Audiences didn’t know what to expect when “Planet of the Apes” was released in 1968. After all, the big movies that year ran the spectrum of themes and genres from “Rosemary’s Baby” to “Funny Girl,” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” to “Yellow Submarine.”

As always, entertainment was a cherished escape from the madhouse of the moment.

The good:

• Boeing introduced the first 747 Jumbo Jet

• Apollo 8 becomes the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon

• Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice

• “Star Trek” aired American TV’s first interracial kiss

• Two black athletes staged a silent demonstration against racial discrimination at the ‘68 Summer Olympics.

• Rolling Stone magazine released its first issue

• Rowan & Martin’s sketch comedy show “Laugh-in” hits the airwaves

The not-so-good:

• Richard Nixon became President

• 1,000 men returned their draft cards to government offices

• North Korea captured a Navy intelligence vessel

• Students around the world protested the Vietnam War

• Police opened fire on protesting students

• Israel waged war on Syria, Egypt, and Jordan

• The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated

Everything seemed upside down then, too.

This might explain why the epic tale of a planet ruled by apes was widely accepted - raking in close to $2M. Big bucks in ‘68. To date, the film has earned a lifetime domestic gross of over $32M and spun off into a huge world of sequels, prequels, tv shows, books, comics, animated cartoons, and lunch boxes.

From its sociological and political perspectives, “Planet of the Apes” is often credited as being one of the most groundbreaking science-fiction films of all time - and that includes John Chambers’ groundbreaking prosthetic make-up.

Let’s look at some photos…