Reviewed by Geno McGahee
I love conspiracy theories and one of my favorite is the moon hoax theory. It has been noted that nearly 20% of the public believes that we never landed on the moon, and in 1978, it was still a rampant notion, inspiring this classic: Capricorn One. Written and Directed by Peter Hyams, begins with a launch to Mars. Everyone is there to see this and it is huge news. Never before has the human race attempted something like this and the future of NASA hangs on the success of this journey. This mission cannot fail, which is why the astronauts will not be allowed to go and a new hoax will transpire, much like the moon hoax. Did we land on the moon? I don’t know, but I do remember when Buzz Aldrin was being asked a simple question (over and over and over again) about the moon landing and he clocked the guy in the face. That is not the actions of an innocent man. Tell the truth Buzz.
The three astronauts, Charles Brubaker (James Brolin), Peter Willis (Sam Waterson, AKA: McCoy), and John Walker (O.J. Simpson). They are all loaded into the launching capsule and are ready to go when they get quickly taken out and brought onto an airplane, unaware of what is going on. The shuttle is launched without any astronauts and the crowd cheers, as O.J. ,McCoy, and Brubaker are confused. Imagine if McCoy got O.J. on the stand in Law & Order? He’d eat him up and spit him out. I love Law & Order and no matter who he plays, Sam Waterson is McCoy.
Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) meets up with the crew in an conference room, and explains that he has to save NASA and that the shuttle wasn’t prepared to go to Mars and that they would all have died had he allowed them to launch. He is now asking for their cooperation in staging the greatest hoax of all time (next to Elvis faking his death). There is resistance, but when their families are threatened, they go along with the ruse. Unfortunately, they will not be allowed to live regardless and are now trapped at a government complex, awaiting execution.
In the meantime, a NASA employee smells a rat and brings it to his friend, journalist, Robert Caulfield (Elliot Gould). It isn’t long before the friend is snuffed, and now Caulfield is on the case, but he is now on the government hit list as well. They will keep this secret no matter what the cost and that includes killing poor Elliot Gould, who is a fantastic actor by the way. He carried that overrated hack, Bill Cosby, in the hit film: “The Devil and Max Devlin.” I know Cosby is beloved, but come on…Ghost Dad? Leonard Part VI? He was lucky to have Gould. I hated the Cosby Show too. Well, Theo was OK.
After verifying that they are in space, the astronauts are the victims of a terrible accident. They died on the return from Mars, or so the story goes. Aware of their circumstance, the trio escapes the complex, steal a plane, and try to get home. They run out of fuel, however, and crash in the desert and now attempt to make it home on foot. Black helicopters and other government goons are on the hunt, as the trio not only deals with them but also deals with the weather conditions and surviving the desert with very little water.
Caulfield is putting all of the pieces together with the help of Brubaker’s wife, Kay (Brenda Vaccaro), who noted that her hubby was acting strange during their conversation from space. Caulfield knows that there was something foul with the Mars trip and risks his own life to put the pieces together. The government gets wind of his investigation and plant drugs in his apartment and then arrest him for it. He is getting too close!
After release from jail, Caulfield gets convinced that the Mars landing was a hoax, completely, and believes that the astronauts are being held at a local military base. His semi-girlfriend informs him of the only local place where it might be going down and he goes to investigate further, finding some interesting stuff. The evidence that he finds verifies everything that he believes and puts him into a position to blow the lid off of this thing.
The survival in the desert doesn’t go well, but (spoiler) Brubaker survives by eating a snake and avoiding scorpions that crawl all over him and make love to him while he is sleeping…I think. In the meantime, Caulfield meets up with one of the greatest actors of all time, Telly Savalas, playing the role of Albain, a pilot for hire. Albain is rude and strange and Savalas really plays it up, calling Caulfield a “pervert” and a “smart ass.” Putting him in this movie, even briefly as it is, really adds a lot to the flick. You can’t go wrong with Kojak.
Capricorn One is a great movie from start to finish, and if you love conspiracy theories, you’ll enjoy this even that much more. This is a great story with great acting. I highly recommend it!
Scared Stiff Reviews: 8/10. We did NOT land on the Moon.
