Airplane!
Airplane! (alternatively titled Flying High!) is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. It is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film Zero Hour!, from which it borrows its plot, central characters, and some dialogue. It also draws many elements from Airport 1975 and other films in the Airport series. It is known for its use of surreal humor and fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, running jokes, and obscure humor.
Plot
Ex-fighter pilot Ted Striker is a traumatized war veteran turned taxi driver. Because of his pathological fear of flying and subsequent "drinking problem"—he splashes beverages anywhere but into his mouth—Ted has been unable to hold a responsible job. His wartime girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson, now a flight attendant, breaks off her relationship with him before boarding her rostered flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. Ted abandons his taxi and buys a ticket on the same flight to try to win her back. Once on board, however, Elaine continues to reject him, causing Ted to accidentally drive several other passengers to suicide as he sadly reminisces.
Cast
- Al White
- Ann Nelson
- Barbara Billingsley
- Barbara Stuart
- Conrad Palmisano
- David Zucker
- Ethel Merman
- Frank Ashmore
- Gregory Itzin
- Herb Vigran
- Herb Voland
- James Hong
- Jason Wingreen
- Jerry Zucker
- Jill Whelan
- Jim Abrahams
- John O'Leary
- Jonathan Banks
- Joyce Bulifant
- Joyce Mandel
- Julie Hagerty
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Kenneth Tobey
- Lee Bryant
- Leslie Nielsen
- Lloyd Bridges
- Nicholas Pryor
- Peter Graves
- Robert Hays
- Robert Stack
- Sandra Lee Gimpel
- Stephen Stucker
- William Duell
More details
| author | Arthur Hailey David Zucker Hall Bartlett Jerry Zucker Jim Abrahams |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Los Angeles |
| director | David Zucker Jerry Zucker Jim Abrahams |
| editor | Patrick Kennedy |
| events | aviation aviation accident |
| genre | comedy |
| keywords | autopilot chicago commanding officer control tower drink fear of flying fighter pilot flight attendant fly food poisoning foodborne illness land poison serve taxi driver traumatize war veteran |
| musicBy | Elmer Bernstein |
| producer | Jon Davison |
| productionCompany | Howard W. Koch Paramount Pictures |
| publisher | Paramount Pictures |
| recordedAt | Los Angeles |
| theme | disaster parody satirical slapstick surreal |