Planet of the Apes Screenplay PDF

Planet of the Aples - 1967 ALL SCRIPTS FADE IN 1 EXT. CONSTELLATION OF ORION - NIGHT...

Planet of the Aples - 1967 ALL SCRIPTS FADE IN 1 EXT. CONSTELLATION OF ORION - NIGHT Stars glitter like diamonds on the black velvet backdrop of space. The Belt of Orion is center screen, but much nearer and larger than ever seen by an Earth-bound astronomer. A speck of light appears in the lower left corner of the screen. No spaceship can be seen, but only a glowworm, a solitary sperma- tosoan gliding through the womb of the universe. Over this we HEAR the voice of an astronaut. He is concluding a report. ASTRONAUT'S VOICE (o.s.) So ends my last signal until we reach our destination. We are now on automatic, a mere hundred and five light years from our base... and at the mercy of com- puters. I've tucked in my crew for the long sleep. I'll join them presently. 2 INT. CABIN OF SPACESHIP - ESTABLISHING SHOT - NIGHT The cabin is neither cramped nor spacious, but about the size of the President's cabin in Air Force One. In the immediate f.g. is a console of dials and switches flanked by four chairs. Only one of the chairs is occupied. The astronaut's back is to CAMERA. There is a ladder amidships which leads to an escape hatch. The after Dart of the cabin is obscured in darkness. We hear the MUSIC of a Mozart sonata emanating from a phonograph of stereotape. The astronaut is speaking into a microphone. ASTRONAUT Within the hour we shall complete the sixth month of our flight from Cape Kennedy. By our time, that is... He pauses, looking up at: 3 TWO LARGE CLOCKS - ON CABIN WALL One clock is marked SELF TIME, but instead of twelve numerals it has twenty-four. One of the needles is moving very slowly. The other clock is labeled EARTH TIME, and its units, like those of a tachometer, are given by hundreds and thousands. The largest needle of this clock makes one revolution every second. Over this we hear: ASTRONAUT'S VOICE (o.s.) But according to Dr. Hasslein theory of time in a vehicle traveling at close to the speed of light, old Mother Earth has aged a few thousand years since our de- parture -- while we have scarcely aged at all. 4 CLOSE ON ASTRONAUT https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 This is TAYLOR. He wears simple dungarees (or Churchill suit) and comfortable boots. He seems calm and pensive. Extracting the butt of a cigar from the breast pocket of his dungarees, he lights it, then continues: TAYLOR It may be so. This much is probable: the men who sent us on this journey have long since been moldering in forgotten graves; and those, if any, who read this message are a different breed. Hopefully, a better one. He begins to roll up his left sleeve. TAYLOR I leave the twentieth century without regret. Who was it? Marshall?... said 'Modern man is the missin 'a link between the ape and the human being.' He removes the cigar from his mouth, turns to look out through one of the portholes into the astral night. TAYLOR One final thought -- nothing scientific, purely personal. Seen from up here, everything looks different... Time bends and space is boundless. It squashes a man's ego. He begins to feel like no more than a mote in the eye of eternity. And he is nagged by a question: ahat if any- thing, will greet us on the end of man's first journey to a star? Are we to believe that throughout these thousands of galaxies, these millions of stars, only one, that speck of solar dust we call Earth, has been graced -- or cursed -- by human life? (pause) I have to doubt it. He extracts a hypodermic needle from his breast pocket and injects it into the vein of his forearm. He continues speaking. TAYLOR (sardonically) That's about all. I wonder if Man, that marvel of the universe, that glorious paradox who has sent me to the unknown... still makes war against his brother., and lets his neighbor's children starve. Taylor withdraws the hypodermic needle from his vein and secures it in a drawer of the console. TAYLOR Well then, Earthmen: A missing link salutes you. Bless you, my descendants. Taylor snuffs out the cigar butt and places it in the drawer beside the hypodermic. Then, flicking a switch Au cut off the Mozart, he rises and looks up again at: 5 THE CLOCK MARKED EARTH TIME The longest needle of this clock now makes nearly two revolutions per second. The shortest needle points to the numeral 2105. 