Marooned (1969 Film)
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''Marooned'' is a 1969 American
science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...
directed by
John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), ''Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (1963 ...
and starring
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
,
Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as ''The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', ''Body Heat'', the first three ' ...
,
David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...
,
James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: ''Mr. Novak'', ''The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', ''Doc Elliot'', an ...
and
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...
about three astronauts who are trapped and slowly suffocating in space. It was based on the 1964 novel ''
Marooned Marooned may refer to: * Marooning, the intentional act of abandoning someone in an uninhabited area Film and television * ''Marooned'' (1933 film), a British drama film * ''Marooned'' (1969 film), an American science-fiction film * ''Marooned ...
'' by
Martin Caidin Martin Caidin (September 14, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American author, screenwriter, and an authority on aeronautics and aviation. Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books ...
. While the original novel was based on the single-pilot
Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
, the film depicted an
Apollo command and service module The Apollo command and service module (CSM) was one of two principal components of the United States Apollo spacecraft, used for the Apollo program, which landed astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. The CSM functioned as a mother ship ...
with three astronauts and a space station resembling
Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations in ...
. Caidin acted as technical adviser and updated the novel, incorporating appropriate material from the original version. The film was released less than four months after the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
Moon landing, attracting enormous public attention. It won an
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects. History of the award The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects ...
for
Robie Robertson Robie Robertson (June 22, 1931 – March 8, 2019) was an American screenwriter and visual effects artist. He won an Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the Americ ...
.


