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The Rewatchables ·

Airplane!

year 1980decade 80sdirector Jim Abrahams and David Zucker and Jerry Zuckergenre Comedy
host Bill Simmonsguest Bill Haderproducer Craig Horlbeck
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The film

Airplane! (1980)

Directed by Jim Abrahams and David Zucker and Jerry Zucker · Comedy

87 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Robert Hays Ted Striker
Julie Hagerty Elaine Dickinson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar First Officer Roger Murdock
Lloyd Bridges Steve McCroskey
Peter Graves Captain Clarence Oveur
Leslie Nielsen Dr. Rumack
Robert Stack Captain Rex Kramer
Stephen Stucker Air Traffic Controller Johnny Henshaw-Jacobs
Frank Ashmore Flight Engineer Victor Basta
Jonathan Banks Gunderson
Craig Berenson Paul Carey
Lee Bryant Mrs. Hammen
Nicholas Pryor Jim Hammen
Joyce Bulifant Mrs. Davis
Kenneth Tobey Air Controller Neubauer
Marcy Goldman Mrs. Geline
Barbara Stuart Mrs. Kramer
Ross Harris Joey Hammen
Norman Alexander Gibbs First Jive Dude
Al White Second Jive Dude
David Hollander Young Boy with Coffee
Michelle Stacy Young Girl with Coffee
David Leisure First Krishna
Jason Wingreen Dr. Brody
Jill Whelan Lisa Davis
Ethel Merman Lieutenant Hurwitz
Lee Terri Mrs. Linda Oveur
Jimmie Walker Windshield Wiper Man
James Hong Japanese General
Howard Jarvis Man in Taxi
Michael Laurence Newscaster
Herb Voland Air Controller Macias

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

1:01:22

Casting What-Ifs

Keep Robert Hays as Ted, Julie Hagerty as Elaine, and Leslie Nielsen as Rumack

Keep Robert Hays as Ted, Julie Hagerty as Elaine, and Leslie Nielsen as Rumack

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:22Read transcript
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1:12:29

Recasting Couch

Lynda Carter as an added passenger

Lynda Carter as an added passenger

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:29Read transcript
  • Lynda Carter is proposed as one more passenger for a roughly ninety-second appearance. — Bill Simmons
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1:13:07

Half-Assed Internet Research

The real LAX announcers, dailies demand, Ethel Merman’s final role, Elmer Bernstein’s score, Kareem’s Zero Hour analo...

The real LAX announcers, dailies demand, Ethel Merman’s final role, Elmer Bernstein’s score, Kareem’s Zero Hour analogue, Al White’s jive dialogue, and a deleted opening gag

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:07Read transcript
  • The real married couple who recorded the LAX announcements performed the red-zone and white-zone argument. — Bill Simmons
  • Demand to watch the dailies reportedly required the studio to add a second screening room. — Bill Simmons
  • The film was Ethel Merman’s final acting role. — Bill Simmons
  • Elmer Bernstein was asked to score the comedy with the seriousness of his dramatic work. — Bill Hader
  • Kareem was cast in the athlete-pilot role because Zero Hour! had used football star Elroy Hirsch. — Bill Simmons
  • Al White researched Black English, wrote the jive dialogue, and also wrote Barbara Billingsley’s lines. — Bill Simmons
  • A test audience’s silence caused an opening-airport spitting gag to be removed. — Bill Simmons
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1:23:18

Picking Nits

The war timeline, medical equipment, food-poisoning symptoms, speed of onset, storage of sick passengers, and propose...

The war timeline, medical equipment, food-poisoning symptoms, speed of onset, storage of sick passengers, and proposed Lake Michigan diversion

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:18Read transcript
  • Ted’s age and conflicting wartime flashbacks make his war history unclear in a 1980 setting. — Bill Hader
  • The tube pulled from the sick girl is questioned because its removal immediately causes convulsions. — Bill Hader
  • The poisoned fish should cause vomiting or diarrhea rather than sedation. — Bill Simmons
  • The group argues the fish symptoms would not happen that fast. — Bill Simmons
  • The group asks where all the incapacitated passengers were placed. — Bill Hader
  • Kramer’s immediate proposal to divert the airplane into Lake Michigan is criticized for risking innocent people. — Bill Hader
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1:29:06

Probably Unanswerable Questions

The source of the topless running gag

The source of the topless running gag

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:29:06Read transcript
  • The participants ask how the seemingly unrelated topless scene entered the movie. — Bill Simmons
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1:31:13

Best Double Feature

The Naked Gun or Zero Hour!
Airplane!
The Naked Gun
Zero Hour!
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:13Read transcript
  • The Naked Gun is proposed as a companion comedy. — Bill Hader
  • Zero Hour! followed by Airplane! is proposed to reveal the parody’s direct borrowings. — Bill Hader
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