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"PLANET OF THE APES"

Screenplay
by
Michael Wilson

Based on Novel
By
Pierre Boulle

SHOOTING SCRIPT
May 5, 1967

REVISED:
05/11/67
05/16/67
05/23/67
06/09/67
06/15/67
06/22/67
07/06/67
07/27/67

FADE IN

1 EXT. CONSTELLATION OF ORION - NIGHT

Stars glitter like diamonds on the black velvet backdrop of space.
The Belt of Orion is center screen, but much nearer and larger
than ever seen by an Earth-bound astronomer.

A speck of light appears in the lower left corner of the screen.
No spaceship can be seen, but only a glowworm, a solitary sperma-
tosoan gliding through the womb of the universe. Over this we HEAR
the voice of an astronaut. He is concluding a report.

ASTRONAUT'S VOICE
(o.s.)
So ends my last signal until we reach
our destination. We are now on automatic,
a mere hundred and five light years from
our base ... and at the mercy of com-
puters. I've tucked in my crew for the
long sleep. I'll join them presently.

2 INT. CABIN OF SPACESHIP - ESTABLISHING SHOT - NIGHT

The cabin is neither cramped nor spacious, but about the size of the
President's cabin in Air Force One. In the immediate f.g. is a console
of dials and switches flanked by four chairs. Only one of the chairs
is occupied. The astronaut's back is to CAMERA. There is a ladder
amidships which leads to an escape hatch. The after Dart of the cabin
is obscured in darkness. We hear the MUSIC of a Mozart sonata emanating
from a phonograph of stereotape. The astronaut is speaking into a
microphone.

ASTRONAUT
Within the hour we shall complete
the sixth month of our flight from
Cape Kennedy. By our time, that is ...

He pauses, looking up at:

3 TWO LARGE CLOCKS - ON CABIN WALL

One clock is marked SELF TIME, but instead of twelve numerals it has
twenty-four. One of the needles is moving very slowly.

The other clock is labeled EARTH TIME, and its units, like those of a
tachometer, are given by hundreds and thousands.

The largest needle of this clock makes one revolution every second.
Over this we hear:

ASTRONAUT'S VOICE
(o.s.)
But according to Dr. Hasslein theory of
time in a vehicle traveling at close to
the speed of light, old Mother Earth has
aged a few thousand years since our de-
parture -- while we have scarcely aged
at all.

4 CLOSE ON ASTRONAUT

This is TAYLOR. He wears simple dungarees (or Churchill suit) and
comfortable boots. He seems calm and pensive. Extracting the butt of
a cigar from the breast pocket of his dungarees, he lights it, then
continues:

TAYLOR
It may be so. This much is probable: the
men who sent us on this journey have long
since been moldering in forgotten graves;
and those, if any, who read this message
are a different breed. Hopefully, a
better one.

He begins to roll up his left sleeve.

TAYLOR
I leave the twentieth century without
regret. Who was it? Marshall? ... said
'Modern man is the missin 'a link between
the ape and the human being.'

He removes the cigar from his mouth, turns to look out through one
of the portholes into the astral night.

TAYLOR
One final thought -- nothing scientific,
purely personal. Seen from up here,
everything looks different ... Time bends
and space is boundless. It squashes a
man's ego. He begins to feel like no more
than a mote in the eye of eternity. And
he is nagged by a question: ahat if any-
thing, will greet us on the end of man's
first journey to a star? Are we to believe
that throughout these thousands of galaxies,
these millions of stars, only one, that
speck of solar dust we call Earth, has
been graced -- or cursed -- by human life?
(pause)
I have to doubt it.

He extracts a hypodermic needle from his breast pocket and injects
it into the vein of his forearm. He continues speaking.

TAYLOR
(sardonically)
That's about all. I wonder if Man, that
marvel of the universe, that glorious
paradox who has sent me to the unknown...
still makes war against his brother., and
lets his neighbor's children starve.

Taylor withdraws the hypodermic needle from his vein and secures it in
a drawer of the console.

TAYLOR
Well then, Earthmen: A missing link
salutes you. Bless you, my descendants.

Taylor snuffs out the cigar butt and places it in the drawer beside the
hypodermic. Then, flicking a switch Au cut off the Mozart, he rises and
looks up again at:

5 THE CLOCK MARKED EARTH TIME

The longest needle of this clock now makes nearly two revolutions per
second. The shortest needle points to the numeral 2105.

