<P> To convince the Fox Studio that a Planet of the Apes film could be made, the producers shot a brief test scene from a Rod Serling draft of the script, using early versions of the ape makeup . Charlton Heston appeared as an early version of Taylor (named Thomas, as he was in the Serling - penned drafts), Edward G. Robinson appeared as Zaius, while two then - unknown Fox contract actors, James Brolin and Linda Harrison, played Cornelius and Zira . This test footage is included on several DVD releases of the film, as well as the documentary Behind the Planet of the Apes . Linda Harrison, at the time the girlfriend of studio chief Richard Zanuck, went on to play Nova in the 1968 film and its first sequel, and had a cameo in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes more than 30 years later, which was also produced by Zanuck . Although Harrison often opined that the producers had always had her in mind for the role of Nova, they had, in fact, considered first Ursula Andress, then Raquel Welch, and Angelique Pettyjohn . When these three women proved unavailable or uninterested, Zanuck gave the part to Harrison . Dr. Zaius was originally to have been played by Robinson, but he backed out due to the heavy makeup and long sessions required to apply it . Robinson later made his final film, Soylent Green (1973), opposite his one - time Ten Commandments (1956) co-star Heston . </P> <P> Michael Wilson's rewrite kept the basic structure of Serling's screenplay but rewrote all the dialogue and set the script in a more primitive society . According to associate producer Mort Abrahams an additional uncredited writer (his only recollection was that the writer's last name was Kelly) polished the script, rewrote some of the dialogue and included some of the more heavy - handed tongue - in - cheek dialogue ("I never met an ape I didn't like") which wasn't in either Serling or Wilson's drafts . According to Abraham some scenes, such as the one where the judges imitate the "See no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil" monkeys, were improvised on the set by director Franklin J. Schaffner and kept in the final film because of the audience reaction during test screenings prior to release . During filming John Chambers, who designed prosthetic make up in the film, held training sessions at 20th Century - Fox studios, where he mentored other make - up artists of the film . </P> <P> Filming began on May 21, 1967, and ended on August 10, 1967 . Most of the early scenes of a desert - like terrain were shot in northern Arizona near the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon and other locations near Page, Arizona Most scenes of the ape village, interiors and exteriors, were filmed on the Fox Ranch in Malibu Creek State Park, northwest of Los Angeles, essentially the backlot of 20th Century Fox . The concluding beach scenes were filmed on a stretch of California seacoast between Malibu and Oxnard with cliffs that towered 130 feet above the shore . Reaching the beach on foot was virtually impossible, so cast, crew, film equipment, and even horses had to be lowered in by helicopter . The remains of the Statue of Liberty were shot in a secluded cove on the far eastern end of Westward Beach, between Zuma Beach and Point Dume in Malibu . As noted in the documentary Behind the Planet of the Apes, the special effect shot of the half - buried statue was achieved by seamlessly blending a matte painting with existing cliffs . The shot looking down at Taylor was done from a 70 - foot scaffold, angled over a 1 / 2 - scale papier - mache model of the Statue . The actors in Planet of the Apes were so affected by their roles and wardrobe that, when not shooting, they automatically segregated themselves with the species they were portraying . </P> <P> The spacecraft onscreen is never actually named in the film . But for the 40th anniversary release of the Blu - ray edition of the film, in the short - film created for the release called A Public Service Announcement from ANSA, the ship is called "Liberty 1". The ship had originally been called "Immigrant One" in an early draft of the script, and then called "Air Force One" in a test set of Topps Collectible cards, and dubbed "Icarus" by a fan; that name gained popularity among Ape fandom . </P>

Where was first planet of the apes filmed