Plot

Three U.S.
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
s—commander Jim Pruett (
Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as ''The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', ''Body Heat'', the first three ' ...
), "Buzz" Lloyd (
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...
), and Clayton "Stoney" Stone (
James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: ''Mr. Novak'', ''The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', ''Doc Elliot'', an ...
)—are the first crew of an experimental
space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
on an extended duration mission. Approximately five months into a planned seven-month mission, Lloyd begins exhibiting erratic and substandard performance, and NASA management elects to end the mission early. While oriented for retrofire, the main engine on the Apollo spacecraft, dubbed ''Ironman One'', fails. Mission Control determines that ''Ironman'' does not have enough fuel remaining to use the
reaction control system A reaction control system (RCS) is a spacecraft system that uses thrusters to provide attitude control and translation. Alternatively, reaction wheels are used for attitude control. Use of diverted engine thrust to provide stable attitude contr ...
as a backup to initiate
atmospheric entry Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the ent ...
. Nor is there sufficient fuel to re-dock with the station and wait for rescue. The crew is effectively marooned in orbit.
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
debates whether a rescue flight can reach the crew before their oxygen runs out in approximately two days. There are no backup launch vehicles or rescue systems available at
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
in Florida and NASA Director of Manned Spaceflight Charles Keith (Peck) opposes using an experimental
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage wi ...
, the X-RV, that would be launched on an Air Force
Titan IIIC The Titan IIIC was an expendable launch system used by the United States Air Force from 1965 until 1982. It was the first Titan booster to feature large solid rocket motors and was planned to be used as a launcher for the Dyna-Soar, though the s ...
booster rocket; neither the spacecraft nor the booster is
man-rated Human-rating certification, also known as man-rating or crew-rating, is the certification of a spacecraft or launch vehicle as capable of safely transporting humans. There is no one particular standard for human-rating a spacecraft or launch veh ...
, and there is insufficient time to put a new crewed NASA mission together. Even though a Titan IIIC is already on the way to nearby
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...
for an already-scheduled Air Force launch, many hundreds of hours of preparation, assembly, and testing would be necessary. Ted Dougherty (
David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...
), NASA's
Chief Astronaut The Chief of the Astronaut Office is the most senior leadership position for active astronauts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Chief Astronaut serves as head of the NASA Astronaut Corps and is the principal advi ...
, opposes Keith and demands that something be done, claiming most time-consuming preparation items can be dismissed. The
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
agrees with Dougherty and tells Keith that failing to try a rescue mission will kill public support for the crewed space program. The President tells Keith that money is no factor; "whatever you need, you've got it". Despite his initial opposition, Keith accepts the decision and works furiously on the rescue mission. Dougherty appoints himself as pilot. While the astronauts' wives (
Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's ''Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Dougl ...
,
Mariette Hartley Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for work with Bill Bixby on '' The Incredible Hulk'' (1978) and ''Goodnight, Beantown'' (1983–1984), an original ''Star Trek'' episode (1 ...
and
Nancy Kovack Nancy Kovack (born March 11, 1935) is a retired American film and television actress. Early years Kovack is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Kovack of Flint, Michigan. Her father was the manager of a General Motors plant. She enrolled a ...
) agonize over the fates of their husbands, all normal checklist procedures are bypassed to prepare the X-RV for launch. The wives are brought to the control room and allowed to speak to their husbands; however, this exacerbates Lloyd's already-agitated condition. As launch time approaches, a
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
headed for the launch area threatens to cancel the mission. In the final minute before launch, high winds cause a scrub of the mission. Keith admits the rescue attempt now cannot be made. However, a weather technician informs Keith the eye of the storm will pass over the Cape 90 minutes later during a subsequent
launch window In the context of spaceflight, launch period is the collection of days and launch window is the time period on a given day during which a particular rocket must be launched in order to reach its intended target. If the rocket is not launched wit ...
, permitting a launch with Dougherty aboard in time to reach the ship while at least some of the crew may survive. The eye of the hurricane does pass over the Cape as predicted, and the launch is made just as storm winds begin to rise. However, insufficient oxygen remains for all three astronauts to survive until Dougherty arrives. There is possibly enough for two, presenting a previously unthinkable decision. Pruett and his crew then debate what to do. Stone tries to reason that they can somehow survive by taking sleeping pills or otherwise reducing oxygen consumption; Pruett responds this is unlikely to conserve enough oxygen to be successful. An agitated Lloyd offers to leave since he is "using up most of the oxygen anyway", but Pruett overrules him. He orders everyone into their
spacesuits A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...
then leaves the ship, ostensibly to attempt repairs, although this option has been repeatedly dismissed as futile and wasteful of oxygen. After Pruett goes out of the hatch, Lloyd realizes what he is really planning and attempts to follow, even though he is bound to the ship by his umbilicals. Stone restrains Lloyd, and they both watch Pruett from the hatch. There is a hiss of air as a large gash is torn in Pruett's space suit on a metal protrusion. Helpless to stop the leak and quickly losing consciousness, Pruett drifts away from the ship as Lloyd and Stone look on. With Pruett gone, Stone takes command and sedates Lloyd to near unconsciousness. The Voskhod spacecraft suddenly appears and its
cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
tries to make contact. He can do nothing but deliver oxygen, since the Soviet ship is too small to carry additional passengers and lacks equipment to dock with the Apollo. Stone and Lloyd, suffering
oxygen deprivation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
and lapsing into semiconsciousness, cannot understand the cosmonaut's gestures or obey Keith's instructions from Houston. Lloyd drifts out of the hatch and away from the ship. Dougherty arrives in the X-RV and begins a spacewalk to retrieve the astronauts. The Soviet cosmonaut shines a light on Lloyd, drifting slowly away from the Apollo; Dougherty retrieves him using a maneuvering pack. The cosmonaut moves into the Apollo and slaps an ill-fitting oxygen tank onto Stone's suit fittings. As Dougherty returns with Lloyd in tow, Stone begins to regain consciousness with the renewed oxygen flow. Dougherty transfers the two surviving and still dazed ''Ironman'' astronauts into the rescue ship, where they exchange "thumbs up" gestures. Dougherty reports the crew transfer to Houston, where the NASA crew erupts in applause. After separating, both the Soviet ship and the X-RV execute retrofire to return to Earth, and the final scene fades out with a view of the abandoned ''Ironman One'' adrift in orbit.


Cast

*
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
as Charles Keith *
Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as ''The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', ''Body Heat'', the first three ' ...
as Jim Pruett *
David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...
as Ted Dougherty *
James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: ''Mr. Novak'', ''The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', ''Doc Elliot'', an ...
as Clayton Stone *
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...
as Buzz Lloyd *
Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's ''Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Dougl ...
as Celia Pruett *
Nancy Kovack Nancy Kovack (born March 11, 1935) is a retired American film and television actress. Early years Kovack is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Kovack of Flint, Michigan. Her father was the manager of a General Motors plant. She enrolled a ...
as Teresa Stone *
Mariette Hartley Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for work with Bill Bixby on '' The Incredible Hulk'' (1978) and ''Goodnight, Beantown'' (1983–1984), an original ''Star Trek'' episode (1 ...
as Betty Lloyd *
Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...
as Public Affairs Officer *
Frank Marth Frank Marth (July 29, 1922 – January 12, 2014) was an American film and television actor. He may be best known as a cast-member of ''Cavalcade of Stars'' (1949; 1950–1957), especially segments of ''The Honeymooners'', which later became a ...
as Air Force Systems Director * Craig Huebing as Flight Director * John Carter as Flight Surgeon *
Walter Brooke Walter Brooke (born Gustav William Tweer Jr., October 23, 1914 – August 20, 1986) was an American actor. Career Brooke's film career stretched from ''You're in the Army Now'' (1941 to '' Jagged Edge'' (1985). One of his best-remembered roles w ...
as Network Commentator * Vincent Van Lynn as Aerospace Journalist *
George Gaynes George Gaynes (born George Jongejans; May 16, 1917 – February 15, 2016) was a Finnish-born American singer, actor, and voice artist. Born to Dutch and Russian-Finnish parents in the Grand Duchy of Finland of the Russian Empire, he served in the ...
as Mission Director *
John Forsythe John Forsythe (January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety s ...
(uncredited) as The President (voice only) * Tom Stewart as Houston Capcom * Bill Couch (uncredited) as Cosmonaut Cast notes: * Martin Caidin, the author of the book on which the movie was based and a technical advisor for the film, makes a brief appearance in the film as a reporter describing the arrival of the X-RV at
Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...
.


