Planet of the Apes was released on February 8, 1868.
Planet of the Apes (1968 film) . The screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling was loosely based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle . It was the first in a series of five films made between 1968 and 1973 , all produced by Arthur P. Jacobs and released by 20th Century Fox . Filming took place between May 21 and August 10 , 1967 , in California , Utah and Arizona , with desert sequences shot in and around Lake Powell , Glen Canyon National Recreation Area .