6 INT. CABIN - TRACKING WITH TAYLOR https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 Space scientists have presumably solved the problem of weightlessness, for Taylor walks the short distance from; the console to the after section without particular effort. CAMERA FOLLOWS him, and we can now see four glass capsules, or "caskets", in the rear of the cabin. Taylor looks down at them. 7- SEVERAL SHOTS - THE FOUR CASKETS - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V. 10 One of them is open. The other three are occupied by astronauts: DODGE, LANDON and STEWART. They, too, wear dungarees and boots. Dodge and Landon are thirtyish, clean-shaven, virile -- America's finest. Stewart is a handsome young woman, her hair bobbed short. Their eyes are closed and they do not appear to be breathing -- yet no undertaker could make them so alive. 11 ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING TAYLOR He grasps the handle of his own casket and slowly pulls himself into it. Continuing SILENCE. CAMERA MOVES IN as Taylor Dulls the glass lid shut and secures it. He adjusts two dials inside the capsule and lies back, buckling his safety belt. CAMERA MOVES INTO A CLOSEUP of Taylor. His eyes are open. He seems serene, even enraptured. (NOTE: Credits will appear here over a series of shots designed to convey a sense of loneliness, of separation, and of the passage of time.) DISSOLVE TO: 12- A SERIES OF SHOTS - A DISTANT GLOBE (MINIATURE) 16 We see a strange and distant planet. At first the globe occupies but a small area of the screen; but with each new VIEW it comes closer and looms larger, as if" observed from a spaceship in a spiraling orbit of descent. The topography of the planet bears little resemblance to our own. Much of it is obscured by cloud cover; even more of-it appears to be cratered desert of reddish hue. We can, however, make out a few narrow "green belts" and a patch of blue water. In the FINAL SHOTS of this SEQUENCE we see the strange planet as it would be observed from a spacecraft plummeting from twenty thousand feet to one thousand feet. It appears that the ship will fall into a vast lake surrounded by soaring sandstone pinnacles. The water is blue-black, the pinnacles vermillion. (This is the Lake Powell location, at Lone Rock.) 17 INT. SPACESHIP - FULL SHOT - DAY Four empty pilot seats are seen in f.g., the four glass caskets in b.g. We HEAR the RHYTHMIC BLEAT of a WARNING SIGNAL, a RUSH OF WIND as in a rapid descent, and perhaps the ROAR OF RETROJETS. Then, a great CRASH as the craft hits water. The whole ship shudders on impact. Loose equipment falls to the cabin floor. CAMERA MOVES DOWN the cabin aisle as the ship begins to roll in the water and HOLDS on the four glass caskets. There are THREE LOUD METALLIC CLICKS as the https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 glass domes of the caskets swing open automatically. 18 CLOSE ON TAYLOR He now has a full beard. His eyes come open. Instantly alert, he rises to a sitting position, gazing across at: 19 DODGE AND LANDON - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V. They, too, awaken and sit up, starring at Taylor. They, too, are bearded. TAYLOR'S VOICE (o.s.) You all right? They nod. 20 BACK TO TAYLOR - CLOSE SHOT He glances at the casket beside his own. TAYLOR Stewart? (struggling to his feet) Stewart? 21 CLOSE-SHOT --THE FOURTH CASKET Its dome remains unopened. The young woman is a skeleton in a Churchill suit. 22 REACTION SHOT - THE THREE ASTRONAUTS Dodge and Landon have joined Taylor and-stare at the grinning skull of their dead comrade. A low, descending HUM of equipment is heard. Simultaneously the lights begin to FADE. A moment later they brighten, but not as much as before. TAYLOR There goes our primary power. We're on auxilliary. A slight CRACKING sound is heard. Taylor turns quickly away and o.s.: 23 REVERSE ANGLE - THE FORWARD CABIN A trickle of water has begun to seep through a ruptured seam in the cabin. Taylor darts to a porthole and peers cut. 24 LONG SHOT - WHAT TAYLOR SEES: water The porthole is no more than six inches above the line. In the distance we discern a shoreline of red desert. TAYLOR'S VOICE (o.s.) We're in the soup. We're sinking. 