Quote:
Originally Posted by KNS
Like Apollo 13, Hollywood added a bit of drama unfairly to 'The Right Stuff'. Gus Grissom was not shown in the best light when his capsule sank at the end of his flight and the movie portrayed him as "screwing the pooch". Of course Grissom wasn't around to defend himself when the movie came out.
In fact Grissom was highly regarded in the space program and was chosen as commander on the first Gemini flight and commander on the first Apollo flight. You don't get there by screwing the pooch.
When his Liberty Bell 7 capsule was recovered from the Atlantic (long after the movie was released) investigation showed that Grissom was in the clear.
I otherwise love the movie and book...
|
Glad someone pointed this out. Ol' Gus did it right, just like Chuck Yeager (as played by Sam Shepard in TRS) said.
Betty Grissom was none too pleased about that portrayal and when they decided to raise Liberty Bell 7 from the ocean she was very vocal about it and feared the movie's narrative about her husband would be reinforced. Grissom was the real deal and was no crybaby or nervous wreck. He was selected as one of the original seven because he was a highly-skilled pilot and one cool, cool customer. They all were.