Airplane! (1980)
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A traumatized veteran must overcome his fear of flying to save a plane full of passengers after the crew falls ill.
The story
Ex-fighter pilot Ted Striker, a traumatized war veteran turned taxi driver with a pathological fear of flying, finds himself on a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. He joins the flight specifically to win back his former girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson, who is a flight attendant on the plane. However, the situation turns dire when the entire flight crew and several passengers fall ill due to food poisoning from the in-flight meal. With the crew incapacitated, the passengers must find a way to keep the plane airborne and land it safely in Chicago.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Ted Striker, a traumatized war veteran and taxi driver with a fear of flying, boards a flight to Chicago to win back his ex-girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson. During the flight, the crew and several passengers fall ill from food poisoning. With the crew incapacitated, Elaine and Dr. Rumack convince Ted to take the controls. Guided by his former commanding officer, Rex Kramer, via radio from the ground, Ted must navigate the plane through worsening weather. Despite the landing gear shearing off, Ted successfully lands the plane in Chicago. The film ends with Elaine and Ted reconciling as the plane's autopilot, a dummy named 'Otto', takes over for the next flight.
- Original title
- Flying High!
- First release year
- 1980
- Runtime (minutes)
- 87
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jim Abrahams; David Zucker; Jerry Zucker
- Writers
- Jim Abrahams · writer; David Zucker · writer; Jerry Zucker · writer
- Cast and characters
- Robert Hays · Ted Striker; Julie Hagerty · Elaine Dickinson; Leslie Nielsen · Dr. Rumack; Robert Stack · Rex Kramer; Lloyd Bridges · Jim Conrad; Peter Graves · not specified; Lorna Patterson · not specified; Stephen Stucker · not specified; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar · Roger Murdock
- Genres
- comedy; parody; satire; slapstick
- Themes
- overcoming fear; absurdity of disaster tropes
- Tone and mood
- surreal; fast-paced; satirical
- Premise and plot tags
- aviation; parody; comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Zero Hour! (1957) and the Airport series
- Franchise connections
- Airplane!
- Reception
- The film was a critical and commercial success, becoming a cult classic and being recognized as one of the greatest comedy films ever made, appearing on numerous 'best of' lists for its humor and parody.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 78 · scale: 100 · review count: 18
- Awards and nominations
- Writers Guild of America Award · Best Adapted Comedy · win
- Production trivia
- The script was originally titled 'The Late Show'.; The film's title was changed to 'Flying High!' for its international release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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