly, many of these objects are unidentified.
But clearly, they were fashioned by beings with a knowledge of metallurgy.
Indeed, the fact that many of these tools are unknown to us… suggests a culture which, in certain ways, equals our own.
Some of the evidence is uncontestable.
Don’t speak to me in absolutes.
The evidence is contestable.
I apologize, sir.
To begin with… your methods of dating the past are crude, to say the least.
There are geologists on my staff who’d laugh at your speculations.
But there’s the doll, sir.
What?
Oh, uh, lying right there.
The human doll.
What does this prove?
My granddaughter plays with human dolls.
The doll was found beside the jawbone of a man… and no trace of simian fossil has been found in this deposit.
Your conclusion is premature.
Have you forgotten your scripture?
The 13th Scroll?
“And Proteus brought the upright beast into the garden… and chained him to a tree, and the children did make sport of him.”
No, sir, I have not forgotten.
Well, for a time, the ancients kept humans as household pets… until our Lawgiver proved that man could not be tamed.
Keep digging’ Cornelius.
You’ll find evidence of the master of this house… an ape.
What are you doing?
Reconstructing a past life.
You say these things were found at the same level as that doll?
Whoever owned him must have been in pretty bad shape.
He wore false teeth and eyeglasses.
He had a failing heart.
Towards the end he had this prefabricated valve put in it.
I don’t say he was a man like I knew at home… but he must have been a close relative because he had all the same weaknesses.
He was a weak, fragile animal.
But he was here before you, and he was better than you are.
That’s lunacy.
I can offer alternate descriptions… of every one of those articles which is just as ingenious as yours.
But it’d be conjecture.
Not proof.
[Doll] Mommy.
[Doll] Mommy.
Dr. Zaius, would an ape make a human doll that talks?
[Gunshot]
Lucius!
[Gunshot]
You dirty
Nova!
[Gunshots Continue]
Nova!
[Gunshot]
[Gunshots]
[Weakly]
Cornelius. Zira.
Help me.
[Doll] Mommy.
I ought to kill you right now.
Come on.
You tell him to pull back now!
Cease fire! Withdraw!
Up there.
Withdraw!
Get down.
Lucius, are you all right?
They took me by surprise.
Sneaked up on me while I was feeding the horses.
What’s happened to honor?
I got off two rounds to warn you.
They’ve taken everything.
Not quite everything.
They left a hostage behind.
How are you feeling?
Disillusioned.
You can’t trust the older generation.
I know what you mean.
I want you to go around the rocks and tell those gorillas…
I’ve got Dr. Zaius prisoner.
Yes, I can do that.
I want a horse, food and water.
Enough for a week for me and this female… and 50 rounds of ammunition.
What if they won’t agree to your terms?
Tell them I’ll shoot him.
Taylor, you can’t.
Ah, yes, he can.
He’s a born killer.
Deliver the message.
Over here.
Sit down.
Taylor, please.
Don’t treat him like that.
Why not?
It’s humiliating.
The way I was humiliated… by all of you?
You led me around on a leash.
That was different.
We thought you were inferior.
Now you know better.
Cornelius was right, Doctor.
He proved it.
Man was here first. You owe him your science, your culture… whatever civilization you’ve got.
Then answer me this.
If man was superior, why didn’t he survive?
Wiped out by a plague.
Some natural catastrophe, a storm of meteors.
From the looks of some parts of this planet, I’d say that was a fair bet.
But we can’t be sure.
He is.
He knew all the time.
Long before you found your caves, he knew.
Defender of the Faith.
Guardian of the Terrible Secret
That’s it, isn’t it, Doctor?
What I know of man was written long ago… set down by the greatest ape of all, our Lawgiver.
Cornelius, come here.
Reach into my pocket.
Read to him the 29th Scroll, sixth verse.
[Cornelius] “Beware the beast Man, for he is the Devil’s pawn. Alone among God’s primates, he kills for sport… or lust or greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother’s land. Let him not breed in great numbers… for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him. Drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death.”
I found nothing in the cave to alter that conception of man… and I still live by its injunction.
[Taylor]
That’s far enough.
They think you’re behaving foolishly.
I must say I agree.
Where will you go?
To start with, I’ll follow the shoreline and my nose.
But suppose you find nothing but wasteland?
How will you survive?
He won’t survive.
Nova.
How ’bout coming along?
We can’t.
It’s better than going to jail for heresy.
Oh, they can’t convict us of heresy.
You’ve helped prove our innocence.
Besides, his culture is our culture.
Well, good luck then.
Lucius.
I still say you’re making a mistake.
That’s the spirit. Keep ’em flying.
What?
The flags of discontent.
Remember, never trust anybody over 30.
Doctor, I’d like to kiss you goodbye.
All right, but… you’re so damned ugly.
Don’t try to follow us.
I’m pretty handy with this.
Of that I’m sure.
All my life I’ve awaited your coming… and dreaded it, like death itself.
Why? I’ve terrified you from the first, Doctor. I still do.
You’re afraid of me and you hate me. Why?
Because you’re a man.
[Zaius] And you’re right, I have always known about man. From the evidence, I believe his wisdom… must walk hand in hand with his idiocy. His emotions must rule his brain. He must be a warlike creature who gives battle to everything around him even himself.
What evidence?
There were no weapons in that cave.
[Zaius] The Forbidden Zone was once a paradise. Your breed made a desert of it ages ago.
It still doesn’t give me the “why.”
[Taylor] A planet where apes evolved from men? There’s gotta be an answer.
[Zaius] Don’t look for it, Taylor. You may not like what you find.
Untie me!
No, no, no. Wait! Wait!
Let him go.
Lieutenant, fetch our explosives.
We’re going to seal up the cave.
Yes, sir.
Seal the cave?
That is correct, and you will both stand trial for heresy.
But the proof, the doll.
In a few minutes, there will be no doll.
There can’t be. I’m sorry.
Dr. Zaius.
Dr. Zaius, you mustn’t. You promised.
What I do, I do with no pleasure.
Silence him.
Doctor.
Dr. Zaius, this is inexcusable!
Why must knowledge stand still?
What about the future?
I may just have saved it for you.
What will he find out there, Doctor?
His destiny.
[Taylor] Oh, my God! I’m back. I’m home. All the time, it was… We finally, really did it.
[Screaming] You maniacs! You blew it up! Oh, damn you!
