The Planet of the Apes films are all-time classics. Well, the first one is, anyway. Released back in April of 1968, Planet of the Apes became an instant fan favorite. It was considered a groundbreaking and monumental achievement for its use of prosthetic makeup, and its famous twist soon became one of the most iconic scenes in movie history.
As you can probably imagine, a great movie like this usually contains many great behind-the-scenes stories. After all, making an event film is often an event in and of itself. And this movie is no different.
The Rights Were Bought Before The Novel Was Even Published
What some people may not know is that Planet of the Apes was originally a novel. It was written by French author Pierre Boulle and was published under the title La Planète des singes (Planet of the Apes in the United States, or more hilariously, Monkey Planet in the UK).
It was originally published in 1963, and producer Arthur P. Jacobs actually purchased the film rights before it had even been published! As such, Planet of the Apes was already underway.
Rod Serling Wrote A Draft
The Twilight Zone was a hit TV show at the time. It originally began airing back in 1959 and ended in June of 1964, four years prior to the release of Planet of the Apes. Writer Rod Serling was well known in the industry for his ability to craft an engaging and topical science fiction tale, and he was brought in to write the original screenplay.
It went over well, but it was finally rejected after being deemed too ambitious and costly to produce. What we would give to see his original vision come to light…
The Statue Of Liberty Was Changed
The image of the Statue of Liberty poking out of the sand is one of the most iconic images in movie history. But we almost didn’t get it. Knowing that this final punch was important to the movie and its story, the producers and writers went over various storyboards concerning the final image.
In some, the Statue was located in a jungle, not the beach. In another, the Statue was littered across the ground in various pieces. They eventually settled on a half-buried Statue poking out of the sand, and we think it was a fantastic decision.
Various Actresses Were Considered For Nova
Nova is portrayed by actress Linda Harrison in the first two Apes movies, but Harrison was never the studio’s first option. In fact, they had cycled through a variety of actresses. Those considered include Ursula Andress (known for playing the first Bond girl in Dr. No), Raquel Welch, and Angelique Pettyjohn.
However, all of these actresses were either uninterested in the project or busy doing others, so Fox vice president Richard D. Zanuck gave the role to Harrison. It must be nice being someone’s fourth pick…
The Judge Scene Was Largely Improvised
Who says you need to keep to the script? One famous scene in the original movie sees the judges imitating the “see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil” monkeys. According to associate producer Mort Abrahams, this scene was not in any of the scripts.
The scene was supposedly improvised on the spot by the director, Franklin J. Schaffner, and the producers decided to keep it in the movie after it received a positive response at test screenings.
The Humor Was Added In During Rewrites
Planet of the Apes is well known for his tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. After all, with a title like Planet of the Apes, you can’t expect the filmmakers to take it too seriously. Unfortunately, this humor has somewhat dated the film, especially after the recent trilogy took the material so seriously.
Regardless, this weird humor was never in Rod Serling’s original draft. Again according to associate producer Mort Abrahams, an unnamed writer (Abrahams literally can’t remember his name) added these jokes during a substantial rewriting of the dialogue.
Most Of The Desert Scenes Were Filmed In Arizona
You can’t really fake desert scenes. You can, practically, but it always looks super fake if it’s filmed on a sound stage. Luckily, Planet of the Apes filmed on location in Arizona. Some of the locations include the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon, and the Colorado River.
The latter was filmed for the sequence where the astronauts walk away from their crashed spacecraft.
The Ape Village Was Filmed In Malibu Creek State Park
Both the exteriors and interiors of the ape village were filmed in what is now Malibu Creek State Park. At the time, the park was actually owned by 20th Century Fox and was used as a movie ranch for exotic outdoor locales.
It was then known as “Fox Ranch,” and it was used in the filming of many classic movies, including Butch Cassidy, Doctor Dolittle, The Towering Inferno, and Logan’s Run. The location was subsequently established as a state park in 1974, six years after Planet of the Apes was released.
The Crew Had To Be Lowered In By Helicopter For The Final Shot
The iconic final scenes of the film were filmed in a remote segment of beach area between Malibu and Oxnard. However, the location was so remote and difficult to access that the cast and crew, well, couldn’t access it.
In order to film the final beach sequences, the cast, crew, and filming equipment needed to be flown in and lowered down via helicopter. So don’t get any ideas about visiting the location. Not unless you have a helicopter on standby.
The Statue Was A Matte Painting
Seeing as CGI didn’t exist in 1968, filmmakers needed to use various ingenious methods to solve their special effect conundrums. The iconic final shot of the Statue of Liberty was actually a matte painting (a painting that gives the illusion of distance or height) combined with the real cliffs located at the beach.
FYI, said beach is located in Malibu at a point between Zuma Beach and Point Dume.
