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Previously on The Right Stuff...
Honestly, Annie said I've been out of this world a long time,
might as well actually go on out there.
This is my chance to be the first at something memorable.
And I want it more than anyone, Annie.
For God and for freedom.
He's a natural.
This is Senator Kennedy's special advisor on all matters of science,
Dr. Jerome Wiesner.
Jack asked me to be here because he has
some questions about the manned space program.
This is a fresh start for us.
Baby, we gotta get you back up in a plane.
They're training us on this machine called the MASTIF.
It's supposed to make you feel like you're tumbling in space.
Anything you told me in confidence would remain private,
unless it jeopardized you or the project.
-Gordo Cooper. -Scott Carpenter.
Ricky Carsrud.
Turns out Gordo and I have flown together before.
Tells me he's done the pre-check. I don't know how I got out alive.
And this idiot's, "Aw, shucks," and saying, "What a story, huh, Gus?"
Skin of our teeth.
They seem anxious.
So, you make a decision?
I have.
And? Who is it?
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
So...
today we will decide the flight order for the first three astronauts.
So Gordo, how's the press tour been treating you?
It's been, uh... it's been nice spending some time with the boys.
We've gotten a lot closer than I ever figured we'd be.
And that's great, you know, because we've been constantly on the move,
flying from one contractor to another, buckin' up spirits
to keep the assembly lines moving,
keep everybody on task.
But it seems like...
- we've been doing it nonstop. - Well, but you're famous now.
People want to hear from you, they'll believe whatever you say.
There's power in that.
Yeah, I guess.
Does get old, though.
All those rubber chicken dinners and...
spending so much time away from the family.
Wind's at two knots, west...
Okay. Thanks, Chuck.
Hey, Doris, I'm taking the Pacer up.
Here you go.
- Thank you. - Oh, Trudy?
There's someone here waiting for you.
It's Jerrie Cobb.
It is you.
-Uh, Trudy Cooper. -Jerrie Cobb.
To what honor do I owe this?
I want to go into space, and I'd like your husband to help.
The thing about Hawaii, there's almost no traffic
so you have the whole sky yourself.
Gordo and I spent as much time flying around the island together
as we did on the ground.
This one time he almost kicked the crap out of a gas jockey
who whistled, called me his stewardess.
From that point on, my plane
was always topped off and washed before I set foot on the tarmac.
Most guys are scared of a woman who flies. Don't know what to do with us.
But Gordo must be a good one.
-I suppose so. -Well, that's the whole reason I'm here.
Thought any man who married you would understand why it is
that I wanna go up and that I am good enough to do it.
And I thought he might be willing to say so... in public.
Now, this isn't some pipe dream.
Yeah, I've just come from the Lovelace Clinic.
They put me through all the same tests the astronauts did, and I passed them.
That's not what the country wants.
What do you want, Trudy?
I... What do you mean?
You wanna just bake cookies?
Be the perfect housewife to your astro hubby?
I'm not on a solo mission.
I want to build a female astronaut corps, and I want you to be a part of it.
Me?
I've been asking around about you.
Get your hours up and do some instrument flying,
no reason that you wouldn't be a perfect candidate.
I don't know what to say.
Say you'll talk to Gordo.
Shit.
Ricky Carsrud died.
What?
-Ricky? -Your buddy from Pax River?
He flamed out over the Chesapeake this morning.
I'm so sorry, Wally.
Happens, right?
Wally Schirra.
Ted Claiborne. We met at Langley last year.
-Yeah. Hi, Ted. -Hey.
Hey, uh, look, I'm not gonna lie to you.
It's gonna sound like blast off in there, but this is gonna be a tough room.
All right. 1960 was a... a hard year for us.
Well, we're here, Ted.
We're here to reassure you
that our faith in Convair has not wavered
and we appreciate the hell out of the good work that your men
-are doing out here. -Ted. Al Shepard.
-Great to see you again. How are you? -You know, I don't think we've met.
Oh yeah, sure we have. That was your, uh...
- wife in the little blue dress there. - Yeah, that's my Lizzy.
Why don't you and Lizzy go on and get a start on the party?
Uh, we'll be in right behind you.
