Taglines: Thank God it’s Only a Motion Picture!
Airplane! movie storyline. Ex-fighter pilot and taxi driver Ted Striker (Robert Hays) became traumatized during the War, leading to a pathological fear of flying. As a result, he is unable to hold a responsible job. His wartime girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty), now a flight attendant, leaves him. Striker nervously boards a Boeing 707 (Trans American Flight 209) from Los Angeles to Chicago on which she is serving, hoping to win her back, but she rebuffs him.
After dinner is served, many of the passengers fall ill, and fellow passenger Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) deduces that the passengers have contracted food poisoning from the fish. The cockpit crew, including pilot Clarence Oveur (Peter Graves) and co-pilot Roger Murdock (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), have also been affected, leaving no one to fly the plane.
Elaine contacts the Chicago control tower for help, and is instructed by tower supervisor Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) to activate the plane’s autopilot, a large inflatable pilot doll (listed as “Otto” in the end credits), which will get them to Chicago, but will not be able to land the plane. Rumack convinces Striker to fly the plane, though Striker feels unable to handle the pressure and the unfamiliar aircraft.
Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical parody film directed and written by David and Jerry Zucker as well as Jim Abrahams, 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.
The film is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film Zero Hour!, from which it borrows the plot and the central characters, as well as many elements from Airport 1975. The film is known for its use of surreal humor and its fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns and gags.
Airplane! (1980)
Directed by: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Starring: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Julie Hagerty, Robert Hays, Leslie Nielsen, Lorna Patterson
Screenplay by: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Production Design by: Ward Preston
Cinematography by: Joseph F. Biroc
Film Editing by: Patrick Kennedy
Costume Design by: Rosanna Norton
Set Decoration by: Anne D. McCulley
Music by: Elmer Bernstein
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: July 2, 1980
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