Marooned (1969)

Three American astronauts are stranded in space when their retros won't fire. Can they be rescued before their oxygen runs out?

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Mayo Simon (screenplay), Martin Caidin (novel)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, David Janssen

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gregory Peck	...	Charles Keith
Richard Crenna	...	Jim Pruett
David Janssen	...	Ted Dougherty
James Franciscus	...	Clayton Stone
Gene Hackman	...	Buzz Lloyd
Lee Grant	...	Celia Pruett
Nancy Kovack	...	Teresa Stone
Mariette Hartley	...	Betty Lloyd
Scott Brady	...	Public Affairs Officer
Frank Marth	...	Air Force Systems Director
Craig Huebing	...	Flight Director
John Carter	...	Flight Surgeon
Vincent Van Lynn	...	Aerospace Journalist
George Gaynes	...	Mission Director
Tom Stewart	...	Houston Cap Com

Storyline

After spending several months in an orbiting lab, three astronauts prepare to return to earth only to find their rockets wont fire. After initially thinking they might have to abandon them in orbit, NASA decides to launch a daring rescue. Their plans are complicated by a hurricane headed towards the launch site and a shrinking air supply in the astronauts capsule.

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Plot Keywords:

astronaut | rescue | outer space | marooned | cosmonaut | 

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Taglines:

Three marooned astronauts. Only 55 minutes left to rescue them. While the whole world watches and waits...

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 December 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Space Travelers

Filming Locations:

Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$4,350,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Frankovich Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is no musical score for this film. Instead, each spacecraft has its own ambient soundtrack when it is shown in space. The Apollo shots feature a low hum; the XRV, a hollow ringing; the Nimbus Weather Satellite, a rapid series of beeps ascending in pitch; and the Russian Voshkhod, a constant pitch series of beeps. The only exceptions to this is are a very slight, muted bit of music played under the Apollo ambient soundtrack during Pruett's final EVA, and a single tone (with some ambient effects that could be called music) during the opening credits.

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Goofs

The Apollo Service Module's main engine used Aerozine 50 and Nitrogen Tetroxide - the same as in the Ascent Stage of the Lunar Module. A major reason for the choice was that they are hypergolic, meaning that they ignite on contact, and therefore do not require any form of ignition system, making its operation much simpler and effectively making a failure impossible. throughout the Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs, there was never a single failure of the Service Propulsion System or the Lunar Module Ascent Stage..

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Quotes

Buzz Lloyd: [after being asked by Stone what he saw when a psychologist held up a blank sheet of paper during his astronaut acceptance boards] I saw a field covered with snow. And underneath was new oats. Then the snow melted and the field turned to green. But the psychologist said I was all wrong, it was just a blank sheet of paper.
Clayton Stone: He took you anyway?
Buzz Lloyd: Yeah, I guess they made a mistake.
Clayton Stone: No, no, they don't make mistakes.
Buzz Lloyd: That's right, I forgot. They don't make mistakes do they?
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The version titled "Space Travelers" is the one spoofed by Mystery Science Theater 3000. In this version, the scene where Celia Pruett learns of her husband's death is accompanied by a truly AWFUL electronic score (it sounds literally like random keys played on a toy synthesizer, something MST3K made note of). The original version has no music during this scene (and almost no other music; a muted, very low-key score can be heard when Pruett leaves the ship to "fix" it).

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Connections

Featured in Roma (2018)

User Reviews

A little dry, but good.

I just rented this on VHS recently. After watching it, I remember that I had seen it many years ago. It was so long ago that I didn't remember details.

I actually liked it. The movie is rather dry, but I actually found it a refreshing change from movies that will throw in all sorts of irrelevant extras to make it an "excitement fest".

Apollo 13 did do a much better job of showing how Mission control worked in a crisis, but Marooned was made before the Apollo 13 mission took place.