25 INT. CABIN - FULL SHOT The leak in the seam becomes a growing spray of water. Taylor turns away from the porthole, calling: TAYLOR Dodge! Read the atmosphere! https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 Dodge moves instantly to the ladder beneath an escape hatch and mounts it. Taylor stumbles down the aisle of the rolling ship toward the console and addresses Landon, who is still staring at Stewart's skeleton. TAYLOR Landon! Send a last signal. LANDON (dazed) What signal? TAYLOR To Earth! That we've landed! As Landon lurches toward the communications equipment in f.g. CUT TO: 26 EXT. TIM STRANGE PLANET - LONG PANORAMIC SHOT - LATE AFTERNOON (LONE ROCK, LAKE POWELL) We are looking at a lifeless desert of sandstone buttes and pinnacles. There is no sign of vegetation anywhere. CAMERA PANS DOWN to a body of water that could be the bay of an inland sea. The deep blue of the sea contrasts sharply to the red sands of the shoreline. CAMERA HOLDS on the stricken spaceship, wallowing like a beached whale a hundred yards offshore. The portholes of the craft are beneath the water, and only its roof and the tail fin of its tail assembly are visible. The red-hot skin of the ship vaporizes the water around it. Suddenly a snorkel-like tube sprouts from the escape hatch, which is located amidships. 27 INT. CABIN - CLOSE ON CLOSED ESCAPE HATCH Dodge, standing halfway up the ladder., has fastened a kit of gauges to the end of the snorkel tube. He reads the dials, removes the kit, sniffs the air in the tube and then, taking a deep breath, announces: DODGE It's breathable. TAYLOR'S VOICE (o.s.) Okay! Blow the hatch before we lose auxilliary power. Dodge reaches for a control mechanism near the escape hatch. 28 CLOSE ON TAYLOR AND LANDON The spray of water coming through the ruptured seam is increasing. The LIGHTS DIM again and the SOUND of the warning signal FADES. While Landon fiddles with the radio, Taylor tries to get the tape recorder rolling, but all we hear are scrambled and unintelligible noises. LANDON It's no use... there she goes. TAYLOR Forget it. Abandon ship. 29 WIDER ANGLE - TIM CABIN https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 The escape hatch is now open. Taylor darts over to the ladder and passes a folded life raft up to Dodge. When Landon reaches the ladder, Taylor hands him two neatly packed rucksacks, and Landon climbs through the escape hatch. Taylor is about to follow with a third rucksack, then turns and crosses the cabin for a last look at: 30 THE TWO CLOCKS - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V. Both clocks have stopped: the red needle of the clock labeled SELF TIME rests on the numeral 18; the red needle of the clock marked EARTH TIME rests on the numeral 3975. 31 EXT. TOP OF SPACECRAFT - MED. SHOT Dodge inflates the raft with a cartridge of compressed air and tosses it into the water. He and Landon jump into the water and climb onto the raft as Taylor emerges from the hatch, Taylor slips into the water and climbs onto the raft. He and Landon begin to paddle toward shore, while Dodge immediately opens another kit and takes a sample of the water. 32 CLOSE ON THE MEN IN THE RAFT DODGE (half to himself) Briny...twenty-five percent salinity. Near the saturation point. LANDON (looking back) She's still sinking... 33 THE SPACESHIP - FROM THEIR P.O.V. Only the radio antenna and the tip of the tail fin remain visible. LANDON'S VOICE (o.s.) Going... going... The craft vanishes beneath the water. 34 CLOSE ON THE MEN IN THE RAFT Dodge is still busy with his kit. Landon is still looking back, but Taylor doesn't bother to turn his head. LANDON Gone. TAYLOR (flatly) We're here to stay. 35 ANOTHER ANGLE - MOVING WITH THE RAFT They gaze at the forbidding sandstone battlements as they near the shore. LANDON Well? Where are we? Have any notion, skipper? TAYLOR (confidently) We're some three hundred and twenty light years from Earth. On an unnamed planet in orbit around a star in the constellation of Orion. https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 (looks off at the "sun") That could be Bellatrix. 