Airplane! (1980)

A man afraid to fly must ensure that a plane lands safely after the pilots become sick.

Directors:

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker

Writers:

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

Stars:

Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 6 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	...	Captain Rex Kramer
Stephen Stucker	...	Johnny Henshaw-Jacobs
Otto	...	Otto
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:

spoof | cockpit | plane | pilot | stewardess | 

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Taglines:

You've read the ad, now see the movie!

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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:

Westward Beach - Westward Beach Road, Malibu, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$83,453,539

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$83,453,539

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Howard W. Koch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The From Here to Eternity (1953) skit was shot on the same beach where Charlton Heston discovered the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes (1968).

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Goofs

In the opening sequence, the nose breaking through the glass has different markings and window frames from the plane we see mistakenly directed into the airport lounge.

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Quotes

Elaine Dickinson: [Cutting room-floor scene: Flight #209 has gone into yet another nose dive] ... Ted, the altitude! We're falling, Ted! We're falling! *The mountains, Ted! The mountains!*
Ted Striker: What *mountains?* We're over IOWA!
Elaine Dickinson: The... THE CORNFIELDS, TED! THE CORNFIELDS!

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Crazy Credits

Introducing Otto as Himself (over picture of the inflatable autopilot)

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Alternate Versions

In the TV version, an alternate version of the scene with the woman's breasts wiggling is shown featuring a woman in a tight red and yellow striped t-shirt and drum sound effects accompanying her moving breasts. Whistling is also heard.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Terminator 2: Judgment Day/The Reflecting Skin/Naked Gun 2/12: The Smell of Fear/Europa Europa (1991)

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Soundtracks

Theme From Jaws
Written by John Williams

User Reviews

A hilarious gem!

This is voted as one of the funniest comedies of all time, and it deserves that honor! The film is filled with hilarious gags! Sure, in every one of these campy farces, there's usually a few gags that are way too silly. In this case, it was the "drinking problem" gag and that annoying gay man who works on Lloyd Bridges' staff. But when I can actually count on my hand how many gags didn't work, that's a good sign. The majority of the film sent me into a frenzy of laughter! One of my favorites is when the blow-up auto-pilot runs out of air and Julie Hagerty blows it back up again. You'll have to see the movie to find out why it was so hilarious! I also got a great kick out of the running gag in which every passenger who listens to Robert Hays ends up killing themselves. This is definitely the Zuckers and Abrahams in top form! Unfortunately, I haven't seen a great spoof in years. The "Scary Movie" films were pretty good, but incredibly lewd and crude. And obviously the Zuckers and Abrahams have much better eyes for satire than the Wayans brothers. I caught "Scary Movie" on cable and watched it a second time, and I didn't laugh nearly as many times as I did the first time. I can watch "Airplane" 200 times and still laugh like there's no tomorrow! The film was made back when comedies didn't go strictly for sex and toilet gags to make an audience laugh. This was back when writers used to employ this quality called "wit." "Kentucky Fried Movie" had some racy gags, but even those were witty for the most part. There is a certain rhythm in every gag that helps make the film work. For example, Lloyd Bridges starts out by saying "I think I picked the wrong day to quit smoking." Then he says he picked the wrong day to quit drinking. And when he finally says "I picked the wrong day to quit amphetamines," I was laughing my head off! So basically, you watch a film like this and feel the urge to mail a copy of the video to the Wayans Brothers and whatever crackheads wrote "Not Another Teen Movie," along with a note saying "THIS is how to make a spoof!"

There are so many other gags worth mentioning, including the "Saturday Night Fever" sendup, which is definitely one of the best comic moments caught on film! That scene also contains my favorite line: "I told the guy next to me to pinch me to make sure I wasn't dreaming." After that voice-over, we see the guy next to Robert Hays repulsed and walking away from him. Another great example of perfect comic timing and delivery!

If you want to get some authentic belly laughs--I'm not talking chuckles, but actual LAUGHS!--you must check out "Airplane." Trust me, movies don't get much more original or funny than this!

My score: 9 (out of 10)