John Higgins unpacks the secrets of this conspiracy classic from Peter Hyams.
Along with the classic 1978 remake of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, Peter Hyams’ Capricorn One is very much a product of the decade and paranoia inherent in contemporary America at the time and taps into the essence of why the visual medium of film remains the king of deceptiveness.
Hyams tapped into the belief by some people that the Apollo Moon Landings were fake and forged out a script. Initially turned down as an idea by studios, it took British mogul Lew Grade and his ITC company to put the film into action, as well as the post-Watergate cynicism of the public and journalists, to make the film a distinct possibility.
At this point, it must be said, your acceptance and appreciation of Capricorn One hinges on whether you believe the concept within the film works. If you get beyond that and willingly suspend your disbelief, not to mention allowing the action and suspense of the second half of the film to take over, you will be enthralled at one of the key sci-fi films of the 1970s.
It is the first manned mission to Mars and astronauts Charles Brubaker (James Brolin), Peter Willis (Sam Waterston, father of Fantastic Beasts’ Katherine) and John Walker (OJ Simpson, back then an actor before notoriety set in) are scheduled to fly to the 
Red Planet. However, moments away from blast-off, they are asked to leave the capsule by a NASA executive and taken to a disused Air Force base 300 miles from Houston.
Their boss, Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook), informs them that their life-support system has been compromised by profit and cuts and they would be dead. Kelloway is under pressure from the President who wants to cancel the Space Programme, but proposes an alternative – to stage the landing on a soundstage. Brubaker refuses, but Kelloway tells him he and the other two’s families would be blown up in their flight home if they don’t agree….
Capricorn One is an excellent thriller and like I mentioned earlier, it is your willingness to suspend your belief in the story which will mark your appreciation. The lead cast is rounded out by Elliott Gould as TV reporter Robert Caulfield, who becomes a key figure in the story and Brenda Vaccaro as Brubaker’s wife Kay.
Another key strength of the film is Jerry Goldsmith’s stunning score (the main theme has been cited as a point of reference for the theme to Verhoeven’s Total Recall) His texture of brass, percussion and strings heightens many moments in the film. I haven’t revealed later plot points, as this is a film that deserves to be discovered and re-discovered by fans old and new. In the UK, the film is available on DVD in a special edition from Network, which also contains a vintage documentary and some behind the scenes footage from the film.
Capricorn One succeeds more on the execution and pay-off than with the concept which, like the DeLorean car as a time travelling device in Back to the Future, is a neat set up for the conspiracy subtext prevalent in the film. The performances, notably a cameo from Telly Savalas as a pilot later on, are worth the price of entry.
Some might also feel uncomfortable these days seeing OJ Simpson on screen, given his troubles in real-life, but he gives a good performance here which off-sets the others. Waterston is especially good and very witty in the process. Also relish in David Doyle’s brief but stirring performance as Caulfield’s cynical editor, made at a time when he was riding high as John Bosley in Charlie’s Angels on TV.
I would also cite this as one of three ‘night-cap movies’ I enjoy watching whenever they come on TV . I define that as a movie that you own in other means, but which cannot resist watching anyway. The others are William Friedkin’s The French Connection and John Carpenter’s The Fog.
So, please do check Capricorn One out if you haven’t seen it before. You will find a worthy addition to the other conspiracy thrillers of the time like The Parallax View.