36 THE SUN - FROM THEIR P.O.V. Low on the horizon, seen through a dense envelope of dust particles. DODGE'S VOICE (o.s.) Too red for Bellatrix. 37 BACK TO ASTRONAUTS IN RAFT Landon glances skeptically at Taylor. LANDON You didn't have time to check the tapes, so you don't really know, do you? (as Taylor ignores him) What went wrong? (sardonically) We weren't programmed to land in water. DODGE (grinning) The question, Landon, is not so much where we are as when we are. TAYLOR (stands up in raft) We've had a nice snooze. Let's start earning all our back pay. 38 WIDER ANGLE - THE BEACH As the three astronauts step out into shallow water and pull the raft ashore. TAYLOR Take your soil test, Dodge. I'll check the equipment. Dodge moves inland about ten yards, removes a small hand drill from his belt, extends the rod of the drill three feet and begins to take some subsoil samplings. Taylor begins to examine the contents of the three rucksacks. Landon sits down on the beach., hands around his knees, gazing moodily at the sunken spaceship. During this and succeeding scenes we sense that Dodge's obsession with scientific inquiry leaves him immune to fear: Landon is possibly more courageous and certainly more "human," for he has many fears to control: while Taylor -- detached, cool and misanthropic -- is something of an enigma. TAYLOR (calls Dodge) Got your sensors? DODGE Yo! TAYLOR Geiger counter? DODGE Yo! https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 TAYLOR (taking inventory) One pistol... twenty-four rounds of ammo. two medical kits.. one camera... one TX9. (loudly to the others) We've enough food and water for three days. DODGE But how long is a day? TAYLOR Good question. (turning) Landon -- check your communications kit. 39 ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING LANDON He seems not to have heard. TAYLOR (sharply) Landon! Join the expedition. LANDON (rising) Sorry... (crossing to his kit) I was thinking of Stewart. What d'you suppose happened? TAYLOR (flatly) Air leak. Died in her sleep. LANDON You don't seem very cut up about it. TAYLOR It's a little late for a wake. She's been dead nearly a year. LANDON Then we've been away from Earth for eighteen months. TAYLOR By our time. (smiling at Landon) You've turned gray. Landon involuntarily touches the gray hair of his temple as Taylor adds lightly: TAYLOR Apart from that, you look pretty chipper for a man who's two thousand and thirty one years old. (casually) I read the clocks. They bear out Hasslein's hypothesis. We've been away from Earth for two thousand years, give or take a decade. (pause) Still can't accept it, huh? https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 LANDON long pause) You know it. TAYLOR Because time has wiped out everyone and everything you cared for -- they're dust. LANDON Prove it. If we can't get back, it's still just a theory. TAYLOR It's a fact, Landon. Buy it. You'll sleep better. Dodge enters scene. A handful of reddish sand dribbles through his fingers. DODGE Nothing will grow here.... there's just a trace of hydrocarbons, and most of the nitrogen is locked into nitrates. TAYLOR Any sign of dangerous ionization? DODGE No. TAYLOR (rising) Okay. If there's no life here, we've got just seventy-two hours to find it. That's when the groceries run out. He picks up one of the rucksacks and puts it on. The others follow suit. DODGE Which direction? TAYLOR (decisively, pointing west) That way. DODGE Any particular reason? TAYLOR None at all. He moves out. Dodge follows. CAMERA PANS with them. They have gone only a few paces when Taylor looks back over his shoulder and halts. 40 REVERSE ANGLE - FEATURING LANDON Landon is squatting in the sand, sticking something into the soil. It is a small American flag, the size of a handkerchief. 