The boys and I had a really long travel day.
Yeah, okay.
I can't do this.
You know, why don't we all just take a breather?
Got some time, the party's just starting.
We can have a drink on the beach.
I got a bottle of Johnnie Walker in my room, if you wanna grab it.
-Say no more. I'm on it. -Sound good? All right.
Uh, yeah, Al's right. Why... why don't you guys go ahead?
I'll stay here and hold down the fort.
Be right back up.
I physically cannot shake another hand.
I'm not doing it. It's gonna...
turn into one of those.
- I will punch these people. - Please do.
It hurts my shoulder, too. It's weird.
You're supposed to use your wrist.
John.
Drinking from the bottle like savages.
Yeah, John.
-I, uh, I swiped these from the bar. -Oh.
Gentlemen.
- How's it going in there? - Oh I, uh, I haven't gone in yet.
We got plenty of time.
A toast to the, uh, brave men of Convair.
May their courage serve as an example
to all us simple-minded pilots.
- Hear, hear. - Hear, hear.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
Um, me and Carsrud had a close call one time in a TV-2.
Fuel line caught fire somewhere over the Sierras.
Somehow Ricky found a little airstrip in one of those nothing mountain towns
in a snowstorm.
Brought it down like icing on a birthday cake.
Most scared I've been in my life.
-Gus. -Yup.
What, is it a Round Robin?
Yeah, well, you know, I'm not really one to repeat myself.
Some of you already know about my little brush with death.
Scared the shit out of me.
I got reckless. I did. And, uh...
I didn't do the pre-check on the plane. That's... that's true.
So, we hop in and we take off, lose power and...
next thing you know we're sliding down the runway covered in flames.
That's the, uh... that's the only time I almost cashed in somebody else's chips.
That's real scary.
Hell, Gus, I am... so sorry.
I never told you.
It's all in the past, Gordo.
-Well, now. -Jonathan Glenn.
Uh, it was Korea, middle of June.
I'm flying wing with a guy named Frank Giraudo.
And, uh... we're scouting for convoys, find some trucks, start lighting them up.
And, uh, then all of a sudden, boom.
Yeah, Giraudo gets hit by a flak, nosing up and down...
...the elevators were blown to hell.
And next thing we know, he's down in the mountains.
And I can see him down there. He's...
He's reeling in his chute, you know.
I know he's okay but...
Uh, I can't leave him behind.
So, I'm circling and circling
and circling.
I run dry, and the engine flames out.
And I'm hollering on the radio and yelling about as blue a streak
as a good old church boy like me can muster.
But, uh... still nothing.
That's when I start running the numbers.
And I'm not gonna make it.
And I'm definitely not gonna make it, not even close.
I always thought in a moment like that, I'd, uh...
you know, I'd feel close to God.
Feel a oneness with my creator, but...
I didn't. I didn't...
I didn't feel anything. I felt my butt against the seat.
Little ache in my shoulder.
I thought about my family, sure.
Mostly I just felt like an animal.
Just trying to survive.
But that's not the whole story.
You hop straight away into another plane, you make two other guys do likewise
and you scramble right back out to your buddy.
Without missing a beat.
It's war, you know, that's... that's what we do.
No, not everybody would do that.
You're up, Al.
Always wanted to be a pilot.
Navy pilot.
Not part of the plan, uh...
Dad's in the Army.
My father can be a, uh...
difficult man to please.
Yeah.
Maybe another time.
Well, fellas. Looks like we're dry.
I don't wanna go back up there yet.
Well, I know a few grimy spots down on the harbor.
- I'm in. - Yes, siree, Bob.
- I'm gonna head back in there. - Yeah, me too.
It's been a... been a busy day.
What about you, Al?
I'm gonna stay out here for a while.
Finish my drink, head on inside.
All right.
-See you in the morning, Al. -Yeah.
You really gonna go in there?
Well, yeah. We... We still got a job to do.
Let's grab a drink first.
Fine. But I'm getting water.
I don't know how you guys drink that stuff all day.
-Seltzer and lime, please. -Bourbon.
That wasn't so bad, was it, John? Hanging out with the guys.
Come on, I like the guys. It's just...
Come on, you know.
