The Right Stuff (1983)
- Starring:
- Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, (more)
- Director(s):
- Philip Kaufman
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
- Category:
- Drama
Member Rating
My RatingSynopsis of The Right Stuff
Covering some 15 years, The Right Stuff recounts the formation of America's space program, concentrating on the original Mercury astronauts. Scott Glenn plays Alan Shepard, the first American in space; Fred Ward is Gus Grissom, the benighted astronaut for whom nothing works out as planned; and Ed Harris is John Glenn, the straight-arrow "boy scout" of the bunch who was the first American to orbit the earth. The remaining four Mercury boys are Deke Slayton (Scott Paulin), Scott Carpenter (Charles Frank), Wally Schirra (Lance Henriksen) and Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid). Wolfe's original book related in straightforward fashion the dangers and frustrations facing the astronauts (including Glenn's oft-repeated complaint that it's hard to be confident when you know that the missile you're sitting on has been built by the lowest bidder), the various personal crises involving their families (Glenn's wife Annie, a stutterer, dreads being interviewed on television, while Grissom's wife Betty, angered that her husband is not regarded as a hero because his mission was a failure, bitterly declares "I want my parade!"), and the schism between the squeaky-clean public image of the Mercury pilots and their sometimes raunchy earthbound shenanigans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 193 mins
Complete Cast of The Right Stuff
- Sam Shepard - Chuck Yeager
- Ed Harris - John Glenn
- Fred Ward - Gus Grissom
- Kim Stanley - Pancho Barnes
- Pamela Reed - Trudy Cooper
- Charles Frank - Scott Carpenter
- Donald Moffat - Lyndon B. Johnson
- Scott Wilson - Scott Crossfield
- Mickey Crocker - Marge Slayton
- Mittie Smith - Jo Schirra
- David Clennon - Liaison Man
- Harry Shearer - recruiter
- Scott Beach - Chief Scientist
- Anthony Munoz - Gonzales
- Darryl Henriques - Life Reporter
- Bob Elross - Review Board President
- James Brady - Aide to Lyndon B. Johnson
- John X. Heart - The Permanent Press Corp
- Edward Anhalt - Grand Designer
- Michael Pritchard - Texan
- Katherine Conklin - Woman TV Rerporter
- David Gulpilil - Aborigine
- Maureen Coyne - Waitress
- John Dehner - Henry Luce
- Gen. Chuck Yeager - Fred
- Mary Apick - Woman Reporter
- Scott Glenn - Alan Shepard
- Dennis Quaid - Gordon Cooper
- Barbara Hershey - Glennis Yeager
- Veronica Cartwright - Betty Grissom
- Scott Paulin - Deke Slayton
- Lance Henriksen - Wally Schirra
- Mary Jo Deschanel - Annie Glenn
- Kathy Baker - Louise Shepard
- Susan Kase - Rene Carpenter
- Royal Dano - Minister
- Jim Haynie - Air Force Major
- Jeff Goldblum - recruiter
- Jane Dornacker - Nurse Murch
- John Ryan - Head of Program
- Robert Beer - Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Eric Sevareid - Himself
- Kaaren Lee - Young Widow
- Ed Corbett - Texan
- Richard Duppell - The Permanent Press Corp
- Tom Dahlgren - Bell Aircraft Executive
- O-Lan Jones - Pretty Girl
- William Russ - Stick Goodlin
- Levon Helm - Jack Ridley/Narrator
- William Hall - The Permanent Press Corp
- Ed Holmes - The Permanent Press Corp
- Director(s):
- Philip Kaufman
- Writer(s):
- Philip Kaufman, William Goldman
- Producer(s):
- Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Profanity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children)
- Categories:
- Drama
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