6 INT. CABIN - TRACKING WITH TAYLOR

Space scientists have presumably solved the problem of weightlessness,
for Taylor walks the short distance from; the console to the after
section without particular effort. CAMERA FOLLOWS him, and we can now
see four glass capsules, or "caskets", in the rear of the cabin. Taylor
looks down at them.

7- SEVERAL SHOTS - THE FOUR CASKETS - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V.
10
One of them is open. The other three are occupied by astronauts: DODGE,
LANDON and STEWART. They, too, wear dungarees and boots. Dodge and
Landon are thirtyish, clean-shaven, virile -- America's finest. Stewart
is a handsome young woman, her hair bobbed short. Their eyes are closed
and they do not appear to be breathing -- yet no undertaker could make
them so alive.

11 ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING TAYLOR

He grasps the handle of his own casket and slowly pulls himself into
it. Continuing SILENCE. CAMERA MOVES IN as Taylor Dulls the glass lid
shut and secures it. He adjusts two dials inside the capsule and lies
back, buckling his safety belt. CAMERA MOVES INTO A CLOSEUP of Taylor.
His eyes are open. He seems serene, even enraptured.

(NOTE: Credits will appear here over a series of shots designed to
convey a sense of loneliness, of separation, and of the passage of
time.)

DISSOLVE TO:

12- A SERIES OF SHOTS - A DISTANT GLOBE (MINIATURE)
16
We see a strange and distant planet. At first the globe occupies but a
small area of the screen; but with each new VIEW it comes closer and
looms larger, as if" observed from a spaceship in a spiraling orbit of
descent.

The topography of the planet bears little resemblance to our own. Much
of it is obscured by cloud cover; even more of-it appears to be
cratered desert of reddish hue. We can, however, make out a few narrow
"green belts" and a patch of blue water.

In the FINAL SHOTS of this SEQUENCE we see the strange planet as it
would be observed from a spacecraft plummeting from twenty thousand
feet to one thousand feet. It appears that the ship will fall into a
vast lake surrounded by soaring sandstone pinnacles. The water is
blue-black, the pinnacles vermillion. (This is the Lake Powell
location, at Lone Rock.)

17 INT. SPACESHIP - FULL SHOT - DAY

Four empty pilot seats are seen in f.g., the four glass caskets in
b.g. We HEAR the RHYTHMIC BLEAT of a WARNING SIGNAL, a RUSH OF WIND
as in a rapid descent, and perhaps the ROAR OF RETROJETS. Then, a
great CRASH as the craft hits water. The whole ship shudders on impact.
Loose equipment falls to the cabin floor. CAMERA MOVES DOWN the cabin
aisle as the ship begins to roll in the water and HOLDS on the four
glass caskets. There are THREE LOUD METALLIC CLICKS as the glass
domes of the caskets swing open automatically.

18 CLOSE ON TAYLOR

He now has a full beard. His eyes come open. Instantly alert, he
rises to a sitting position, gazing across at:

19 DODGE AND LANDON - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V.

They, too, awaken and sit up, starring at Taylor. They, too, are
bearded.

TAYLOR'S VOICE
(o.s.)
You all right?

They nod.

20 BACK TO TAYLOR - CLOSE SHOT

He glances at the casket beside his own.

TAYLOR
Stewart?
(struggling to his feet)
Stewart?

21 CLOSE-SHOT --THE FOURTH CASKET

Its dome remains unopened. The young woman is a skeleton in a
Churchill suit.

22 REACTION SHOT - THE THREE ASTRONAUTS

Dodge and Landon have joined Taylor and-stare at the grinning skull
of their dead comrade. A low, descending HUM of equipment is heard.
Simultaneously the lights begin to FADE. A moment later they brighten,
but not as much as before.

TAYLOR
There goes our primary power. We're on
auxilliary.

A slight CRACKING sound is heard. Taylor turns quickly away and o.s.:

23 REVERSE ANGLE - THE FORWARD CABIN

A trickle of water has begun to seep through a ruptured seam in the
cabin. Taylor darts to a porthole and peers cut.

24 LONG SHOT - WHAT TAYLOR SEES:

water

The porthole is no more than six inches above the line. In the
distance we discern a shoreline of red desert.

TAYLOR'S VOICE
(o.s.)
We're in the soup. We're sinking.

