Escape from the Planet of the Apes is a 1971 American science fiction film directed by Don Taylor and written by Paul Dehn.

It stars Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy, Eric Braeden, Sal Mineo, and Ricardo Montalbán.

[4] In the film, Cornelius (McDowall) and Zira (Hunter) flee back through time to 20th-century Los Angeles, where they face fear and persecution.

Prior to Earth's destruction,[a] the chimpanzees Cornelius, Zira and Dr. Milo salvage and repair Taylor's spaceship and escape the planet.

The apes are transported to the Los Angeles Zoo, under the observation of two friendly scientists, Dr. Stephanie Branton and Dr. Lewis Dixon.

Zira joins Cornelius in confinement while Hasslein takes his findings to the President, who reluctantly abides by the council's ruling to have her pregnancy be terminated and that both apes be sterilized.

He calls for their execution, but is ordered by the President to bring them in alive, unwilling to endorse capital punishment until due process has been served.

Knowing that Zira's labor was imminent, Hasslein orders a search of all circuses and zoos, and Armando insists the apes leave for their safety.

and Dehn decided to create an out from the destructive ending of Beneath by having Cornelius and Zira going back in time with a Leonardo da Vinci–like ape after fixing Taylor's spaceship before the Earth was destroyed.

Dehn also added to the latter part of the film regarding the chase for Cornelius, Zira and their son references to racial conflicts and a few religious overtones to the story of Jesus – a line of dialogue even has the President comparing the plan to kill an unborn child to the Massacre of the Innocents.

Hunter stated that despite the friendly atmosphere on the set, she and Roddy McDowall felt a sense of isolation for being the only people dressed as chimpanzees.

The critical consensus reads: "One of the better Planet of the Apes sequels, Escape is more character-driven than the previous films, and more touching as a result.

"[15] David Pirie of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "Infuriatingly, Escape from the Planet of the Apes continues the downward trend of a science-fiction series that started out with much ingenuity and promise ... the film is painfully sentimental in its attitude to the chimps, with Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall overplaying and vulgarising their former roles to the point where it's hard to feel much concern about their final destruction.