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Capricorn One

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For the Good Riddance album, see Capricorn One: Singles & Rarities.
Capricorn One
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Hyams
Written byPeter Hyams
Produced byPaul N. Lazarus III
StarringElliott Gould
James Brolin
Brenda Vaccaro
Sam Waterston
O. J. Simpson
Hal Holbrook
Karen Black
Telly Savalas
David Huddleston
David Doyle
James Karen
CinematographyBill Butler
Edited byJames Mitchell
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Production
company
ITC Entertainment
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
June 2, 1978 (USA)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$5,000,000 (estimated)

Capricorn One is a 1978 science fiction thriller movie about a Mars landing hoax. It was written and directed by Peter Hyams and produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company for Warner Bros. It stars James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O. J. Simpson as astronauts.

Although Capricorn One is thematically a typical 1970s government-conspiracy thriller with similarities to Hyams's subsequent film Outland, the story was inspired by allegations that the Apollo Moon landing was a hoax.[1]

Plot

The setup

At an unspecified time,[2] Capricorn One—the first manned mission to Mars—is on the launch pad. Such NASA authorities as Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) realize, too late, that a faulty life-support system supplied by a corrupt NASA contractor will kill the astronauts during the flight. As the manned space program needs a success to continue, they find themselves forced to falsify the landing rather than cancel the mission.

The problem

Minutes before launch, the bewildered crew of Air Force Colonel Charles Brubaker (James Brolin), Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Peter Willis (Sam Waterston), and Navy Commander John Walker (O. J. Simpson) are removed from Capricorn One and flown to an abandoned United States Army Air Corps desert base. The launch proceeds on schedule, but the public is unaware that the spacecraft is empty. At the base, the astronauts are informed they will help counterfeit the television footage during the flight to and from Mars, and that it is their patriotic duty to participate for the sake of national morale and prestige. Initially they refuse, but Kelloway, himself under extreme duress (from whom, what, or where is never clearly specified) to go through with the hoax, threatens their families if they do not cooperate.

The perpetration

The astronauts remain in captivity during the flight and are filmed landing on Mars within a studio located at the base. The conspiracy is known to only a few officials, until alert technician Elliot Whitter (Robert Walden) notices that ground control receives the crew's television transmissions before the spacecraft telemetry arrives. Whitter mysteriously disappears before he can finish sharing his concerns with journalist friend Robert Caulfield (Elliott Gould). Caulfield discovers that all evidence of his friend's life has been erased and begins investigating the mission, surviving several attacks on himself and his reputation.

The complication

Upon returning to Earth, the empty spacecraft unexpectedly burns up due to a faulty heat shield during reentry. The captive astronauts realize that officials can never release them as it would expose the hoax. Knowing that they are now a liability while still alive, they escape in a Learjet, which then runs out of fuel. Stranded in the desert, they attempt to return to civilization while being pursued by a pair of black helicopters. Brubaker is the only one to avoid capture.

The exposure

Caulfield's investigation leads him to the desert, where he finds the military base and the set. With the help of crop-dusting pilot Albain (Telly Savalas), he rescues Brubaker before the men in the helicopters can capture or kill him. The film ends with Caulfield and Brubaker arriving at the astronauts' memorial service, exposing the conspiracy in front of television cameras and dozens of witnesses.

Cast

Production

Peter Hyams began thinking about a film of a space hoax while working on broadcasts of the Apollo missions for CBS, when he saw how realistic NASA's simulations of space flights looked on camera. Hyams became a successful television writer and director and began writing the script for Capricorn One in the mid-1970s, but Peeper's failure jeopardized his career. Hyams and his friend, producer Paul Lazarus, were able to obtain the support of Lew Grade, head of production company ITC Entertainment, who agreed to a $4.8 million budget.[3]

To stay within the budget, NASA's cooperation was needed. Lazarus had a good relationship with the space agency from Futureworld. The filmmakers were thus able to obtain government equipment as props despite the negative portrayal of the space agency, including a prototype lunar module. The film was originally scheduled to debut in February 1978, but good preview screenings and delays in Superman caused it to move to June. Capricorn One became the year's most-successful independent film.[3]

Other media

Two novelizations of the film were written and published by separate authors. The first was written by Ken Follett (written under the pseudonym Bernard L. Ross) and published in the United Kingdom, the other written by Ron Goulart and published in the United States.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Colette Bancroft (2002-09-29). "Lunar lunacy". The St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  2. ^ Kelloway states that he has known Brubaker for 16 years, with Apollo 11 occurring during the period.
  3. ^ a b Szebin, Frederick C. "The Making of CAPRICORN ONE". Mania. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  4. ^ Novelisations and Capricorn One Deborah Allison, M/C Journal, May 2007

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Capricorn One.
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