25 INT. CABIN - FULL SHOT

The leak in the seam becomes a growing spray of water. Taylor
turns away from the porthole, calling:

TAYLOR
Dodge! Read the atmosphere!

Dodge moves instantly to the ladder beneath an escape hatch and
mounts it. Taylor stumbles down the aisle of the rolling ship toward
the console and addresses Landon, who is still staring at Stewart's
skeleton.

TAYLOR
Landon! Send a last signal.

LANDON
(dazed)
What signal?

TAYLOR
To Earth! That we've landed!

As Landon lurches toward the communications equipment in f.g.

CUT TO:

26 EXT. TIM STRANGE PLANET - LONG PANORAMIC SHOT - LATE AFTERNOON (LONE
ROCK, LAKE POWELL)

We are looking at a lifeless desert of sandstone buttes and pinnacles.
There is no sign of vegetation anywhere. CAMERA PANS DOWN to a body
of water that could be the bay of an inland sea. The deep blue of the
sea contrasts sharply to the red sands of the shoreline. CAMERA HOLDS
on the stricken spaceship, wallowing like a beached whale a hundred
yards offshore. The portholes of the craft are beneath the water, and
only its roof and the tail fin of its tail assembly are visible. The
red-hot skin of the ship vaporizes the water around it.

Suddenly a snorkel-like tube sprouts from the escape hatch, which is
located amidships.

27 INT. CABIN - CLOSE ON CLOSED ESCAPE HATCH

Dodge, standing halfway up the ladder., has fastened a kit of gauges
to the end of the snorkel tube. He reads the dials, removes the kit,
sniffs the air in the tube and then, taking a deep breath, announces:

DODGE
It's breathable.

TAYLOR'S VOICE
(o.s.)
Okay! Blow the hatch before we lose
auxilliary power.

Dodge reaches for a control mechanism near the escape hatch.

28 CLOSE ON TAYLOR AND LANDON

The spray of water coming through the ruptured seam is increasing.
The LIGHTS DIM again and the SOUND of the warning signal FADES. While
Landon fiddles with the radio, Taylor tries to get the tape recorder
rolling, but all we hear are scrambled and unintelligible noises.

LANDON
It's no use ... there she goes.

TAYLOR
Forget it. Abandon ship.

29 WIDER ANGLE - TIM CABIN

The escape hatch is now open. Taylor darts over to the ladder and
passes a folded life raft up to Dodge. When Landon reaches the ladder,
Taylor hands him two neatly packed rucksacks, and Landon climbs
through the escape hatch. Taylor is about to follow with a third
rucksack, then turns and crosses the cabin for a last look at:

30 THE TWO CLOCKS - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V.

Both clocks have stopped: the red needle of the clock labeled SELF
TIME rests on the numeral 18; the red needle of the clock marked
EARTH TIME rests on the numeral 3975.

31 EXT. TOP OF SPACECRAFT - MED. SHOT

Dodge inflates the raft with a cartridge of compressed air and
tosses it into the water. He and Landon jump into the water and
climb onto the raft as Taylor emerges from the hatch, Taylor slips
into the water and climbs onto the raft. He and Landon begin to
paddle toward shore, while Dodge immediately opens another kit and
takes a sample of the water.

32 CLOSE ON THE MEN IN THE RAFT

DODGE
(half to himself)
Briny...twenty-five percent salinity.
Near the saturation point.

LANDON
(looking back)
She's still sinking...

33 THE SPACESHIP - FROM THEIR P.O.V.

Only the radio antenna and the tip of the tail fin remain visible.

LANDON'S VOICE
(o.s.)
Going ... going...

The craft vanishes beneath the water.

34 CLOSE ON THE MEN IN THE RAFT

Dodge is still busy with his kit. Landon is still looking back, but
Taylor doesn't bother to turn his head.

LANDON
Gone.

TAYLOR
(flatly)
We're here to stay.

35 ANOTHER ANGLE - MOVING WITH THE RAFT

They gaze at the forbidding sandstone battlements as they near the
shore.

LANDON
Well? Where are we? Have any notion,
skipper?

TAYLOR
(confidently)
We're some three hundred and twenty
light years from Earth. On an unnamed
planet in orbit around a star in the
constellation of Orion.
(looks off at
the "sun")
That could be Bellatrix.

36 THE SUN - FROM THEIR P.O.V.

Low on the horizon, seen through a dense envelope of dust particles.

