CAPRICORNY ONE

CAPRICORN ONE (1978)
dir: Peter Hyams

CAPRICORNY ONE
Sick #124, December1978
w & a: Dave Manak

Three astronauts, Brubaker (James Brolin), Walker (O. J. Simpson), and Willis (Sam Waterston) are assigned to the first manned flight to Mars, but are now told by Dr. Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) that they have to fake the landing due to a malfunction, and are confined to a conference room on Earth.

I'm not sure whose picture is on the wall taped between Kirk and Spock. It looks like Luke Skywalker but I can't read the writing


Caulfield (Elliot Gould) and Judy Drinkwater (Karen Black) are two reporters with sexual tension between them and covering Mrs. Brubaker (Brenda Vaccaro) at home. Witter (Robert Walden) is an engineer in the control room who notices something fishy is going on. Brubaker is refusing to participate in the hoax.

Caulfield is given a tip about a possible cover-up. Brubaker threatens to expose the hoax while he is supposedly in space. Caulfield investigates the case and sees something's up when Caulfield is told Witter never lived in his apartment. After the brakes are cut on his car (not shown), he realizes he's onto something but his editor (David Doyle, who looks nothing like this) doesn't believe him. Kelloway tells the astronauts' wives their husbands have died when they're really locked in a conference room.

The astronauts escape, steal a plane, and land in the desert. They decide to split up. Caulfield continues to investigate the cover-up.

Feds break into Caulfield's house, plant drugs on him, he's arrested, then his editor bails him out and fires him. Judy picks him up and helps him. He hires a cropduster, Albain (Telly Savalas) to find Brubaker before the government does.

Brubaker is rescued, and taken to the mock funeral in time. In the parody, it is attended by the real President.