Another decent conspiracy thriller of the 1970s, CAPRICORN ONE benefits from a classic plot set-up which involves a trio of astronauts being sent to Mars, except there's a twist: the mission is a set-up which for various reasons can't be made public knowledge. What follows is a slow-burning thriller in the classic conspiracy mould, with investigators and journalists being silenced all around, and innocent men finding themselves at the mercy of an impassive, murderous state. It's well-made and well-directed by Peter Hyams, giving his movie a classic look, and the excellent cast includes such '70s heavyweights as James Brolin, Elliott Gould and Hal Holbrook. While not quite as expertly crafted or suspenseful as my all-time favourites like THE CHINA SYNDROME or TWO MINUTE WARNING, this is a film that still packs a punch.

NASA launches Capricorn One into space on its way to Mars. The space program is under financial stress and the President can't even bother to show up for the launch. The astronauts Charles Brubaker (James Brolin),Peter Willis (Sam Waterston) and John Walker (O. J. Simpson) are surprised to be secreted away. Director Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) tells them that the life support system was found fatally flawed. Instead of scrubbing the mission, Kelloway pressures them to fake the Martian landing. Few people would be involved in the cover up. A technician discovers the conspiracy but then he disappears which alarms his investigative journalist friend Robert Caulfield (Elliott Gould).

It's an interesting premise for the paranoid conspiracy era. The story has great potential. I prefer staying more with the astronauts and the reporter. I don't think most of the scenes at the control room are that compelling. The movie feels a little scattered until the plane helicopters chase. That is a great sequence. It is a thrilling stunt and amazingly shot.

Occasional claims that the moon landing may have been staged make "Capricorn One" all the more interesting. Portraying a hoax mission to Mars and a larger conspiracy, the movie joins the group of movies during that era that involved distrust of the government (the others were "The Parallax View", "Three Days of the Condor" and "All the President's Men").

Elliott Gould brilliantly plays against type as the aggressive reporter doing everything possible to expose the lie but encountering many obstacles - many of which are probably no accident. If the movie has any real problem, it's only because of something that happened long after its release: O.J. Simpson plays one of the astronauts. But even he does a pretty good job in his role, although you'll most likely be tempted to focus more on James Brolin and Sam Waterston as the other two astronauts.

Anyway, it's a very well done movie, and shows Peter Hyams to be a capable director. Also starring Brenda Vaccaro, Hal Holbrook, Karen Black, Telly Savalas and David Huddleston.