Production

An earlier version of the film (based on the 1964 version of the novel) was in pre-production in 1965, with
Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...
producing and directing, from a screenplay by Walter Newman; Capra heavily revised the script while seeking funding from investors, in order to reduce the budget. Amid concerns about the size of the project, Columbia Pictures'
M. J. Frankovich Mitchell John "M. J." Frankovich (September 29, 1909 – January 1, 1992), best known as Mike Frankovich, was an American football player turned film actor and producer. Frankovich was the adopted son of actor Joe E. Brown and his wife, Kathryn ...
offered Capra $3 million to make the film, prompting him to abandon development. When ''Marooned'' was eventually produced with
John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), ''Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (1963 ...
as director and
Mayo Simon Mayo Simon is an American screenwriter, author and playwright. He is the father of the author Francesca Simon and biologist-'' X-Files'' science advisor Anne Simon. Select filmography *'' Man from Atlantis'' (1977) (pilot episode) *''Futurew ...
as screenwriter, the budget was $8 million. Given that Apollo missions were being watched regularly by television audiences, it was very important to the producers that the look of the film be as authentic as possible. NASA, and its primary contractors such as North American Aviation and Philco-Ford, helped with the design of the film's hardware, including the crew's chairs inside the capsule, the orbiting laboratory—which used an early mock-up of the Skylab concept—the service module,Mateas, Lisa
"Marooned (1969)" (article)
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
the actual
Plantronics Plantronics, Inc. is an American electronics company — branded Poly to reflect its dual Plantronics and Polycom heritage — producing audio communications equipment for business and consumers. Its products support unified communications, mob ...
headsets worn by the actors in the spacecraft, as well as authentic replicas of actual facilities, such as the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) at
Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...
in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
and the Air Force Launch Control Center (AFLCC) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Contractors' technicians also worked on the film. The Apollo Command Module used in making the film was an actual "boilerplate" version of the "Block I" ''Apollo'' spacecraft; no Block I ever flew with a crew aboard, mainly due to the
Apollo 1 Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was intended to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbita ...
fire exposing over a thousand defects. While the Block II series had a means of rapidly opening the hatch, the Block I did not (a major factor in the Apollo 1 fire), and the interior set was constructed using the boilerplate as a model. To blow the hatch in the movie, Buzz pulls on a handle attached to a hinge. Astronaut
Jim Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. (; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of th ...
and his wife Marilyn Lovell referred to the film years later in a special interview. Their recollection is shared as a feature on the DVD release of ''
Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...
'', a 1995 film directed by
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
. The couple describes a 1969 film—never specifically named—in which an astronaut in an Apollo spacecraft "named Jim" faces mortal peril. The couple says the film gave Lovell's wife nightmares. Her experience inspired a dream sequence in ''Apollo 13''. There were some discrepancies between real-life procedures and what is shown in the film. For instance, several scenes show various people communicating directly with the astronauts in space. In actuality, only CAPCOM (an astronaut) and astronauts' wives would have been permitted to communicate with the spacecraft, all others in MOCR and AFLCC would only be able to communicate on the internal network or to their respective backroom teams. Conspicuously absent from the film is any person resembling a flight director. In real life, "Flight" is in charge of a space mission during that director's shift. The filmmakers felt that adding a flight director would distract from the interpersonal dynamic between Keith and Dougherty.


Release

''Marooned'' had its premiere on November 10, 1969 in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
during the
National Association of Theatre Owners The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is an American trade organization whose members are the owners of movie theaters. Most of the worldwide major theater chains' operators are members, as are hundreds of independent theater opera ...
convention. The film opened at the
Egyptian Theatre Egyptian-style theatres are based on the traditional and historic design elements of Ancient Egypt. The first Egyptian Theatre to be constructed in the US – which inspired many of the identically-named theatres that followed it – was Graum ...
in Los Angeles on December 11, 1969. Its New York premiere on December 17, 1969 at the new Ziegfeld Theatre was the first film shown at the new theatre.


