<P> The script was originally written by Rod Serling , but underwent many rewrites before filming eventually began . Directors J. Lee Thompson and Blake Edwards were approached , but the film 's producer Arthur P. Jacobs , upon the recommendation of Charlton Heston , chose Franklin J. Schaffner to direct the film . Schaffner 's changes included an ape society less advanced -- and therefore less expensive to depict -- than that of the original novel . 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 . The film 's final `` closed '' cost was $5.8 million . </P>
where was the original planet of the apes filmed at
California Utah Arizona Lake Powell , Glen Canyon National Recreation Area