41 REVERSE ANGLE - FEATURING TAYLOR AND DODGE Mirth bubbles up in Taylor's throat. He explodes with wild laughter. He is still laughing as they move out. DISSOLVE TO: https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 41-A DAWN SHOT (GUNSIGHT LOC #43) 42 THE ASTRONAUTS' TREK They descend from the plateau (Ochre Dunes) 43 ASTRONAUTS CONTINUE MARCH, Across the top of the hills there suddenly runs a line of fire (Black Dunes). 44 THEY MOVE ACROSS THE TERRAIN Jagged bolts of lightning flash across the sky, but bring, no rain, and thunder claps sound like heavy artillery. (Gray Area) 45- OUT 58 QUICK DISSOLVE TO: 59 ANOTHER PART OF THE CANYON (OCHRE DUNES AREA) - GROUP SHOT - DAY Several huge boulders are dislodged, and the three astronauts run. wildly to escape the falling rocks. When the avalanche ends, they sprawl on the lifeless sands, breathing heavily and drenched with sweat, surrounded by enormous boulders. Taylor looks about him. TAYLOR Everybody all right? Murmurs of assent from Dodge and Landon. Taylor rummages through a limp rucksack, comes up with some empty food cartons,rummages again, coming up with a cigar butt. TAYLOR Water check. Dodge takes a plastic canteen from another rucksack and inspects it. DODGE Eight ounces. Dodge lies back and looks up at the sky. DODGE It doesn't add up. There's a mantle of dust around this planet and yet it's as humid as a jungle. Thunder and lightning and yet no rain. Cloud cover every night and that strange luminosity, and yet no moon. Landon also looks up at the sky. LANDON If only we could get a fix. TAYLOR (needling him) What would you learn? I've told you where you are and when you are. DODGE (gently) https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 Taylor -- quit riding him. TAYLOR (harshly, to Landon) You're more than three hundred light years from your precious planet. Your loved ones have been dead and forgotten for twenty centuries. Even if you could get back, they'd think you were something that fell out of a tree. LANDON (wearily) All right -- TAYLOR There's only one reality left. We're here and it's now. You get ahold of that and hang on tight, or you might as well be dead. LANDON (quietly) I'm prepared to die. Taylor turns to Dodge, throws up his hands. TAYLOR He's prepared to die! Doesn't that make you misty? Chalk up another victory for the human spirit! Dodge rises and moves off, o.s., either embarrassed by this colloquy or unwilling to hear it again. Taylor, cigar clamped between his teeth, spins toward Landon. TAYLOR Straighten me out on something. Why did you come along at all? You volunteered. Why? (a beat; no answer) I'll tell you. They nominated you for the Big One and you couldn't turn it down. Not without losing your All-American standing LANDON (hard) Climb off me, will you! TAYLOR And the glory, don't forget that. There's a life-sized bronze statue of you somewhere. It's probably turned green by now, and nobody can read the name plate. But never let it be said we forget our heroes. LANDON Taylor. I'm telling you -- TAYLOR Oh, and one last item. Immortality. You wanted to go on forever. (pause) Well, you damn near made it. Except for Dodge and me, you've lived longer than anybody. And with Stewart dead, it looks like we're the last of the strain. You got what you wanted, kid. How does it taste? https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 Silence. Taylor lies down, spent of his venom, pillowing his head on a rucksack. LANDON (softly) Okay. You read me well enough. Why can't I read you? TAYLOR Don't bother LANDON (looking off) Dodge... he's not like me at all. But he makes sense. Held walk naked into a live volcano if he thought he could learn something no other man knew. I understand why he's here. But you...You're no seeker. You're negative. TAYLOR But I'm not prepared to die. LANDON (heatedly) I'd like to know why not. You thought life on Earth was meaningless. You despised people. So what did you do? You ran away. Taylor's eyes are closed. He is silent for a moment. When he speaks, his tone is soft, reflective. TAYLOR No, not quite, Landon. I'm a bit of a seeker myself. But my dreams are a lot emptier than yours. (pause) I can't get rid of the idea that somewhere in the Universe there must be a creature superior to man. 60 ANOTHER ANGLE - FEATURING DODGE who has been wandering around, studying the boulders and the barren