Moon landing conspiracies didn’t really have any traction until Peter Hyams wrote and directed Capricorn One. Citing the fact that the most important event in mankind’s history had taken place, and the only witness was a television camera sparked his imagination about what could and couldn’t be done with that idea.

The Apollo missions were a success, and now man is ready to reach for Mars. NASA has three astronauts lined up for the job, Brubaker (James Brolin), Willis (Sam Waterston) and Walker (O.J. Simpson) are ready, they are on the launch pad and sealed in their capsule. Moments before ignition, the capsule is reopened, and the team is hauled out, the rocket launches unmanned.

The three astronauts find themselves delivered to a remote, deserted military base, where one of its hangers has been converted into a film set, for the surface of Mars. It seems NASA wasn’t quite ready for a Mars launch yet, but its an election year, they need a win, and if they can falsify a successful manned landing on Mars, and a (mostly) successful return, then further (actual) missions may be in their grasp.

The astronauts are forced to comply as Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) hints, less than subtly, that their wives and families may be at risk should they not go on with the charade.

But when the capsule’s heatshield supposedly fails during Earth re-entry, Brubaker realizes they’ll have to die, and organizes an escape from their set, and across a brutal desert in an attempt to deliver the truth.

Working on that same truth from the opposite end is a glib and wry reporter, Caulfield (Elliott Gould), who may just be on the biggest story of his life, if he can just figure out what all the puzzle pieces mean, and survive the attempts on his life.

It’s a race against time, as NASA hunts down the missing astronauts, determined to eliminate them before the truth can come out.

I really dug this one. Not only does it have a stellar cast, which also includes appearances by Telly Savalas (who features in an outstanding aerial sequence) and Karen Black, but it also has a brilliant score by Jerry Goldsmith. It’s tightly paced, there’s a bit of a narrative slipup following one of the attempts on Caulfield’s life, but the rest of it roars along brilliantly. It’s brisk, engaging, and a little too believable at times, though I have a problem believing that the crew would just be using an Apollo capsule and LEM to get to Mars, and only coming back in the capsule, that would be crazy for the amount of time they have to spend in it.

I can’t believe it took me this long to settle in and watch this one, but I’m so glad I did!