Reception

The film grossed $43,500 in its first week at the Egyptian. In a review for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', Howard Thompson, applauded the movie as " anly structured, crisply performed," "beautifully directed," and "admirably intelligent all the way," bemoaning only an intermission that "severs the tension and cripples the dramatic crescendo" and a climax that "seems curiously antiseptic" and lacks "a vital, culminative wallop."


Legacy

During the preliminary discussions for the
Apollo–Soyuz Test Project Apollo–Soyuz was the first crewed international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union in July 1975. Millions of people around the world watched on television as a United States Apollo spacecraft docked ...
, the film was discussed as a means of alleviating
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
suspicion. One purpose of the mission was to develop and test capabilities for international space rescue.


In popular culture

* The 1970 '' Mad'' magazine satire of ''Marooned'', called ''Moroned'', described story events in actual film time. NASA officials are pressed to launch the X-RT—"the Experimental Rescue Thing"—in "about an hour ... maybe, tops, an hour and a half". One astronaut sacrifices his life to escape the film critics. * The film was parodied as "Marooneded" in Marvel Comics' 1970 satire comic book ''Spoof'' #1. * In 1991, ''Marooned'' was redistributed under the name ''Space Travelers'' by
Film Ventures International Film Ventures International (FVI) was an independent film production and distribution company originally located in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1970s. FVI garnered a notorious reputation within the industry for producing films that were highly de ...
, an ultra-low-budget production company that prepared quickie television and video releases of films that were in the public domain or could be purchased inexpensively. * The second launch sequence served as the speech base for the comm chatter in the
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
roller coaster
Space Mountain Space Mountain is a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at five of the six Disneyland-style Disney Parks. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar conical exterior façade that is ...
. *
Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...
, director of ''
Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
'' (2013), told ''Wired'' magazine, "I watched the Gregory Peck movie ''Marooned'' over and over as a kid." Cuarón later included a clip from the movie in his 2018 film ''
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
''.


''Mystery Science Theater 3000''

The ''Space Travelers'' cut of the film was featured in the fourth-season premiere of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''. The episode debuted June 6, 1992, on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
, becoming the only
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning film ever to receive the ''MST3K'' treatment. Kevin Murphy, a writer and performer on ''MST3K'', called the film the "first ''MST3K'' film with a budget," but neither the budget nor its Oscar-winning credibility makes it interesting: ''Marooned'' "moves along slower than a grandma at the mall." The ''Space Travelers'' episode did not make the Top 100 list of episodes as voted upon by MST3K Season 11 Kickstarter backers. Writer Jim Vogel was similarly unimpressed, ranking the episode #176 (out of 191 total MST3K episodes). Vogel calls the movie "quite dry" and "pretty boring" in its original or edited forms. "The behind-the-scenes history of how this movie ended up on MST3k is ultimately more interesting than the episode it received," Vogel wrote. The MST3K version of ''Space Travelers'' was included as part of the ''Mystery Science Theater 3000, Volume XXXII'' DVD collection, released by
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
on March 24, 2015. The other episodes in the four-disc set include ''
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
'' (episode #502), ''
Radar Secret Service ''Radar Secret Service'' is a 1950 action film starring John Howard, produced by Barney A. Sarecky and directed by Sam Newfield. The film was featured on the American television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. Plot In the post-World War T ...
'' (episode #520), and '' San Francisco International'' (episode #614).MST3K: Volume XXXII.
Shout! Factory. Retrieved on 2018-07-11.


See also

* ''
Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...
'', a 1995 film dramatizing the
Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...
incident *
List of American films of 1969 This is a list of American films released in 1969. ''Midnight Cowboy'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. __TOC__ A–B C–G H–M N–S T–Z Documentaries and shorts See also * 1969 in the United States External links ...
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List of films featuring space stations There is a body of films that feature space stations. Science fiction films have featured both real-life space stations such as the International Space Station and ''Mir'' as well as fictional ones such as the Death Star and the Satellite of Love. ...
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Survival film The survival film is a film genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival. It often overlaps with other film genres. It is a subgenre of the adventure film, along with swashbuckler films, war films, and safari films. S ...


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* * * * * {{John Sturges 1969 films 1960s science fiction thriller films American science fiction thriller films American space adventure films Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films Films about astronauts Films about the Apollo program Films based on American novels Films based on science fiction novels Films directed by John Sturges Films set in Florida Films set in Texas Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award Hard science fiction films American survival films 1960s American films