Back to the Planet of the Apes

TV Movie
1980
PG
1h 32m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

This is not an original made-for-TV movie, but two episodes of the 1974 TV series Planet of the Apes (1974) edited together: Escape from Tomorrow (1974) and The Trap (1974).This is not an original made-for-TV movie, but two episodes of the 1974 TV series Planet of the Apes (1974) edited together: Escape from Tomorrow (1974) and The Trap (1974).This is not an original made-for-TV movie, but two episodes of the 1974 TV series Planet of the Apes (1974) edited together: Escape from Tomorrow (1974) and The Trap (1974).

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos4

Top cast18

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Roddy McDowall

Galen
(archive footage)

Ron Harper

Alan Virdon
(archive footage)

James Naughton

Pete Burke
(archive footage)

Royal Dano

Farrow
(archive footage)

Woodrow Parfrey

Veska
(archive footage)

Norman Alden

Zako
(archive footage)

John Milford

Miller
(archive footage)

Mark Lenard

Urko
(archive footage)

Booth Colman

Zaius
(archive footage)

Biff Elliot

Ullman
(archive footage)

Bobby Porter

Arno
(archive footage)

Jerome Thor

Proto
(archive footage)

William Beckley

Grundig
(archive footage)

Alvin Hammer

Man
(archive footage)

Cindy Eilbacher

Lisa Miller
(archive footage)

Mickey LeClair

Jick Miller
(archive footage)

Wallace Earl Laven

Mary Miller
(archive footage)
(as Wallace Earl)

Gail Bonney

Old woman
(archive footage)

Directors
- Arnold Laven
- Don Weis
Writers
All cast & crew
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9:57

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Roddy McDowall filmed new wraparound footage in December 1976. In it, he plays an older Galen, in the year 3100.

Alternate versions
Originally broadcast in 1974 as two episodes of "Planet of the Apes" (1974).

Connections
Edited from Planet of the Apes: Escape from Tomorrow (1974)

User reviews4

Featured review

4/10

Cut and paste shenanigans

BACK TO THE PLANET OF THE APES is the first of the cut 'n' paste TV movies from the early 1980s, each of which stapled together two episodes of the unsuccessful '70s TV series PLANET OF THE APES. As usual, these are low rent affairs that don't really work as two movies, because the episodes are self-contained and joining them together feels like an artificial experience.

The first half of this movie is the better of the two, mainly because it's the pilot episode so it sets up the plot for the rest of the story. It's the usual stuff - pilots crash land on the titular planet are imprisoned by the apes - a weak retread of the famous film, no less, but it's okay. It doesn't help that the production values are low and the performances worse. The second half of the film is a dull human/ape bonding story that'll have you reaching for the remote. All in all it's not very good, but four more pasted TV movies would follow.