No, I don't know. What?
Just the kinda guy I am
and the kinda fun you guys like to have,
it's just not always a good fit, that's all.
Come on, we're always glad to have you. And that's me telling you.
Yeah.
-Cheers. -Cheers.
Hey, that's some news about the flight order.
Mm. Yeah. How about that?
-You'll be first, I'll bet. -It could be any of us.
You're the one that tamed that MASTIF like it's a pretty pony.
Well, there's other things that figure into it though, isn't there?
Mm. Honestly, Gordo, I'm not so sure what figures into it.
I do know the brass is not too happy with me
since I brought Wiesner to that New Year's party.
I don't know. It just seems like, uh...
my star has fallen a bit since then, I guess.
Sir. An urgent message for you.
It's from a lady.
Well, John, it looks like I've got some, uh, business to attend to.
Trudy flew in to see her mom.
And she's, uh, taking the kids for us tonight.
Plannin' on having a little private time
-away from home. -She's here?
Uh-huh.
Well, that is impressive, Gordo.
Get on out of here.
-Goodnight, John. -Goodnight, Gordo.
And now with a message of appreciation from the Mercury Seven,
would you please welcome Mr. John Glenn.
-You saved me. -The champagne isn't even cold yet.
Well, we're not really champagne people, anyway.
It's just seemed like the thing you do.
I'm so glad you came.
I am, too.
I've missed you.
I love you so much, Gordo.
- Who's there? - It's Shepard.
Al.
-I messed up. -Are you okay?
I did something stupid.
I, um...
Yeah, I took a cab down to Tijuana.
-Tijuana? -Drank. Drank a lot.
-Like a damn idiot. -Hey, hey. Come on.
Take it easy. Hey, relax.
What the hell was I thinking?
I was with a girl...
at some little hotel. I didn't... She was all over me, you know.
And then we were coming out...
I saw a flash, a camera.
I chased after 'em, but I couldn't catch them.
There was two, one was a photographer, the other was a reporter
for the San Diego Herald.
There's pictures, they're gonna run it tomorrow.
There's a story that's going to come out in the damn Herald.
John, this could ruin the program.
Al.
Hey.
I'm gonna take care of this.
All right? I will.
But you got to calm down.
All right? You... go to bed.
Just, uh...
sleep this off.
Okay?
All right.
Come on.
John, NASA can't find out.
-The order is coming down... -Go get some sleep.
And I'm on it.
All right. Well...
Hey, uh... No matter what...
it means a lot that you came to me, Al.
A whole lot.
No, sir. I'm... I'm looking for Mr. Samuel Evans
at the San Diego Herald.
-Do you know what time it is. -Yes. Yes.
I realize it's late, but...
Yeah. All right. Well, uh, thank you, and I'm sorry for waking you...
Uh, no. But I'm actually looking for Mr. Evans himself.
-There's nobody here. I can't help you. -Yeah. Of course.
- Shorty, it's John. - Hey, John. What's up?
One of the guys did something stupid.
What... How would I know anyone at the Herald? You're the PR guy.
Call Toby Wallace. Six, one, nine, five, five, five, zero, one, four, seven.
That's great. No, that'll do. That's a great start. Thank you.
Bye-bye.
- Hello? - Mr. Samuel Evans?
- Who the hell is this? - Sir, this is Major John Glenn.
I'm a pilot in the United States Marine Corps.
-And I'm currently... -The astronaut.
That's right.
- It's the middle of the night, Mr. Glenn. - Yes, sir. Yes, sir, it is.
So, I... I'll make this brief. Um...
- A few hours ago, one of our, uh... - We're running it.
Well, sir, I, uh, I would ask you humbly...
to reconsider that decision.
The editorial decisions are made by the editorial board,
Mr. Glenn, not by me.
-And certainly not by you. -Yes, I understand that, sir.
But this is a, uh...
a unique situation.
Every man's situation is unique to him.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. But this is about something bigger than me.
Or that man you have the story about.
It's bigger than NASA, even.
I mean, this is about our country and our values.
This is about whether or not the... the future belongs to people
that believe in what we believe in.
That was very eloquent of you, Mr. Glenn.
