Space Suit

Riding on a wave of resurgence in science fiction movies in the late 1970’s Peter Hyams directed Sean Connery in the off world adventure Outland. The location for the action is Io (I-O) Jupiter’s volcanic moon which is being mined for titanium. Connery plays a Federal Marshall called William T. O’Niel who is assigned to mining facility Com-Am 27 for one year. Along with the usual personal issues a character like this brings to the story, O’Niel soon becomes involved in a sinister plot involving drugs, murder and conspiracy.

The costume in the Propstore collection is one of the mining pressure suits. It was designed by John Mollo, famous for his work on Star Wars and Alien. In fact there are many reminders of the Alien suit in the design of this one especially the shape of the helmet. It looks like the same moulds may have been utilized. The main body of the outfit is a blue jumpsuit with a “League of Industrial Nations” patch on the right sleeve and a “Con-Am 27” patch on the left. There is a character name “Cummins” written on a label to the chest. The dressing on the suit is made from vac formed plastic and the boots are rubber. This is a classic example of a time when costumes were fabricated on strict budgets and it has little of the LED’s, lights and moving parts of today’s designs.

The movie was shot at Pinewood Studios in England and used a new form of front projection special effects that still look satisfactory today, the use of model miniatures built by Martin Bower only added to the overall quality of the production. Outland was released in 1981 and was received reasonably well, with some critical acclaim. Box office receipts just covered the initial outlay but it has become a late night favourite on TV and retains a loyal following of fans.