soil. Taylor and Landon can be seen in b.g. Dodge spots something and squats down to examine it. 61 CLOSEUP - WHAT DODGE SEES: It is a tiny desert flower, no more than an inch high. 62 CLOSEUP - DODGE His eyes light up as he calls: DODGE Taylor! Over here! 63 CLOSE. GROUP SHOT - ANGLING DOWN as Taylor and Landon hurry over and kneel down on either side of Dodge. The astronauts hover over the tiny flower like three magi perceiving the infant Deliverer. DODGE Life. He digs gently around the roots of the plant with a small instrument. https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 DODGE Where there's one there's another. And another. And another. TAYLOR Let's find them all. 63-A SUNSET SHOT 64 END OF THE TREK AS THE ASTRONAUTS START FROM THE CANYON TO THE TAMARISK AREA Absolute desolation (Ochre Area). The astronauts start down the canyon. 65 ASTRONAUTS CAST HUGE SHADOWS As they move across the terrain (top of Crazy Canyon). 65-A JUMP SHOT As they jump across a gap. Thunder and lightning again (top of Crazy Canyon). 65-B THEY MOVE DOWN They march across Crazy Canyon overlook. 65-C REACTION SHOTS OF ASTRONAUTS 66- A-R SERIES OF SHOTS OF DESCENT OF ASTRONAUTS DOWN SHEER FACE OF A CANYON (Wire Grass Canyon). For a brief moment several "creatures" appear. We cannot identify the species. QUICK DISSOLVE T0: 67 EXT. A DRY WASH - CLOSE GROUP SHOT - DAY Blooming tamarisks border a. dry stream bed. Taylor and Landon hover over Dodge, who is probing the soil with his drill. Their dungarees and faces are caked with dust. DODGE It's a stream bed., no doubt about it -- but bone dry. Landon strightens up and looks off, startled by something he sees. LANDON Look... 68 LONG SHOT - A CLIFF BEYOND THE TAMARISKS with the astronauts in f.g. In the distance, on the skyline, we can make out a long row of wooden crosses. Some animal or vegetable matter appears to be tied to the crosses. LANDON Scarecrows? TAYLOR Let's take a look. https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 Taylor plunges into the thicket of tamarisks, followed by Dodge and Landon. Their view of the cliff is momentarily obscured. CAMERA HOLDS on the distant crosses. For an instant only, three "creatures" again appear on the skyline near the crosses. Then they vanish. 69 REVERSE ANGLE - THE ASTRONAUTS as they emerge from the tamarisk thicket-nearer to the base of the- cliff. They halt and look up at: 70 THE CROSSES - ANGLING UP - FROM ASTRONAUT'S P.O.V. We can now see the pelts of unrecognizable animals have been bound to the crosses and, thus mounted in a long row, seem to make a boundary or serve as a warning. The living bipeds are no longer visible. 71 BACK TO THE ASTRONAUTS Dodge and Landon are still looking up at the strange crosses, but Taylor is scanning the terrain at the base of the cliff. The sound of rushing water can be heard. TAYLOR (half to himself) Never mind the scarecrows. He breaks into a run, CAMERA PANNING with him as he moves toward a declivity in the face of the cliff. 72 MOVING SHOT - DODGE AND LANDON Agonized with thirst, they follow Taylor. 73 FLASH SHOT - THE TOP OF THE CLIFF For an instant we see the bipeds again, moving in the same direction. 74 EXT. A DECLIVITY IN THE CLIFF - FEATURING TAYLOR He scrambles up a rock-strewn gorge and looks off at the terrain beyond. 75 EXT. A WATERFALL - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V. The cascade is not spectacular, but the vegetation around it is startlingly lush. (This location is not at Lake Powell, but at the Ranch). 76 CLOSEUP - TAYLOR His parched lips break into a smile. QUICK DISSOLVE TO: 77 EXT. WATERFALL AND POOL - FULL SHOT - DAY The cascade has formed a cool and inviting pool. Thick foliage grows to its very edge. Dodge is on his hands and knees, testing the liquid with his kit. The others wait expectantly. DODGE It's loaded with minerals, but safe. Without further ado Landon ducks his face into the pool. Dodge scoops https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 up water in his hands and drinks. Taylor follows suit. LANDON (coming up for air) Can we take a dip? TAYLOR (looks around) Okay. Landon and Dodge immediately remove their boots, strip down and plunge into the pool. But Taylor does not yet disrobe. Alert and curious, he strolls along the bank of the pool, looking around. 