Actor Roddy McDowall (1928)

An American animated comedy film, A Bug’s Life (1998), was produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It follows the story of a colony of ants, led by the elderly Queen and her daughter Princess Atta, who reside in a dry creekbed on ‘Ant Island’. The ants are forced to give food every summer to a gang of grasshoppers, headed by Hopper. One fateful day, Flik, a clumsy inventor ant, accidentally ruins their offering with his grain harvester. When Hopper finds out, he demands double the amount as compensation. Flik suggests enlisting bigger bugs’ help to fight the grasshoppers, prompting Atta to send him away. Flik then heads ...

Overboard (1987) is an American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Leslie Dixon. Heiress Joanna Stayton is accustomed to a wealthy life with her own yacht and fortune, along with her husband Grant Stayton III. While waiting for her yacht to be repaired in the fictional seaside town of Elk Cove, Oregon, Joanna hires local carpenter Dean Proffitt, a widower with four sons, to remodel her closet. Despite Dean’s quality work, she dismisses it because he used oak instead of cedar without her requesting it initially. Dean asks to be paid for ...

The American science fiction film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), was directed by J. Lee Thompson with a screenplay by John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington, based on a story by Paul Dehn. It is told as a flashback to the early 21st century, with a wraparound sequence narrated by the orangutan Lawgiver in ‘North America – 2670 A.D.’. This sequel follows chimpanzee Caesar, who is faced with the aftermath of a global nuclear war that has ...

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) is a science fiction movie directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by Paul Dehn. Set in a future where a space-borne disease has wiped out all dogs and cats, the government has established police states modeled after the Schutzstaffel. These states have taken in chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans as pets and have built a culture around using them for slave labor. This was predicted in 1973 by two chimpanzee scientists known as Cornelius and Zira, who were unfortunately killed for their testimony. Although believed to be ...

The American disaster film, The Poseidon Adventure (1972), directed by Ronald Neame, follows the journey of the SS Poseidon, an ocean liner headed from New York to Athens in the Aegean Sea. Despite Captain Harrison’s concerns about safety, the new owner’s representative insists on traveling at full speed to cut costs, resulting in Poseidon being unable to take on ballast. Also onboard are Reverend Frank Scott, who believes in self-help and is being sent to Africa as punishment for his unorthodox views; Detective Lieutenant Mike Rogo and his wife Linda, who struggles with seasickness; siblings Susan Shelby ...

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), an American sci-fi film directed by Don Taylor and written by Paul Dehn, follows three chimpanzees (Cornelius, Zira, and Dr. Milo) who flee Earth before its destruction. Using Taylor’s ship, they travel through a time warp and end up on present-day Earth, specifically the Pacific coast of the United States. The apes are eventually taken to the Los Angeles Zoo and placed under the care of friendly scientists Dr. Stephanie Branton and Dr. Lewis Dixon. However, their stay is cut short when Milo is killed by a gorilla at the ...

Planet of the Apes (1968), an American science fiction film by Franklin J. Schaffner, is loosely based on Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel. Astronauts Taylor, Landon and Dodge emerge from an extended hibernation following a space voyage at near-light speed. According to Taylor’s theory attributed to scientist Hasslein, the time dilation effect has caused only 18 months to pass for the astronauts despite 701 years having elapsed on Earth since their journey began in 1972. The clock aboard the ship shows time advancing at a rate of approximately one day per minute, ...

The American Western mystery film, 5 Card Stud (1968), directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Dean Martin and Robert Mitchum, tells the story of a gambler in Rincon, a small town located 100 miles from Denver, Colorado. The gambler is caught cheating at a game of five-card stud poker and is later lynched by the other players, led by the volatile Nick Evers. One of the players, Van Morgan, attempts to prevent the act of frontier justice, but is unsuccessful. He ultimately leaves town but returns after learning that several ...

The American epic religious film, The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), recounts the Biblical tale of Jesus from his birth in Nazareth to his Ascension. It was produced and directed by George Stevens. A group of wise men (Magi) travel from Asia to Jerusalem after seeing a bright star, hoping to find the prophesied newborn king. King Herod is alerted of their arrival and is told about a Messiah mentioned in prophecies. Remembering that Bethlehem is the predicted birthplace, Herod sends the Magi there to confirm the child’s existence but secretly sends guards to keep an eye on them. In Bethlehem, they find Mary and ...