Planet of the Apes (1968 film) and Linda Harrison, played Cornelius and Zira. This test footage is included on several DVD releases of the film, as well as the documentary "Behind the Planet of the Apes". Linda Harrison, at the time the girlfriend of studio chief Richard Zanuck, went on to play Nova in the 1968 film and its first sequel, and had a cameo in Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" more than 30 years later, which was also produced by Zanuck. Although Harrison often opined that the producers had always had her in mind for the role of Nova, they had, in fact, considered
Escape from the Planet of the Apes quite good." Arthur D. Murphy of "Variety" called it "an excellent film. Far better than last year's followup and almost as good as the original 'Planet of the Apes.'" Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote that the film "works largely because Miss Hunter and McDowall, working under Don Taylor's deft direction, are such gifted actors and because John Chambers' chimpanzee makeup is so convincing, as it was in the other pictures." 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