78 DODGE AND LANDON SWIMMNG 79 TAYLOR as he briefly looks around, then starts taking off his shirt. 80 DODGE AND LANDON as they arrive at opposite shore. 81 MED. SHOT - FAR SIDE OF POOL as Landon sees something on shore. 82 TAYLOR IN WATER as he swims across. LANDON'S VOICE (o.s.) Hey, Taylor! Look at this -- Dodge and Taylor climb out of the pool and squat beside Landon. 83 CLOSE SHOT - WHAT THEY SEE: The print of a large five-toad foot is clearly visible in the wet sand. 84 GROUP SHOT - THE THREE ASTRONAUTS Taylor rises and walks slowly toward the underbrush, scanning the ground for other sports. CUT TO: 85 THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POOL - FULL PANNING SHOT Our view of the astronauts beyond the cascade in b.g. is partially obscured by broad-leafed foliage directly in front of CAMERA, which PANS SLOWLY away from the waterfall and HOLDS on the astronauts' clothing at the edge of the pool. Suddenly and inexplicably a pair of dungarees slithers away into the underbrush. A few seconds pass. Now a pair of bronzed and brawny shoulders fill the SCREEN, blocking our view. 86 REVERSE ANGLE - CLOSE ON A HUMAN FACE IN HEAVY FOLIAGE Or is it human? The hair is matted, the face bearded, the jaw prognathous, the orbital rim prominent. 87 ANOTHER ANGLE - AT EDGE OF POOL https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 A brown thick-fingered hand appears from behind heavy foliage and plucks at a boot. The boot vanishes. 88 BACK TO THE ASTRONAUTS - ON OTHER SIDE OF POOL Dodge is standing near Taylor and looking back at the spot where they left their clothing. Suddenly he seizes Taylor's arm and points silently at the far bank of the pool. 89 WHAT THEY SEE: Another pair of dungarees slithers into the underbrush and disappears. 90 REVERSE ANGLE - FULL PANNING SHOT - THE ASTRONAUTS Led by Taylor, they dive back into the pool and swim to the other bank. Emerging from the water, they look around in bewilderment. Taylor makes hand signals to indicate absolute silence and a reconnaissance. The three astronauts fan out and move cautiously into the jungle (or rain forest). 91- 93 EXT. - JUNGLE (OR RAIN FOREST) - SEVERAL SHOTS - MOVING WITH THE ASTRONAUT'S Little sunlight penetrates this dense vegetation. These SHOTS are INTERCUT with: 94 WHAT THE ASTRONAUTS SEE: fleeting forms as yet unidentified; trembling foliage; brown shadows against a green backdrop. 95 EXT. A SMALL CLEARING - FAVORING THE THREE ASTRONAUTS who stop at the edge of the clearing, startled by 96 WHAT THEY SEE: a number of primitive bipeds, male and female, scarcely visible behind trees and bushes on the other side of the clearing -- here a face, there a portion of a head and torso. Throughout this sequence, the primitives are never seen clearly or at close range. 97 BACK TO THE AST40IONAUTS reacting. They speak in whispers. LANDON My God..they look almost human. DODGE They -- there's a herd of them. TAYLOR Show them we're friendly. CAMERA PULLS BACK as Taylor advances a few steps into the clearing, extending his empty hands and beaming like a politician. TAYLOR (warmly) https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 Greetings! 98 REVERSE - THE STRANGE CREATURES - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V. There are perhaps a dozen of them. They shrink back as Taylor advances -- hostile, frightened or both. We now see that some of them are clutching articles of the astronauts' clothing and equipment. Taylor stops, stares at them glumly. TAYLOR No cigar. LANDON Try telling them our names. Taylor grimaces at Landon. TAYLOR Well, if we're looking for an icebreaker... (turning to the creatures) Listen, folks..... More shrinking back by the frightened primitives. DODGE (softly) I'm afraid they aren't having any. 99- OUT 102 103- A SERIES OF FLASH SHOTS - THE JUNGLE (OR RAIN FOREST): 105 A pistol goes off with a deafening crash, and the primitive creatures scatter in panicky flight. After a while, quiet returns to the jungle. 