DODGE'S VOICE
(o.s.)
Too red for Bellatrix.

37 BACK TO ASTRONAUTS IN RAFT

Landon glances skeptically at Taylor.

LANDON
You didn't have time to check the
tapes, so you don't really know,
do you?
(as Taylor ignores
him)
What went wrong?
(sardonically)
We weren't programmed to land
in water.

DODGE
(grinning)
The question, Landon, is not so much
where we are as when we are.

TAYLOR
(stands up in raft)
We've had a nice snooze. Let's start
earning all our back pay.

38 WIDER ANGLE - THE BEACH

As the three astronauts step out into shallow water and pull the
raft ashore.

TAYLOR
Take your soil test, Dodge. I'll
check the equipment.

Dodge moves inland about ten yards, removes a small hand drill
from his belt, extends the rod of the drill three feet and begins
to take some subsoil samplings. Taylor begins to examine the contents
of the three rucksacks. Landon sits down on the beach., hands around
his knees, gazing moodily at the sunken spaceship. During this and
succeeding scenes we sense that Dodge's obsession with scientific
inquiry leaves him immune to fear: Landon is possibly more courageous
and certainly more "human," for he has many fears to control: while
Taylor -- detached, cool and misanthropic -- is something of an enigma.

TAYLOR
(calls Dodge)
Got your sensors?

DODGE
Yo!

TAYLOR
Geiger counter?

DODGE
Yo!

TAYLOR
(taking inventory)
One pistol... twenty-four rounds of
ammo. two medical kits.. one camera...
one TX9.
(loudly to the
others)
We've enough food and water for three
days.

DODGE
But how long is a day?

TAYLOR
Good question.
(turning)
Landon -- check your communications
kit.

39 ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING LANDON

He seems not to have heard.

TAYLOR
(sharply)
Landon! Join the expedition.

LANDON
(rising)
Sorry...
(crossing to his kit)
I was thinking of Stewart. What
d'you suppose happened?

TAYLOR
(flatly)
Air leak. Died in her sleep.

LANDON
You don't seem very cut up about
it.

TAYLOR
It's a little late for a wake. She's
been dead nearly a year.

LANDON
Then we've been away from Earth for
eighteen months.

TAYLOR
By our time.
(smiling at Landon)
You've turned gray.

Landon involuntarily touches the gray hair of his temple as Taylor
adds lightly:

TAYLOR
Apart from that, you look pretty chipper
for a man who's two thousand and thirty
one years old.
(casually)
I read the clocks. They bear out Hasslein's
hypothesis. We've been away from Earth for
two thousand years, give or take a decade.
(pause)
Still can't accept it, huh?

LANDON
long pause)
You know it.

TAYLOR
Because time has wiped out everyone and
everything you cared for -- they're dust.

LANDON
Prove it. If we can't get back, it's still
just a theory.

TAYLOR
It's a fact, Landon. Buy it. You'll sleep
better.

Dodge enters scene. A handful of reddish sand dribbles through his
fingers.

DODGE
Nothing will grow here .... there's just a
trace of hydrocarbons, and most of the
nitrogen is locked into nitrates.

TAYLOR
Any sign of dangerous ionization?

DODGE
No.

TAYLOR
(rising)
Okay. If there's no life here, we've got
just seventy-two hours to find it. That's
when the groceries run out.

He picks up one of the rucksacks and puts it on. The others follow
suit.

DODGE
Which direction?

TAYLOR
(decisively, pointing
west)
That way.

DODGE
Any particular reason?

TAYLOR
None at all.

He moves out. Dodge follows. CAMERA PANS with them. They have gone
only a few paces when Taylor looks back over his shoulder and halts.

40 REVERSE ANGLE - FEATURING LANDON

Landon is squatting in the sand, sticking something into the soil.
It is a small American flag, the size of a handkerchief.

41 REVERSE ANGLE - FEATURING TAYLOR AND DODGE

Mirth bubbles up in Taylor's throat. He explodes with wild laughter.
He is still laughing as they move out.

DISSOLVE TO:

41-A DAWN SHOT (GUNSIGHT LOC #43)

42 THE ASTRONAUTS' TREK

They descend from the plateau (Ochre Dunes)

43 ASTRONAUTS CONTINUE MARCH,

Across the top of the hills there suddenly runs a line of fire (Black
Dunes).

