There is a tendency to forget just how fast progress has come in the modern world and what it took to get there. In the early 1900s, the Wright brothers were making their first flights out of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; about 40 years later, less time than I have been on this Earth, pilots were breaking the sound barrier in planes that were so powerful and so experimental that it was estimated that one in every four pilots attempting to fly them might not make it back home. Like the Wright brothers, these men knew the dangers of taking those planes into the air, yet they did so anyway, risking their lives for their country among other reasons. It takes a special kind of man to do these kinds of things repeatedly, flying in the face of their very own mortality.
Philip Kaufman, working off of history and a blueprint from the non-fictional novel by Tom Wolfe, wrote and directed the historical epic drama of a decade in America’s history where we went from ruling the skies in experimental aircraft to chasing after the Russians in the bid to conquer space, putting a man in orbit. This film, The Right Stuff, stops short of covering the race to the moon and keeps the focus on first the race to break the sound barrier and then the Mercury Space Program, which was all about putting a man in orbit and safely bringing him back to Earth. The film avoids the trappings of too much technological jargon and instead keeps the emphasis on the men who risk their lives to make it happen and the women they have at home who have to worry that their husbands could at any point not be coming back.
Because this entails seven men who were chosen to be the Mercury astronauts, along with their wives, the film, by necessity, has to narrow that focus down a bit in order to keep the cast from being too unwieldy. To do this, several of the main players are shuffled into the background so that we can focus on four individual men and their wives, leaving the final three as more-or-less window dressing. It short-changes these other three and the real-life men, who were just as equally brave and entigral, had to have felt that sting just a little. But this is a work of cinema and sometimes sacrifices have to be made to make a competent picture.
The film opens with the race for the sound barrier, emphasizing how many believe it is an invisible wall and anyone trying to break through it will auger in and die. We see just such an incident as a pilot crashes out in the desert by Muroc Army Air Field—soon to be Edwards Air Force Base—and a solemn preacher comes to the door of a young woman’s home to inform her that her husband has just been killed. Another pilot, Slick Goodlin, insists on $150,000 to attempt to break the sound barrier. Instead, the air force chooses Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) because he is willing to make the attempt without any special demands. The following day Yeager makes his historic flight, despite having some broken ribs after being thrown from a horse the previous day, proving that the sound barrier is just a number.
In the years afterwards, Edwards Air Force Base still attracts the best test pilots. Yeager and his friendly rival Scott Crossfield repeatedly break each other’s speed records. Newer pilots Gordon “Gordo” Cooper (Dennis Quaid), Virgil “Gus” Grissom (Fred Ward), and Donald K. “Deke” Slayton (Scott Paulin) are among the newcomers looking to prove they have the right stuff. But something is brewing overseas, and Russia has launched a satellite named Sputnik into orbit with rumors that they will soon be launching a man up there, too. America needs to beat the Russians to space, and the president is insistent that that man be a test pilot. After an exhaustive search and a long line of grueling tests, seven men are selected to be the Mercury astronauts. These men are Gordo Cooper, Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, John Glenn (Ed Harris) of the United States Marine Corps, and Navy pilots Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn), Scott Carpenter (Charles Frank), and Walter “Wally” Schirra (Lance Henriksen).
These men are chosen for their bravery, their ability to withstand the physical demands of launch, and their ability to stay calm and level-headed in chaotic, often dangerous situations. Success will mean opportunities to meet the president, participate in parades, and other such accolades. After many failed attempts to get a rocket to launch, Shepherd becomes the first American to launch into space. Gus Grissom soon follows, but a mishap upon landing causes the capsule to sink into the ocean, and Grissom takes the blame for the loss despite his insistence on it being from a mechanical failure. Glen soon becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, though his flight is cut short over an equipment malfunction. Meanwhile, we are also privy to what is going on back on Earth, including how the wives are being hassled by the press as well as how the men are responding to their newfound celebrity, particularly when it comes to women who are looking to hook up with the first men in space.
