Propelled by a time warp far into the future, astronaut Charlton Heston crash-lands on a world where humans are mute primitives and talking apes rule. Captured and examined by the ape authorities and scientific establishment, he must fight for his freedom. Rod Serling’s script makes satirical hay through ironic parallels with America in the throes of social and racial conflict, Jerry Goldsmith creates one of the most original movie scores of all time, but the film’s MVP is John Chambers, who devised the facially expressive ape make-up for Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, and a host of others.