Airplane! (1980)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Jim Abrahams
David Zucker
(more)

Writers:

Jim Abrahams (written by) &
David Zucker (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 July 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Airplane | Pilot | Spoof | Fish | Basketball

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	...	Roger Murdock (as Kareem Abdul-Jabaar)
Lloyd Bridges	...	McCroskey
Peter Graves	...	Captain Oveur
Julie Hagerty	...	Elaine
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
Lee Bryant	...	Mrs. Hammen
Joyce Bulifant	...	Mrs. Davis
Mae E. Campbell	...	Security Lady
Ted Chapman	...	Airport Steward
Jesse Emmett	...	Man from India
Norman Alexander Gibbs	...	First Jive Dude
Amy Gibson	...	Soldier's Girl
Marcy Goldman	...	Mrs. Geline
Bob Gorman	...	Striped Controller (as Bobby Gorman)
Rossie Harris	...	Joey
Maurice Hill	...	Reporter #3
David Hollander	...	Young Boy with Coffee
James Hong	...	Japanese General
Howard Honig	...	Jack
Gregory Itzin	...	Religious Zealot #1
Howard Jarvis	...	Man in Taxi
Michael Laurence	...	Newscaster
David Leisure	...	First Krishna
Zachary Lewis	...	Religious Zealot #3
Barbara Mallory	...	Religious Zealot #2
Maureen McGovern	...	Nun
Nora Meerbaum	...	Cocaine Lady
Mary Mercier	...	Shirley
Ethel Merman	...	Lieutenant Hurwitz
Len Mooy	...	Reporter #1
Ann Nelson	...	Hanging Lady (as Ann M. Nelson)
Laura Nix	...	Mrs. Hurwitz
John O'Leary	...	Reporter #2
Cyril O'Reilly	...	Soldier
Bill Porter	...	Hospital Contortionist
Nicholas Pryor	...	Mr. Hammen
Conrad E. Palmisano	...	Religious Zealot #4 (as Conrad Palmisano)
Mallory Sandler	...	L.A. Ticket Agent
Michelle Stacy	...	Young Girl with Coffee
Robert Starr	...	Religious Zealot #5
Barbara Stuart	...	Mrs. Kramer
Lee Terri	...	Mrs. Oveur
Kenneth Tobey	...	Air Controller Neubauer
William Tregoe	...	Jack Kirkpatrick
Hatsuo Uda	...	Japanese Newscaster
Herb Voland	...	Air Controller Macias
Jimmie Walker	...	Windshield Wiper Man
Jill Whelan	...	Lisa Davis
Al White	...	Second Jive Dude
John David Wilder	...	Second Krishna (as John-David Wilder)
Windy	...	Horse
Jason Wingreen	...	Dr. Brody
Louise Yaffe	...	Mrs. Jaffe
Charlotte Zucker	...	Make-up Lady
David Zucker	...	Ground Crewman #2
Jerry Zucker	...	Ground Crewman #1
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Larry Blake	...	Upside-down Man (uncredited)
Susan Breslau	...	Ticket Agent (uncredited)
William Duell	...	Reporter #1 (uncredited)
Sandra Lee Gimpel	...	Girl Scout in Bar (uncredited)
Leslie Hoffman	...	Passenger in Terminal (uncredited)
Bill Kirchenbauer	...	Capt. Geline (uncredited)
Paula Marie Moody	...	Girl Scout in Bar (uncredited)
Kitten Natividad	...	Bouncy Topless Woman on Plane (uncredited)
Dr. Robert Nevin	...	Other Doctor (uncredited)
Patrick Reynolds	...	Third Krishna (uncredited)
Herb Vigran	...	Reporter #2 (uncredited)

Directed by
Jim Abrahams
David Zucker
Jerry Zucker

Writing credits
Arthur Hailey		(teleplay "Flight Into Danger") uncredited
Arthur Hailey		(screenplay "Zero Hour") uncredited &
Hall Bartlett		(screenplay "Zero Hour") uncredited &
John C. Champion		(screenplay "Zero Hour") uncredited
Jim Abrahams		(written by) &
David Zucker		(written by) &
Jerry Zucker		(written by)

Produced by
Jim Abrahams	....	executive producer
Jon Davison	....	producer
Howard W. Koch	....	producer
Hunt Lowry	....	associate producer
David Zucker	....	executive producer
Jerry Zucker	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(director of photography) (as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Patrick Kennedy

Casting by
Joel Thurm

Production Design by
Ward Preston

Set Decoration by
Anne D. McCulley

Costume Design by
Rosanna Norton

Makeup Department
Edwin Butterworth	....	makeup artist
Joan Phillips	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Maurice Vaccarino	....	unit production manager
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	executive production manager: Paramount (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daniel Attias	....	dga trainee (as Dan Attias)
Kenneth D. Collins	....	second assistant director (as Ken Collins)
Arne Schmidt	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Tom Crowl	....	assistant property master
Wally Graham	....	construction coordinator
Mike Higelmire	....	lead person
Joseph E. Hubbard	....	set designer (as Joe Hubbard)
Steven M. Levine	....	property master (as Steven Levine)

Sound Department
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer (as David Campbell)
Bill Henderson	....	sound re-recording engineer
David J. Hudson	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dave Hudson)
Dennis Jones	....	boom operator
Tom Overton	....	sound recording mixer
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer
James Troutman	....	sound editor (as Jim Troutman)
Terry Chambers	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Jeremy Hoenack	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)
Clancy T. Troutman	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)
David A. Whittaker	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John Frazier	....	special effects
Richard O. Helmer	....	miniature special effects
Bruce Logan	....	director of photography: special effects
Christopher S. Ross	....	special effects miniatures

