The Wrong Stuff

The 1983 Epic Film Replaces Historic Events with Fiction

Commentary by Bob Granath

In 1983, The Right Stuff movie premiered claiming to tell the story of test pilots and those who became America’s first astronauts. The film received acclaim from the majority of the critics who wrote reviews. But, as an accurate chronicle of efforts to pave the road to space, it failed.

A re-boot of The Right Stuff, created by National Geographic, premiered Oct. 9, 2020 on Disney+. The network is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. So far, reviews have been mixed.

The world premiere for the epic, 3-hour, and 13-minute film took place Oct. 16, 1983, at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Luminaries attending included Chuck Yeager, the pilot who first broke the sound barrier, CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite and the six living members of the Original Seven Mercury astronauts.

They had very few positive comments about the movie.

Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra summed up The Right Stuff best when I spoke with him during a reception at the opening of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in April 1990.

“The movie was fun,” he said. “It was well-produced and the acting is great. But as history, it‘s merely ‘Animal House’ in space.”

Schirra referenced the 1978 film, National Lampoon’s Animal House, a story about the mischievous, carousing members of a fictitious college fraternity.

The Right Stuff was originally a best-selling book published in 1979 by journalist and writer Tom Wolfe. Prior to NASA’s final Moon landing mission, Apollo 17 in 1972, he had an opportunity to interview several astronauts.

“What is it, I wondered, that makes a man willing to sit up on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone, Atlas, Titan or Saturn rocket, and wait for someone to light the fuse?” Wolfe wrote.

After further interviews and research for the book, Wolfe determined that the answer was a form of courage he dubbed, “The Right Stuff.”

The Screenplay Veers Far from Reality

For the most part, The Right Stuff book is historically and factually accurate. Any film about well-documented historic events can be expected to take some liberties as “dramatic license.” However, writer-director Philip Kaufman’s screenplay veers far from reality for entertainment and comedic purposes.

When interviewed after the film’s premiere, Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton was particularly disturbed by the depiction of Gus Grissom after splashdown at the end of his sub-orbital flight on July 21, 1961.

Grissom is depicted by actor Fred Ward as panicking when his Mercury 4 capsule landed in the Atlantic Ocean. The movie clearly implies that Grissom’s “freaking out” caused his hatch to pop off prematurely.

Grissom jumped out the hatch and was rescued by a helicopter crew. However, the spacecraft sank.

NASA’s post-flight investigation determined that the unexpected detonation of the spacecraft hatch’s explosive bolts was due to a mechanical failure, not a result of anything Grissom did.

As the investigation was depicted in the movie, a character playing a NASA engineer says, “We even dropped a capsule from a crane and the hatch didn’t come off.”

Yes, a crane did, in fact, drop a Mercury capsule in a test. And . . . the hatch DID pop off.

Schirra further demonstrated the point when his Mercury 8 mission landed within three miles of the USS Kearsarge on Oct 3, 1962. He elected to stay aboard until a crane picked up his capsule and placed it on the aircraft carrier’s deck. He then hit the handle to cause the hatch pop off.

“I had to hit that handle so hard, I skinned the knuckles on my gloved hand,” Schirra said. “That proved you can’t accidentally bump the handle and cause it to go off.”

Grissom was the astronaut assigned to assist Schirra on the ship.

“When I took off the glove, I showed Gus my bleeding knuckles,” Schirra said. “Gus grabbed my wrist, took a good look and pointed it at the NASA photographer, saying, ‘Get a picture of this.’”

“It’s unfortunate Gus isn’t here to defend himself,” Slayton said.

Grissom later commanded NASA’s first Gemini mission in 1965, but was killed in the Apollo 1 launch pad fire on Jan. 27, 1967.

A Visit from the Vice President?

In a scene depicting a postponement of John Glenn’s Mercury mission, Donald Moffat, as then Vice President Lyndon Johnson, wants to go into Glenn’s home to “console” the astronaut’s wife, Annie Glenn. Played by actress Mary Jo Deschanel. Annie does not want the intrusion of Johnson and accompanying photojournalists.

Ed Harris as Glenn, agrees with Annie only to be chewed out by actor John P. Ryan, who depicts the “head of NASA” — a combination of NASA’s first administrator, Keith Glennan, second administrator, James Webb, and director of the Space Task Group, Robert Gilruth.

The “head of NASA” character demands Glenn tell his wife to allow the visit from Johnson.

