MAGNET contributing writer Jud Cost is sharing some of the wealth of classic films he’s been lucky enough to see over the past 40 years. Trolling the backwaters of cinema, he has worked up a list of more than 500 titles—from the silent era through the ’90s—that you may have missed. A new selection, all currently available on DVD, appears every week.
The Right Stuff (1983, 193 minutes)
A man on horseback dressed like a gentleman cowpoke rides over a ridge riddled with Joshua Trees to find something highly unusual in the sun-baked Mojave desert. Painted a brilliant orange with a pointed nosepiece that makes it look like a dart, a rocket-propelled airplane with fire belching from its tail is being refueled by a large tanker. It’s the Bell X-1, an experimental aircraft designed to break the sound barrier at 768 miles an hour, a feat that’s never been achieved as of 1947.
At a sleepy little cantina close to Muroc Army Air Field, a young girl asks the barmaid about the photos of famous pilots decorating the walls. “How come Slick over there doesn’t have his picture on your wall? What do you have to do?” The barmaid answers, “You have to die, sweetie.” Air Force brass and project engineers are negotiating with Slick Goodlin (William Russ) to pilot the X-1. “You could be the first. The man who breaks the sound barrier will be on top,” says an Army Air Force colonel.
Capt. Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) dismounts from his horse and enters the tavern. “Why, Yeager, you old bastard, don’t just stand there in the doorway like some god damned sheepherder!” shouts the barmaid. “Get your ass over here and have a drink.” Yeager takes his libation to the far corner of the room as an acquaintance tosses him a leather helmet and says, “It might work.” Yeager replies, “I’ll look like the Galloping Ghost in that,” referring to college football legend Red Grange from 20 years ago.
Meanwhile, Slick is bargaining for a very expensive (and dangerous) ride. “Some people will tell you the sound barrier can’t be broke,” he says. “They’ll tell you the controls will freeze up on you. Then again,” he adds, examining a cracked fingernail, “maybe it can only be broke for a specific sum.” One of the brass warily asks, “How much?” Slick milks the words, “One hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
“What’re we gonna do now?” moans a civilian engineer. “That guy in the corner,” says another, “Yeager is his name. Some kind of war hero, shot down five Germans in one day. He’s a natural-born stick-and-rudder man.” The colonel walks over to Yeager and says, “We were just talking to Slick about the sound barrier. We think the X-1 is ready to have a go at it.” Yeager chooses his words carefully. “You know half these engineers have never been off the ground. They’ll tell you the sound barrier is a brick wall that’ll rip your ears off,” he says. “Want to have a go at it?” asks the colonel. “I might. When do we go?” replies Yeager. “How about tomorrow morning,” suggests the colonel off-handedly. “I’ll be there,” says Yeager.