44 THEY MOVE ACROSS THE TERRAIN

Jagged bolts of lightning flash across the sky, but bring, no rain, and
thunder claps sound like heavy artillery. (Gray Area)

45- OUT
58

QUICK DISSOLVE TO:

59 ANOTHER PART OF THE CANYON (OCHRE DUNES AREA) - GROUP
SHOT - DAY

Several huge boulders are dislodged, and the three astronauts run.
wildly to escape the falling rocks. When the avalanche ends, they
sprawl on the lifeless sands, breathing heavily and drenched with
sweat, surrounded by enormous boulders. Taylor looks about him.

TAYLOR
Everybody all right?

Murmurs of assent from Dodge and Landon. Taylor rummages through a
limp rucksack, comes up with some empty food cartons,rummages again,
coming up with a cigar butt.

TAYLOR
Water check.

Dodge takes a plastic canteen from another rucksack and inspects it.

DODGE
Eight ounces.

Dodge lies back and looks up at the sky.

DODGE
It doesn't add up. There's a mantle of
dust around this planet and yet it's
as humid as a jungle. Thunder and
lightning and yet no rain. Cloud cover
every night and that strange luminosity,
and yet no moon.

Landon also looks up at the sky.

LANDON
If only we could get a fix.

TAYLOR
(needling him)
What would you learn? I've told you
where you are and when you are.

DODGE
(gently)
Taylor -- quit riding him.

TAYLOR
(harshly, to Landon)
You're more than three hundred light
years from your precious planet. Your
loved ones have been dead and forgotten
for twenty centuries. Even if you could
get back, they'd think you were
something that fell out of a tree.

LANDON
(wearily)
All right --

TAYLOR
There's only one reality left. We're
here and it's now. You get ahold of that
and hang on tight, or you might as well
be dead.

LANDON
(quietly)
I'm prepared to die.

Taylor turns to Dodge, throws up his hands.

TAYLOR
He's prepared to die! Doesn't that make
you misty? Chalk up another victory for
the human spirit!

Dodge rises and moves off, o.s., either embarrassed by this colloquy
or unwilling to hear it again. Taylor, cigar clamped between his
teeth, spins toward Landon.

TAYLOR
Straighten me out on something. Why did
you come along at all? You volunteered.
Why?
(a beat; no answer)
I'll tell you. They nominated you for the
Big One and you couldn't turn it down. Not
without losing your All-American standing

LANDON
(hard)
Climb off me, will you!

TAYLOR
And the glory, don't forget that. There's
a life-sized bronze statue of you somewhere.
It's probably turned green by now, and nobody
can read the name plate. But never let it be
said we forget our heroes.

LANDON
Taylor. I'm telling you --

TAYLOR
Oh, and one last item. Immortality.
You wanted to go on forever.
(pause)
Well, you damn near made it. Except for
Dodge and me, you've lived longer than
anybody. And with Stewart dead, it looks
like we're the last of the strain. You got
what you wanted, kid. How does it taste?

Silence. Taylor lies down, spent of his venom, pillowing
his head on a rucksack.

LANDON
(softly)
Okay. You read me well enough.
Why can't I read you?

TAYLOR
Don't bother

LANDON
(looking off)
Dodge ... he's not like me at all. But
he makes sense. Held walk naked into a
live volcano if he thought he could learn
something no other man knew. I understand
why he's here. But you...You're no seeker.
You're negative.

TAYLOR
But I'm not prepared to die.

LANDON
(heatedly)
I'd like to know why not. You thought
life on Earth was meaningless. You despised
people. So what did you do? You ran away.

Taylor's eyes are closed. He is silent for a moment. When he speaks,
his tone is soft, reflective.

TAYLOR
No, not quite, Landon. I'm a bit of a
seeker myself. But my dreams are a lot
emptier than yours.
(pause)
I can't get rid of the idea that somewhere
in the Universe there must be a creature
superior to man.

60 ANOTHER ANGLE - FEATURING DODGE

who has been wandering around, studying the boulders and the barren
soil. Taylor and Landon can be seen in b.g. Dodge spots something and
squats down to examine it.

61 CLOSEUP - WHAT DODGE SEES:

It is a tiny desert flower, no more than an inch high.

62 CLOSEUP - DODGE

His eyes light up as he calls:

DODGE
Taylor! Over here!

