Plot hole: What was the point of arresting Caulfield? He was released on bail almost immediately, it seems. It served no purpose whatsoever. Yes, he was fired and possibly discredited, but was ultimately free to continue unhindered with his investigation.
Capricorn One (1977)
1 mistake since 17 Jan '25, 04:58
Directed by: Peter Hyams
Starring: James Brolin, Elliott Gould, Sam Waterston, Brenda Vaccaro
Charles Brubaker: We... are dead. We are dead.
Lt. Col Peter Willis: Shit. I was such a terrific guy.
Trivia: When Hal Holbrook talks to the press after the heat shield separation we see a model Saturn V in the background. An extra stage has been inserted above the S-II second stage and the mission payload appears to have been augmented too.
Question: Okay, so the three astronauts are on the run but only James Brolin makes good his escape. What happened to the other two? They're shown as being caught, but what happened after? Anybody know?
Answer: How were they able to fire their flares, then?
Answer: O.J. Simpson would have had time to shoot his flare to show he was caught. With Waterson harder to believe, he had climbed the side of the mountain and was just coming to the top with the planes coming into view. Either he would have been dropped and died on way down, not getting the chance to shoot the flare, or he was grabbed from the edge. Unlikely to have time also to shoot the flare before being intercepted.
It's likely he would have had time. He was no threat and not going anywhere, so the helicopter pilots would have been in no rush to grab him. They were just sat patiently waiting for him. By the time they'd got out and reached him, he'd have plenty of time to grab and release his flare.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Chosen answer: It's never stated in the film, however, as the astronauts have been declared officially dead and therefore cannot ever be allowed to contact anybody, they were most likely executed as soon as they were captured.
Tailkinker ★