After crash-landing on an uncharted planet, astronaut Taylor (Charlton Heston) finds himself trapped in a savage world where talking apes dominate the human race. Soon, Taylor's life depends on the kindness of the chimpanzee scientists Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and Zira (Kim Hunter) and his escape to the Forbidden Zone, where he uncovers an earth-shattering secret that may hold the key to his own destiny.