63 CLOSE. GROUP SHOT - ANGLING DOWN

as Taylor and Landon hurry over and kneel down on either side of Dodge.
The astronauts hover over the tiny flower like three magi perceiving
the infant Deliverer.

DODGE
Life.

He digs gently around the roots of the plant with a small instrument.

DODGE
Where there's one there's another. And
another. And another.

TAYLOR
Let's find them all.

63-A SUNSET SHOT

64 END OF THE TREK AS THE ASTRONAUTS START FROM THE CANYON
TO THE TAMARISK AREA

Absolute desolation (Ochre Area). The astronauts start down
the canyon.

65 ASTRONAUTS CAST HUGE SHADOWS

As they move across the terrain (top of Crazy Canyon).

65-A JUMP SHOT

As they jump across a gap. Thunder and lightning again (top of
Crazy Canyon).

65-B THEY MOVE DOWN

They march across Crazy Canyon overlook.

65-C REACTION SHOTS OF ASTRONAUTS

66-
A-R SERIES OF SHOTS OF DESCENT OF ASTRONAUTS DOWN SHEER FACE OF A CANYON
(Wire Grass Canyon).

For a brief moment several "creatures" appear. We cannot identify the
species.

QUICK DISSOLVE T0:

67 EXT. A DRY WASH - CLOSE GROUP SHOT - DAY

Blooming tamarisks border a. dry stream bed. Taylor and Landon hover
over Dodge, who is probing the soil with his drill. Their dungarees and
faces are caked with dust.

DODGE
It's a stream bed., no doubt about
it -- but bone dry.

Landon strightens up and looks off, startled by something he sees.

LANDON
Look. . .

68 LONG SHOT - A CLIFF BEYOND THE TAMARISKS

with the astronauts in f.g. In the distance, on the skyline, we can
make out a long row of wooden crosses. Some animal or vegetable matter
appears to be tied to the crosses.

LANDON
Scarecrows?

TAYLOR
Let's take a look.

Taylor plunges into the thicket of tamarisks, followed by Dodge and
Landon. Their view of the cliff is momentarily obscured. CAMERA HOLDS
on the distant crosses. For an instant only, three "creatures" again
appear on the skyline near the crosses. Then they vanish.

69 REVERSE ANGLE - THE ASTRONAUTS

as they emerge from the tamarisk thicket-nearer to the base of the-
cliff. They halt and look up at:

70 THE CROSSES - ANGLING UP - FROM ASTRONAUT'S P.O.V.

We can now see the pelts of unrecognizable animals have been bound to
the crosses and, thus mounted in a long row, seem to make a boundary
or serve as a warning. The living bipeds are no longer visible.

71 BACK TO THE ASTRONAUTS

Dodge and Landon are still looking up at the strange crosses, but
Taylor is scanning the terrain at the base of the cliff. The sound of
rushing water can be heard.

TAYLOR
(half to himself)
Never mind the scarecrows.

He breaks into a run, CAMERA PANNING with him as he moves toward a
declivity in the face of the cliff.

72 MOVING SHOT - DODGE AND LANDON

Agonized with thirst, they follow Taylor.

73 FLASH SHOT - THE TOP OF THE CLIFF

For an instant we see the bipeds again, moving in the same direction.

74 EXT. A DECLIVITY IN THE CLIFF - FEATURING TAYLOR

He scrambles up a rock-strewn gorge and looks off at the terrain
beyond.

75 EXT. A WATERFALL - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V.

The cascade is not spectacular, but the vegetation around it is
startlingly lush. (This location is not at Lake Powell, but at the
Ranch).

76 CLOSEUP - TAYLOR

His parched lips break into a smile.

QUICK DISSOLVE TO:

77 EXT. WATERFALL AND POOL - FULL SHOT - DAY

The cascade has formed a cool and inviting pool. Thick foliage grows to
its very edge. Dodge is on his hands and knees, testing the liquid with
his kit. The others wait expectantly.

DODGE
It's loaded with minerals, but safe.

Without further ado Landon ducks his face into the pool. Dodge scoops
up water in his hands and drinks. Taylor follows suit.

LANDON
(coming up for air)
Can we take a dip?

TAYLOR
(looks around)
Okay.

Landon and Dodge immediately remove their boots, strip down and plunge
into the pool. But Taylor does not yet disrobe. Alert and curious, he
strolls along the bank of the pool, looking around.

