Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

My Review

“Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” is the fourth in the movie series where the apes stage a successful revolt against the humans who have enslaved them. They are lead by Caesar, the son of chimp scientists Cornelius and Zira, who arrived from the future in the third film. Director J. Lee Thompson (“The Chairman” 1969) put together a respectable third sequel in the “Apes” series, from the screenplay by Paul Dehn.

The star of the show is Roddy McDowell who plays Caesar under a ton of makeup. He also portrayed Caesar’s father Cornelius in the first and third films (1968 and 1971). Co-stars include Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban, Hari Rhodes, Natalie Trundy, John Randolph, Severn Darden, Lou Wagner, Paul Comi, and Gordon Jump as an auctioneer. The watchable “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” was popular at the box office for producer Arthur P. Jacobs, APJAC Productions, and 20th Century Fox. It was immediately followed by the fifth film in the series called “Battle for the Planet of the Apes” in 1973.