But I'm no politician nor am I an oracle, but I am a newsman.
I print the news.
The news is the first draft of history, isn't that what they say?
- Yeah, so I've heard. - Then I'm asking you...
Well, let's be honest, I'm begging you.
Just this once, just for tonight. I am begging you, Mr. Evans.
Think about that last draft of history.
You know, the one that never gets rewritten.
Think about what you want that to say.
Quite the silver tongue you've got, Mr. Glenn.
It's late, though.
-Goodnight. -Sir, please.
Wait. Sir...
-Morning. -Oh, morning.
A man after my own heart. Day can't start without the morning paper.
Have you seen the Herald?
Uh, no. Must be late. That's odd.
I prefer the Los Angeles Times myself.
The Herald's editorial page... There you go.
Herald's editorial page is a little too...
San Diego for my taste.
Hmm. I were stationed down here for a few years.
Had to read through that dreck every day.
Make your blood boil. And then, of course,
you go and have a conversation with someone who reads that paper
-and all of a sudden... -See ya on the plane, Loudon.
All right.
I think we should gather the guys.
Hello, stranger.
Hi.
This is heaven.
Why don't we do this more often?
We can.
We should.
I'm just... I'm just so happy.
I wanna tell you something.
Something I'm really excited about.
Okay.
Do you know who Jerrie Cobb is?
The, uh, the lady... The pilot.
Well, she is grooming a group of women...
to be astronauts.
And she asked me to try out.
An astronaut?
You're... you're joking.
I wanna do it.
Oh, uh...
Well, I... Is this...
is this an actual thing?
Does... does NASA know about this?
We're working on that.
How long have you known about it?
I...
Not long.
But it's all just been baby steps so far, you know...
Is that why you decided to come out here and spend the night...
so you could spring this on me?
Gordo, I was hoping you'd be happy for me.
It's just kind of surprising, I guess.
You kind of... You sort of sideswiped me, is all.
Well, I was excited to tell you.
I... I don't wanna ruin a great weekend.
Me neither.
Hey. Hey.
I just... I just want you to be happy.
Me, too.
I am happy.
That's all that matters.
Another astronaut in the family...
O...Okay, then. I guess.
We got a seance, right now.
Glenn called it. Says it's important. Get dressed.
Hey.
Is this going to take long? We gotta go see Trudy's mom.
No, it shouldn't take too long at all. Why don't you go ahead and grab a seat.
All right, uh, I know I don't wanna be cooped up in here
and I'm sure neither do you. So, I'll just get right to it.
-You're pregnant. -Yes, Wally, I'm pregnant
and your mother is the father.
All right, fellas. Listen, uh...
Truth is, I like to have fun as much as the next guy.
Not if I'm the next guy.
Look, you all know that I'm a square.
All right. That's my choice. I get that it's not for everyone.
But I do understand the allure of the female form.
I'm a Christian man, not a blind man.
But look, something happened last night.
An indiscretion, let's say.
The details of it don't matter.
It happened and now it's done.
What matters is that we all need to agree on a few things
about how we're going to conduct ourselves from this point on.
It was me.
I hopped down to Tijuana, found a girl...
screwed her at some crappy motel, couple of newspaper guys found me.
-What are we gonna do? -It's already done. I did it.
I called the publisher. I got him to spike the story.
- Thanks for helping a guy out, John. - Uh, you're welcome, Al.
But I think we all need to understand, all of us,
that what we have here is fragile,
especially now, with the program not doing so hot.
Now, it might be that, uh...
Loudon and LIFE Magazine have lulled us into a fall sense of security
'cause we all know what they've done for us.
Yeah, they whipped a bunch of bullshit into chocolate cake.
And it's a good thing they have, right?
I mean, come on, it's because of them that...
that we don't have to look like a bunch of movie stars
or, uh, give fancy speeches.
Guys, come on. We're heroes here.
We haven't even done anything yet, but that's how folks see us.
And all we got to do... is not screw that up.
Now, what happened last night put this program at risk.
Make no mistake.
And we have to make sure that nothing like that happens again.
And we all need to agree.
I said thank you, John. I think we can just leave it at that.
Wait, wait. Do you understand what I'm saying, though?