78 DODGE AND LANDON SWIMMNG

79 TAYLOR

as he briefly looks around, then starts taking off his shirt.

80 DODGE AND LANDON

as they arrive at opposite shore.

81 MED . SHOT - FAR SIDE OF POOL

as Landon sees something on shore.

82 TAYLOR IN WATER

as he swims across.

LANDON'S VOICE
(o.s.)
Hey, Taylor! Look at this --

Dodge and Taylor climb out of the pool and squat beside Landon.

83 CLOSE SHOT - WHAT THEY SEE:

The print of a large five-toad foot is clearly visible in the wet sand.

84 GROUP SHOT - THE THREE ASTRONAUTS

Taylor rises and walks slowly toward the underbrush, scanning the
ground for other sports.

CUT TO:

85 THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POOL - FULL PANNING SHOT

Our view of the astronauts beyond the cascade in b.g. is partially
obscured by broad-leafed foliage directly in front of CAMERA, which
PANS SLOWLY away from the waterfall and HOLDS on the astronauts'
clothing at the edge of the pool. Suddenly and inexplicably a pair of
dungarees slithers away into the underbrush. A few seconds pass. Now a
pair of bronzed and brawny shoulders fill the SCREEN, blocking our
view.

86 REVERSE ANGLE - CLOSE ON A HUMAN FACE IN HEAVY FOLIAGE

Or is it human? The hair is matted, the face bearded, the jaw
prognathous, the orbital rim prominent.

87 ANOTHER ANGLE - AT EDGE OF POOL

A brown thick-fingered hand appears from behind heavy foliage and
plucks at a boot. The boot vanishes.

88 BACK TO THE ASTRONAUTS - ON OTHER SIDE OF POOL

Dodge is standing near Taylor and looking back at the spot where they
left their clothing. Suddenly he seizes Taylor's arm and points
silently at the far bank of the pool.

89 WHAT THEY SEE:

Another pair of dungarees slithers into the underbrush and disappears.

90 REVERSE ANGLE - FULL PANNING SHOT - THE ASTRONAUTS

Led by Taylor, they dive back into the pool and swim to the other bank.
Emerging from the water, they look around in bewilderment. Taylor makes
hand signals to indicate absolute silence and a reconnaissance. The
three astronauts fan out and move cautiously into the jungle (or rain
forest).

91-
93 EXT. - JUNGLE (OR RAIN FOREST) - SEVERAL SHOTS - MOVING WITH THE
ASTRONAUT'S

Little sunlight penetrates this dense vegetation. These SHOTS are
INTERCUT with:

94 WHAT THE ASTRONAUTS SEE:

fleeting forms as yet unidentified; trembling foliage; brown shadows
against a green backdrop.

95 EXT. A SMALL CLEARING - FAVORING THE THREE ASTRONAUTS

who stop at the edge of the clearing, startled by

96 WHAT THEY SEE:

a number of primitive bipeds, male and female, scarcely visible behind
trees and bushes on the other side of the clearing -- here a face,
there a portion of a head and torso. Throughout this sequence, the
primitives are never seen clearly or at close range.

97 BACK TO THE AST40IONAUTS

reacting. They speak in whispers.

LANDON
My God..they look almost human.

DODGE
They -- there's a herd of them.

TAYLOR
Show them we're friendly.

CAMERA PULLS BACK as Taylor advances a few steps into the clearing,
extending his empty hands and beaming like a politician.

TAYLOR
(warmly)
Greetings!

98 REVERSE - THE STRANGE CREATURES - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V.

There are perhaps a dozen of them. They shrink back as Taylor advances
-- hostile, frightened or both. We now see that some of them are
clutching articles of the astronauts' clothing and equipment. Taylor
stops, stares at them glumly.

TAYLOR
No cigar.

LANDON
Try telling them our names.

Taylor grimaces at Landon.

TAYLOR
Well, if we're looking for an icebreaker...
(turning to the creatures)
Listen, folks .....

More shrinking back by the frightened primitives.

DODGE
(softly)
I'm afraid they aren't having any.

99- OUT
102

103- A SERIES OF FLASH SHOTS - THE JUNGLE (OR RAIN FOREST):
105

A pistol goes off with a deafening crash, and the primitive creatures
scatter in panicky flight. After a while, quiet returns to the jungle.

