Secrets From 1968 Cult Classic ‘Planet of the Apes’: The Makeup, Sets and More

The 1968 cult classic revolutionized movie makeup and launched a franchise that was not just monkey business.

Charlton Heston didn’t hesitate when producer Arthur Jacobs asked him to star in a new sci-fi film as an astronaut who crashes on a planet ruled by talking apes.

“I liked the idea of the talking monkeys and a different civilization,” the actor of 1968’s Planet of the Apes told Closer. No studio went wild for the idea until producer Richard D. Zanuck and Jacobs convinced 20th Century Fox to give it a go.

“It ended up being one of their biggest hits,” Thomas R. Burman, a makeup tech on the film, told us. “Second to The Sound of Music!”

The movie spawned four sequels, a TV series and a 2001 reboot that revived the franchise. Andy Serkis, who plays the chimp Caesar in the new films, revealed to Closer the original movie’s impact has lasted over 50 years because it felt “prophetic and truthful. It’s such an incredible metaphor for the human condition.” Here’s a look at the classic film that made Hollywood, and audiences, go bananas.

The Makeup

While the humans were nearly naked in the movie, the ape actors wore “very heavy, woolen outfits,” Burman told us. “Working outside in 100 degrees was uncomfortable.”

It took 3 to 4 hours in the makeup chair to glue on the foam latex masks, and Roddy McDowall, who appeared in four movies and the TV series, “was extremely claustrophobic,” added Will Conlin, director of the documentary Making Apes. “At the end of the day he would grab the prosthetic and rip it right off his face. It must’ve been painful because it will rip the hairs out of your skin!”

At lunch, the set went primal. “The gorillas would gather at their table, the chimpanzees at theirs and the orangutans at their table,” says Burman.

Makeup artist Daniel Striepeke recalled to Closer the budget for makeup being as high as $300,000, with 47 artists working at one time. “It was very funny,” he said of the downtime between scenes. “You’d see four or five gorillas around a table playing cards.”

The Sets

In an interview with Closer, art director William J. Creber said he found inspiration for the Ape City in the Turkish town of Cappadocia, which has ancient cone-shaped rock formations. “I said we need something like this that’s not like Earth in any way,” Creber said.

One of the most iconic moments in the film is the final shot, when the camera pulls back to reveal the remnants of the Statue of Liberty and Heston’s astronaut realizes he’s been home the whole time. Creber recalled he was having a drink with director Franklin J. Schaffner as they talked about the ending: “I grabbed a bar napkin and drew a storyboard no bigger than a postage stamp,” as they worked out the details. “That was the ending of the picture and it all came from the little storyboard on the back of the napkin!”

The Stars

Lots of actors tried out, including a young Tom Selleck, and Ingrid Bergman later regretted turning down the role of Dr. Zira, played by Kim Hunter. Edward G. Robinson did a makeup test to play Dr. Zaius, but Burman recalled to Closer the actor ultimately said, “I can’t wear that makeup all day. It’s just too much for me!”

Linda Harrison, who played Charlton’s mute mate, Nova, and would become Zanuck’s wife, was awed to work with “my idol” Charlton, she told Closer. “He seemed like such a good man,” she said. “He was quiet,” but he did open up about doing his first nude scene for the movie at age 45.

“He said he was very skinny,” she remembers. “So he just worked out and developed and ended up with a really nice physique!”