You got to button it up.
How about we hold off on the booze for now, Deke?
Sure thing, boss.
Guys, we were in it so deep last night, even Shorty didn't know what to do.
I had to get that publisher out of bed, plead with him.
Even then, I wasn't sure if it had worked until I saw the paper this morning.
You called Shorty?
Yeah, to help us out.
So, NASA knows about all this?
I can't believe you, John.
I'm sorry. You can't believe me, Al?
This is about being first. That's all.
You heard that they were about to choose and figured this would cinch it for you.
-That's why you did it. -No. I did this to help you,
-to help all of us. -No.
You sold me out so you could win. At least have the guts to admit it.
Hey, you're the one that came to me, right? You asked for my help.
-I did. -You begged for me for help.
-"I made a mistake. I messed up, John." -We help each other. That's what we do.
-"They're gonna run a story, John." -We help each other
and we don't crow about it.
We pick each other up
and we move on. That's what men like us do.
No, a man takes care of his own business, Al.
A man doesn't need to preach, John.
I saved your butt, Al! And you know it.
You did, John. You did. You saved me.
And where would you be if I hadn't, huh?
It matters how people see us, guys. It matters what we do.
The example we set. And not just for the country, by the way.
Your own children are looking at you. You're husbands and fathers.
All of you. Just show some self-control.
Oh, for God's sakes.
We wouldn't be the pilots that we are today
if we didn't have control.
But do we have appetites?
Yeah, I'm a human being. And I'm going to die one day.
We all are. We are test pilots!
And we get that fact, we stare it in the face for a living.
You're damn right you're gonna die. What I wanna know is how
-you're gonna be remembered. -I don't care!
Look, all I'm trying to do, guys, all I'm ever trying to do
is help this group.
No, you're looking out for John Glenn.
That's all you ever do.
Is that right?
Hey, Deke, how does Marge like that new Buick, huh?
Gus, Betty enjoying that new kitchen of hers?
Wally, you, uh, you just went to the Grand Canyon, right?
Was that fun? Because LIFE Magazine
shelled out all the money that made that happen.
And I made LIFE happen, and I didn't do it for me.
I didn't need it. I did it for all of you, and for the good of this program.
-John, why don't we dial it down? -Or what? You gonna slug me
like you slugged that reporter?
Who was there for you when that happened?
It's always about the good you did. How good you are.
Admit it. You think you're better than me,
-don't you? -Oh, I am better than you.
-You think you're better than all of us. -So what if I think it?
I've saved you! I've saved all of you, goddammit!
Look...
Just pull up your pants.
Okay? Just, just act like grown men, not...
Room service.
I got burgers for everyone. I... I thought you might be hungry.
I trusted you, John.
And you used it against me.
It'll probably work.
You probably will be first.
But the men in this room, all of us, will know what you did to get there.
Nice sermon.
Thanks for the grub, John.
I'm gonna go see my kids.
-Gordo, I... -What did you say to me last night?
You felt like your star had fallen?
You really found a way to make it rise again, didn't you?
They seem anxious.
So, you make a decision?
I have.
And? Who is it?
I don't know.
Lunney!
Get some scrap paper and pencils.
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
I hear the trip to San Diego went smoothly.
John, the Convair men speak highly of your commitment.
So, today we will decide the flight order for the first three astronauts.
We will know among ourselves who's going first,
second, and third.
But nothing will be announced to the public just yet.
This has been a long time coming.
Each of you is qualified to make that first flight.
It has been an honor...
getting to know and work with all of you.
I mean that.
Truly.
I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and your patience.
Mr. Lunney.
You men are largely responsible for one another.
You have been together day in and day out
for over a year now.
You've spent more time with each other in that year
than you have with your own families.
In a sense, you've become a family.
And I believe that you know your brothers better than Chris or I ever could.
So, this will be a peer vote.
I ask one simple question.
If you could not make the flight yourself...
who would you choose?
Write down that name.
Hand it to Mr. Lunney.
I'll see you soon.
So? You have your top three?
I think we do.
Let's go tell them.
Gentlemen...
we have our top three.
Again, I thank you for your hard work and your patience.
Well...
This is it.
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