Airplane! (1980)

An airplane crew takes ill. Surely the only person capable of landing the plane is an ex-pilot afraid to fly. But don't call him Shirley.

Directors:

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker,

Writers:

Jim Abrahams (written for the screen by), David Zucker (written for the screen by),

Stars:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julie Hagerty, Robert Hays

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	...	Roger Murdock (as Kareem Abdul-Jabaar)
Lloyd Bridges	...	Steve McCroskey
Peter Graves	...	Captain Clarence Oveur
Julie Hagerty	...	Elaine Dickinson
Robert Hays	...	Ted Striker
Leslie Nielsen	...	Dr. Rumack
Lorna Patterson	...	Randy
Robert Stack	...	Rex Kramer
Stephen Stucker	...	Johnny
Otto	...	Himself
Jim Abrahams	...	Religious Zealot #6
Frank Ashmore	...	Victor Basta
Jonathan Banks	...	Gunderson
Craig Berenson	...	Paul Carey
Barbara Billingsley	...	Jive Lady

Storyline

Still craving for the love of his life, Ted Striker follows Elaine onto the flight that she is working on as a member of the cabin crew. Elaine doesn't want to be with Ted anymore, but when the crew and passengers fall ill from food poisoning, all eyes are on Ted.

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Plot Keywords:

airplane | pilot | spoof | basketball | disaster | 

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Taglines:

The craziest flight you'll ever take!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 July 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kentucky Fried Airplane

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$83,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While recovering at the VA Hospital, Ted Striker learns of the death of George Zipp, who was under Striker's command (and who previously told Dr. Rumack that his captain, Striker, had made the right decision in making the attack run). Just before this is revealed, you can hear Dr. Rumack being paged on the VA Hospital's PA system.

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Goofs

Obvious matte painting of a 747 in the background during the scene when the maintenance guy is cleaning the windshield.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Male announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in a red zone.
Female announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in a red zone.

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Crazy Credits

This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution, or exhibition may result in civil liability or criminal prosecution. So there.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Robert Hays/14 Karat Soul, Joe 'King' Carrasco & The Crowns (1981)

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Soundtracks

"Theme"
From Jaws
By John Williams

User Reviews

We have clearance, Clarence....

It is my understanding that there are still a few people in the world that haven't seen "Airplane!" yet.

Those people probably are still waiting for electricity, indoor plumbing and all the other great advances in humanity, too.

To see "Airplane!" is to take part in the great move to subvert all self-importance in movies, which this film does with great relish (and plenty of corn).

You get a chance to see such "serious" actors as Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack and Leslie Nielsen subvert themselves and their own personnae into near oblivion thanks to the writing/directing team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. Not to mention visual and verbal send-ups of darn near every movie that ever took place in the air, and a few that didn't, but should have.

Kudos to Leslie Nielsen, who with this movie gave himself the greatest reinvention of any actor this century. At one time, he was the very model of stoic sensibility.

I swear. Seriously.

A looooong time ago.

Ten stars. A laugh riot.

And I STILL think this would make a great in-flight movie.