It is a story of vision, determination and ruthlessness.

The pitch went like this... A rocket ship flies through time and space to another planet. And this other planet is ruled by apes, and these apes wear clothes and speak English.

The response went like this... Don’t call us. And we won’t call you.

Producers Arthur P. Jacobs and Mort Abrahams visited every studio in Hollywood and it was always the same. When 20th Century Fox gave them the go-ahead for a film about talking animals it was for Dr Dolittle. Studio boss Richard Zanuck threatened to throw them off the lot if they mentioned Planet of the Apes again. To realise their dreams, they needed the help of Charlton Heston and legendary tough guy Edward G. Robinson - who was prepared to dress up as an orang-utan to prove audiences would not laugh.

Planet of the Apes was one of the biggest hits of 1968.
*It elevated science-fiction into cinema’s mainstream and prepared the way for Star Wars, Close Encounters, Alien and ET.
*It spawned four follow-up films and two TV series, and set the fashion for sequels.
*And it laid the foundations of modern film merchandising, with tie-ins ranging from bubble-gum cards to Halloween masks.

It was hugely popular as an adventure film with children, but the idea of man destroying the world and apes taking over touched a nerve at a time when Earth was threatened by nuclear apocalypse, students were rioting, and established values were being challenged as never before. Several leading players in the film were victims of the Hollywood black list, though Richard Zanuck insisted it had no political message.

Award-winning film journalist and writer Brian Pendreigh went to Los Angeles and visited locations, pored through boxes of old letters and papers, tracked survivors from the film to retirement and even hospital beds, discovering secret intrigues behind the scenes and how a major star was dumped as shooting was about to start. He traces the story of Planet of the Apes, from the original French novel, through the struggle to turn it into a film to box-office success, before considering the sequels and the remake from Tim Burton, director of Batman and Edward Scissorhands, and Richard Zanuck, the same Richard Zanuck who once threatened to throw Jacobs and Abrahams off the lot.

Brian Pendreigh pays personal tribute to the writers, asks leading scientists "Could it happen?" and gets some surprising answers. And for the first time, he reveals the truth of how writers, producers and director knew they were playing with political dynamite, and how they conspired to keep the film’s real meaning from the studio and their right-wing star.

Synopsis
"Planet of the Apes" was a film success when it was first released in 1967, and it has since received cult status with videos and original merchandise changing hands at ridiculous prices. The film spawned four sequels, two television series and a remake is set to hit the cinema screen in the summer of 2001. This book covers the entire "Planet of the Apes" phenomenon, from Boulle's novel through to the remake, though the focus is on the original movie. One chapter will preview the Tim Burton remake while another contains an interview with Charlton Heston, star of the original film.

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