Kaufman’s script is perhaps the weakest element of this picture. He paints in broad strokes, which has rubbed space enthusiasts the wrong way. We get amazing visual effects of rocket launches and capsules in space juxtaposed with the cartoonish antics of Lyndon B. Johnson (Donald Moffat) throwing a tantrum because Annie Glenn (Mary Jo Deschanel), John Glenn’s wife, will not allow him and the press into her house to interview her on live television. During briefings with the White House, the absurd visuals of daredevils and carnival performers are used to try and sell the president on using these kinds of people for their astronauts, narrated by Jeff Goldblum and Harry Shearer, who are both hamming things up like they are in a completely different film. These moments are distracting from the drama on hand, a drama that is compelling enough to keep our interest without all the silliness.
When it isn’t trying for broad comedy, this is actually quite an engrossing film, especially for viewers who have an interest in the space program. We get detailed shots of launches, recoveries, and an extended sequence of John Glenn’s orbits of the Earth, complete with the “fireflies” he saw outside the capsule during certain stages of the orbit. These “fireflies” are never explained even though in real life Scott Carpenter figured it out during his own launch into orbit. The film treats moments like Glen’s flight with reverence, just as it does the dramas the wives are facing at home. These women are just as much characters as their husbands are, and we feel their anxiety and fears because of that. Kaufman avoids making any of the astronauts or their wives into caricatures, but virtually everyone else around them is given less care.
Aside from the astronauts, though, is the parallel story of Chuck Yeager. Yeager opens the film and occupies much of the first act. Later, after the world has left him behind to follow the Mercury Seven, he defends them for being men who are willing to strap themselves to a giant rocket, knowing that they could end up as “spam in a can” should something go wrong. But he also regrets that he cannot be among them and struggles with the idea that that is one envelope he will not be able to push up against.
As I mentioned above, three of the Mercury Seven are more-or-less background characters, given little to do. Wally, Deke, and Scott Carpenter are not given a whole lot of focus in favor of the other four. We will not anything about their launches, or lack thereof in the case of Deke Slayton who was found to have a heart abnormality that ultimately disqualified him from space flight. None of this is covered in the film. We see the first three men’s flights and later cut to the final flight with Gordo Cooper. Of course, this is because of time limitations and a need to avoid too much repetition, but those who love space flight history will be disappointed that none of this is even touched on.
There is so much to appreciate about this film, even if it has some serious flaws. It’s compelling, entertaining, and tells a bit of recent history that many younger audience members may not know about. And it does so without losing the human drama and the very real emotional turmoil those women who married into this would be experiencing. It also paints a picture of the frustration and feeling of being cheated by the government and the military Mrs. Grissom felt when her husband’s mission was considered a failure. The book this is all based on is a compelling read that goes much further into all of these things and paints an even more complete picture of what it takes to be a person with The Right Stuff, and no film can fully replicate that. But this film does a good enough job while summing most of it up nicely in a three-plus-hour feature. In the forty years since its release, it has held up relatively well, especially with its breathtaking visuals that benefit from the lack of CGI and reliance on practical effects. It has its weaknesses, but it still is a very well-made film that deserves to be seen again.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Shepard
Best Art Direction: Geoffrey Kirkland, Richard Lawrence, W. Stewart Campbell, Peter R. Romero, Jim Poynter, and George R. Nelson
Best Cinematography: Caleb Deschanel
Best Film Editing: Glenn Farr, Lisa Fruchtman, Tom Rolf, Stephen A. Rotter, and Douglas Stewart
Best Original Score: Bill Conti
Best Sound: Mark Berger, Tom Scott, Randy Thom, and David MacMillan
Best Sound Effects Editing: Jay Boekelheide
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Release Date: October 21, 1983
Runtime: 192 minutes
Rated PG
Starring: Sean Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Barbara Hershey, Kim Stanley, Veronica Cartwright, Pamela Reed, Scott Paulin, Charles Frank, and Lance Henriksen
Directed by: Philip Kaufman
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