Planet of the Apes

A United States spacecraft on a long-range mission crashes on an unfamiliar world. The survivors, led by astronaut George Taylor, find the planet inhabited by primitive humans who cannot speak and are hunted, enslaved and used in experiments by an intelligent society of apes. Taylor's capture forces him into that order, where a chimpanzee scientist and her colleagues take an interest in him, while the orangutan leader Dr. Zaius treats his presence as a threat. The story follows Taylor's struggle to survive and to be heard in a world where humans hold no standing, and it ends on a revelation rather than a resolution.

Franklin J. Schaffner directed the film, which sits early in his career, between The War Lord and Patton. Michael Wilson and Rod Serling wrote the screenplay, and Arthur P. Jacobs produced. Charlton Heston plays Taylor, with Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans as the apes, among a credited cast of 44 and crew of 70. The production cost about 6 million dollars and returned roughly 33 million worldwide, a strong result for its time.

On TMDB the film holds 7.7 out of 10 from 4,115 votes, indicating a widely favorable audience response that has stayed steady across decades. Its premise and imagery carried the story into several further films and television, making this the starting point of a long-running series.