The diary of Ulysse Merou, journalist
with an interstellar expedition from Earth, is found floating in space
by other astronauts.
It
recounts how the team landed on a planet in the Betelgeuse system
discovering both primitive humans and a society of intelligent apes
utilizing technology equal to late 20th Century Earth!
Captured by the simians, Merou manages to demonstrate his intelligence, becoming something of a curioisity and celebrity in Ape society...
Written
and illustrated by Ernő Zórád, this 1981 Hungarian one-shot adaptation
of the original French novel by Pierre Boule has never been
officially-published in English.
But, thanks to the fine work of Kyriee (Scans), Swatura Od (translation) and Avoros (scripting), we're finally able to understand this tale in
English.
In the 1966 first drafts (and pre-production) of the movie, the plan was to follow the book's premise closer...
...as seen in this 1966 promo reel with an early makeup test featuring Edward G Robinson as
Zaius, James Brolin as
Cornelius, and Linda Harrison (who played
Nova in the first two movies) as
Zira!
BTW, the "stock music" is by John Williams from the
Lost in Space tv series!