106 EXT. A JUNGLE PATH - THE ASTRONAUTS

They examine the remnants of their clothing and equipment and start to
don whatever is able to be worn. Taylor puts on what remains of a
ripped pair of trousers; Dodge starts to improvise from the remnants of
the kit (it is a torn shelter half). Landon, like Taylor, has the
remains of his pants.

DODGE
They didn't leave much did they?

LANDON
Shall we follow them?

TAYLOR
Haven't much choice.

As they walk off down the jungle path.

DISSOLVE TO:

107 EXT. A GROVE OF FRUIT TREES - ESTABLISHING SHOT - DAY

This need not be a cultivated grove. A few trees (peach or apricot or
avocado, it matters not) grow wild in a pleasant glade. Nor is the
grove extensive. The three astronauts sit under a tree in f.g.; the
primitives sit under a clump, of trees some fifty yards away. Each camp
is feeding and warily watching the other. In the distance beyond the
fruit trees is an open grassy plain or cultivated field.

108 THE PRIMITIVES - FROM LANDON'S P.O.V.

They too are sitting under trees, munching fruit. There are no more
than a dozen altogether.

109 BACK TO ASTRONAUTS - CLOSE GROUP SHOT

TAYLOR
Well, at least they haven't
tried to bite us.

DODGE
Blessed are the vegetarians.

110 THE OTHER CAMP - FEATURING A YOUNG WOMAN

Squatting on her haunches, eating fruit, gazing back at Taylor. Her
hair is long and black, her skin nut brown, her face hauntingly lovely
and hauntingly stupid. This is NOVA.

111 BACK TO ASTRONAUTS

Landon looks o.s. at the primitives.

LANDON
We got off at the wrong stop.

TAYLOR
You're our optimist Look at the bright
side. If that's the best there is
around here, in six months we'll be
running this planet.

DODGE
(suddenly)
Look...

112 THE PRIMITIVES - THEIR P.O.V.

They appear to be agitated although neither we nor the astronauts
have yet heard or seen any cause for alarm. The primitives get to
their feet, sniffing, listening

113 CLOSE GROUP SHOT - THE ASTRONAUTS

Puzzled and alarmed by the primitives' behavior, they too get to
their feet.

LANDON
Think they'll attack us?

Taylor turns, looks back at:

114 THE DISTANT JUNGLE (OR FOREST)

From which they recently emerged. There is no sign of life.

115 LONG PANNING SHOT - THE PRIMITIVES

They suddenly run laterally across the grove, heading back toward
their jungle. A rumble becomes audible it is the SOUND of HOOFBEATS.

116 VERY LONG SHOT - THE JUNGLE (OR FOREST)

Twelve "horsemen" suddenly emerge from the trees, riding abreast at a
canter, like a squadron of cavalry about to charge. The horses look
huge. So do the riders, but at this distance we cannot identify them.

117 LONG PANNING SHOT - THE PRIMITIVES

Cut off from their natural habitat, they reverse direction and flee
toward the tall grasses of the savanna (or cultivated field).

118 LONG SHOT - THE RIDERS

With an exultant battle cry they break into a gallop. The hunt is on.

119 CLOSE GROUP SHOT - THE THREE ASTRONAUTS

Stupefied, frozen in place.

120 LONG SHOT - THE RIDERS

Coming closer. We HEAR a rifle shot, then a flurry of shots.

121 MED. SHOT.

A bullet spanks into the fruit trees above their heads. They run,
CAMERA PANNING with them as they race toward the tall grass in deep
b.g.

122- A SERIES OF FLASH SHOTS - THE HUNT IN THE SAVANNA
124
As the "horsemen" close in on the creatures fleeing on foot.

125 MED. CLOSE SHOT - A RIDER

He reins in, raises his rifle and fires. For the first time, we se that
he is a GORILLA. He wears a simple quasi-military uniform -- tunic,
trousers and boots.

126 FLASH SHOT - DODGE

Running through the high grass. He is shot in the back and falls.

127 FLASH SHOT - TAYLOR

He drops at the side of his fallen comrade.

128 CLOSE TWO SHOT - ANGLING DOWN ON DODGE

As Taylor rolls him over. Dodge is dead.

129 WIDER ANGLE SHOT - THE SAVANNA - FEATURING A LINE OF BEATERS

The beaters are all GORILLAS. They carry long sticks and nets, and
their task is to flush out the terrified primitives cowering in the
tall grass.

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