106 EXT. A JUNGLE PATH - THE ASTRONAUTS They examine the remnants of their clothing and equipment and start to don whatever is able to be worn. Taylor puts on what remains of a ripped pair of trousers; Dodge starts to improvise from the remnants of the kit (it is a torn shelter half). Landon, like Taylor, has the remains of his pants. DODGE They didn't leave much did they? LANDON Shall we follow them? TAYLOR Haven't much choice. As they walk off down the jungle path. DISSOLVE TO: 107 EXT. A GROVE OF FRUIT TREES - ESTABLISHING SHOT - DAY This need not be a cultivated grove. A few trees (peach or apricot or avocado, it matters not) grow wild in a pleasant glade. Nor is the grove extensive. The three astronauts sit under a tree in f.g.; the primitives sit under a clump, of trees some fifty yards away. Each camp is feeding and warily watching the other. In the distance beyond the https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 fruit trees is an open grassy plain or cultivated field. 108 THE PRIMITIVES - FROM LANDON'S P.O.V. They too are sitting under trees, munching fruit. There are no more than a dozen altogether. 109 BACK TO ASTRONAUTS - CLOSE GROUP SHOT TAYLOR Well, at least they haven't tried to bite us. DODGE Blessed are the vegetarians. 110 THE OTHER CAMP - FEATURING A YOUNG WOMAN Squatting on her haunches, eating fruit, gazing back at Taylor. Her hair is long and black, her skin nut brown, her face hauntingly lovely and hauntingly stupid. This is NOVA. 111 BACK TO ASTRONAUTS Landon looks o.s. at the primitives. LANDON We got off at the wrong stop. TAYLOR You're our optimist Look at the bright side. If that's the best there is around here, in six months we'll be running this planet. DODGE (suddenly) Look... 112 THE PRIMITIVES - THEIR P.O.V. They appear to be agitated although neither we nor the astronauts have yet heard or seen any cause for alarm. The primitives get to their feet, sniffing, listening 113 CLOSE GROUP SHOT - THE ASTRONAUTS Puzzled and alarmed by the primitives' behavior, they too get to their feet. LANDON Think they'll attack us? Taylor turns, looks back at: 114 THE DISTANT JUNGLE (OR FOREST) From which they recently emerged. There is no sign of life. 115 LONG PANNING SHOT - THE PRIMITIVES They suddenly run laterally across the grove, heading back toward their jungle. A rumble becomes audible it is the SOUND of HOOFBEATS. 116 VERY LONG SHOT - THE JUNGLE (OR FOREST) Twelve "horsemen" suddenly emerge from the trees, riding abreast at a canter, like a squadron of cavalry about to charge. The horses look https://imsdb.com/scripts/Planet-of-the-Apes,-The.html[1/12/2025 6:11:15 PM] Planet of the Aples - 1967 huge. So do the riders, but at this distance we cannot identify them. 117 LONG PANNING SHOT - THE PRIMITIVES Cut off from their natural habitat, they reverse direction and flee toward the tall grasses of the savanna (or cultivated field). 118 LONG SHOT - THE RIDERS With an exultant battle cry they break into a gallop. The hunt is on. 119 CLOSE GROUP SHOT - THE THREE ASTRONAUTS Stupefied, frozen in place. 120 LONG SHOT - THE RIDERS Coming closer. We HEAR a rifle shot, then a flurry of shots. 121 MED. SHOT. A bullet spanks into the fruit trees above their heads. They run, CAMERA PANNING with them as they race toward the tall grass in deep b.g. 122- A SERIES OF FLASH SHOTS - THE HUNT IN THE SAVANNA 124 As the "horsemen" close in on the creatures fleeing on foot. 125 MED. CLOSE SHOT - A RIDER He reins in, raises his rifle and fires. For the first time, we se that he is a GORILLA. He wears a simple quasi-military uniform -- tunic, trousers and boots. 126 FLASH SHOT - DODGE Running through the high grass. He is shot in the back and falls. 127 FLASH SHOT - TAYLOR He drops at the side of his fallen comrade. 128 CLOSE TWO SHOT - ANGLING DOWN ON DODGE As Taylor rolls him over. Dodge is dead. 129 WIDER ANGLE SHOT - THE SAVANNA - FEATURING A LINE OF BEATERS The beaters are all GORILLAS. They carry long sticks and nets, and their task is to flush out the terrified primitives cowering in the tall grass. 130- A SERIES OF SHOTS - THE HUNTERS AND THE HUNTED: 135 (a) Landon flees from one rider only to be cut off by another. He stumbles and a rearing stallion tramples him.