Visual Effects by
Robert Blalack	....	visual effects
Chris Casady	....	effects animator
Paul Gentry	....	director of photography: miniatures
Bill Hedge	....	visual effects: Magic Lantern
Peter Kuran	....	visual effects
Chris Walas	....	visual effects: special projects
David Merritt	....	model maker: MPI (uncredited)

Stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt performer
Sandra Lee Gimpel	....	stunt performer
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt coordinator (as Conrad Palmisano)
Leigh Walsh	....	stunt double
Janet Brady	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paula Dell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paula Marie Moody	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt double: Lloyd Bridges (uncredited)
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt double: Robert Hays (uncredited)
Esther Palmisano	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Nick Palmisano	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Mary Peters	....	stunts (uncredited)
Diane Peterson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dar Robinson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Russell Saunders	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Rick Seaman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Greg Walker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jesse Wayne	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jamie Anderson	....	assistant camera
Brink Brydon	....	gaffer: effects unit
Jerry D. Deats	....	grip: effects unit (as Jerry Deats)
Bill Decker	....	grip
Larry Gilhooly	....	gaffer
M. Todd Henry	....	assistant camera (as Todd Henry)
Danny Marzolo	....	electrical department
John Monte	....	still photographer
Nick Papanickolas	....	grip
Pete G. Papanickolas	....	grip
Frederic J. Smith	....	camera operator (as Frederick J. Smith)
Gary R. Wostak	....	electrical department (as Gary Wostack)
Edmond Wright	....	grip

Casting Department
Susan Arnold	....	additional casting
Wallis Nicita	....	additional casting (as Wally Nicita)
Gretchen Rennell	....	additional casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Aggie Lyon	....	costume supervisor
Victoria Snow	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Scott K. Wallace	....	assistant editor (as Scott Wallace)

Music Department
Allison Caine	....	vocal effects advisor
Jeff Carson	....	music editor
Kathy Durning	....	music editor
David Spear	....	orchestrator
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Glenda Baker	....	transportation
Tom Baker	....	transportation
Frank Khoury	....	driver

Other crew
Adam Culunga	....	craft service
Michael Finnell	....	generally in charge of a lot of things (as Mike Finnell)
Donald Hansard Sr.	....	process supervisor (as Donald Hansard)
Nancy Hansen	....	script supervisor
Steve Kramer	....	airport arrangements
Tom Mahoney	....	choreographer
Dave Miller	....	first aid
J.L. Mitchell	....	wrangler
Betty Moos	....	supervisor of production administration
Dan Perri	....	title designer
Huey Redwine	....	stand-in
Art Sarno	....	unit publicist
Dick Webb	....	wrangler
Larry Wilson	....	magic consultant
Raechel Donahue	....	voice artist (uncredited)

Thanks
Kim Jorgensen	....	special thanks
Pat Proft	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1980) (France) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1980) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Greater Union Organisation (GUO) (1980) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1983) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (Spain) (2000) (Spain) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment Finland (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Special Effects

• MPI James Shourt & Robert Blalock (title design and production)
• Magic Lantern (visual effects)
• Motion Pictures Inc. (visual effects)
• Robert Keith & Company Inc. (visual effects)
• Visual Concept Engineering (VCE) (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Howard Anderson Company, The  additional opticals
• Jack Rabin & Associates  opticals
• Sound FX  sound editing

Also Known As:

Flying High! (New Zealand: English title) (Philippines: English title)
Flying High (Australia)
Kentucky Fried Airplane (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Spain:13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | UK:PG (2001 re-rating) | USA:PG (Certificate #25740) | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 (video rating) | Norway:12 (original rating) | UK:A (original rating) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The argument between the two P.A. voice-overs about an abortion comes from "a cheap, dime-store novel" according to the trivia track of the DVD version. That "novel" is actually Arthur Hailey's "Airport" (which inspired the movie Airport (1970)).

Goofs:

Continuity: After Elaine lets go of Ted in the dance floor, he somersaults into the audience, quickly gets up and runs back to the dance floor. But while "Ted" (the stuntman) is somersaulting, the real Ted (Robert Hays) is visible in the background.

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Silenci?: (#5.6)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Notre Dame Victory March

"You have clearance, Clarence." "Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?"

When the flight crew of a commercial airliner fall victim to food poisoning, the only one on the plane who can save everybody from disaster is former war pilot Ted Stryker (Robert Hays), who's a neurotic mess, in this spoof of the 1970's "Airport" series from Universal, but which actually takes its biggest inspiration from the 1957 thriller "Zero Hour".

"Airplane!" is a classic, influential comedy, among the best of its kind. It may be not the first of its kind - when I wrote my original comment, I somehow forgot about earlier Mel Brooks classics like "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles". The film-makers (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker) throw joke after joke at the audience - both verbal and visual, and even when the joke is stupid, it's still worthy of a laugh.

There is an impressively high quotient of successful and memorable gags (I've always loved the "Saturday Night Fever" parody), as well as many hilarious quotes. The great cast includes some veteran "straight man" actors (Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen) who do marvelous self-parodies, as well as some gag cameos and a number of now-familiar character actors (Nicholas Pryor, Jonathan Banks, James Hong, and others). The three film-makers themselves have bit parts, and the Zucker brothers even throw their mother into the mix (she's the one having a hard time putting on her makeup).

Even after many years of watching this movie, it still holds up remarkably well, and for me, that plays a big part in its appeal. Some of the jokes may be dated now, but they are all still funny.

Followed by a decent yet inferior sequel two years later.

8/10