Harris, as Glenn, refuses, only to be told he could be replaced as pilot of America’s first crewed orbital spaceflight. All the other astronauts have Glenn’s back saying, “Oh yeah, and who you gonna get?”

The scene ends with Johnson so upset he bounces around in his limousine causing it to rock back and forth.

It’s a major point in the movie . . . but it is total fiction.

Schirra explained what actually happened was a staffer for the vice president called Annie Glenn at her home to ask if she was OK and she explained she was fine.

That was it.

Fiction such as this frequently is perceived as fact.

In his book, Spaceman, Space Shuttle astronaut Mike Massimo said that watching that scene in The Right Stuff was a major factor in his decision to apply to be an astronaut. He liked how the guys had John Glenn’s back. That camaraderie “was to be admired.”

“I want to be one of those guys,” he wrote.

Sorry Mike.

It worked out though. As a mission specialist on two shuttle missions, Massimino did an outstanding job performing four spacewalks to service and repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

More Historical Inaccuracies

Recruiting Astronauts

The film shows inept NASA recruiters going to Edwards Air Force Base, California, and an aircraft carrier to persuade U.S. Air Force and Navy test pilots to apply for the astronaut program.

In 1959, NASA was looking for jet pilots who were no more than 5 foot, 11 inches tall, had at least a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 1,500 hours flying time. The agency summoned those meeting the requirement to a secret meeting where they were given to opportunity to volunteer.

Mercury Astronaut Introduction

In the scene in which the Original Seven astronauts were first presented to the news media, “Head of NASA” Ryan introduces the pilots, shouting their names like he is introducing the starting lineup at a football game. This is followed by loud cheers from those in attendance.

In reality, Administrator Glennan read their names in a monotone and there was only short, polite applause.

Who Designed the Mercury Capsule?

When the astronauts first see a Mercury capsule, it was presented by Scott Beach portraying the “lead scientist,” a character based on NASA’s Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, Wernher von Braun.

The team led by von Braun were launch vehicle experts at Redstone Arsenal and later Marshall, both in Huntsville, Alabama. This team was made up primarily of German engineers who came to the United States after World War II. They developed the rockets that launched America’s first satellite, Moon probes, first astronauts and the Saturn V that boosted the lunar landing missions.

Von Braun’s group had little to do with the design of the spacecraft they launched. The Mercury capsule was primarily designed by Max Faget (pronounced: fah-ZHAY) at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Click here to read more about Max Faget

Scheduled for Three Orbits

During Project Mercury orbital flights, astronauts were given a “Go” to remain in space in seven-orbit increments. Glenn and Scott Carpenter’s flights both were scheduled for three orbits. Writer/director Kaufman apparently believed “You have a ‘Go’ for at least seven orbits” meant the plan was to circle Earth seven times.

When possible problems developed with Glenn’s heatshield during the movie’s depiction of the event, Harris as Glenn asks why the flight is being cut short. Mercury 6 was not cut short. It was always planned for three orbits and successfully completed all three.

The problem now is writers and producers of other movies are viewing The Right Stuff as factually accurate and putting these errors into other motion pictures.

This mistake shows up in the film, Hidden Figures, based on the 2016 book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly. The story is about black women who were computers and worked for NASA during the early days of the space program. During the Hidden Figures end credits, a photo of Glenn is shown with the message, “John Glenn completed three of his planned seven orbits.”

While many events in The Right Stuff are presented accurately, these and many more deviate so far from the facts that it leaves viewers confused about what is and is not true.

The Movie’s Reception

The Right Stuff received acclaim from many critics who seem to view the film for what it is – entertainment. It was given a 96 percent approval rating from the review-aggregation website for film and television, Rotten Tomatoes. The movie also earned eight Academy Award nominations, collecting Oscars for Best Editing, Best Score, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects.

The Right Stuff television series now on Disney+ has been in production for months with scenes filmed on Florida’s Space Coast, including Titusville. So far, it has received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 54 percent based on 22 reviews.

NASA’s efforts to explore and utilize space for the benefit of humankind is the greatest historical story of our time. It deserves to be documented to refresh our memories and inspire future generations.

Films such as 1995’s Apollo 13, 2016’s Hidden Figures and 2018’s First Man, as well as HBO’s 1998 mini-series From the Earth to the Moon, all take some “dramatic license.” But, all provide more accurate depictions of America’s efforts in space.

Click here to read more about the Apollo 13 Movie

Let’s hope for more like these.

How do you view the historical accuracy of The Right Stuff? Feel free to add your thoughts in the “Leave a Reply” section below.

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