Five Fun Facts About Planes, Trains And Automobiles
John Hughes’ 1987 film, Planes, Trains And Automobiles, starring Steve Martin and John Candy, remains the undisputed king of the turkey leg holiday. In addition to being side-splittingly funny, the film finds universal appeal in its painfully accurate depiction of the frustration of traveling during the holidays, which is bolstered by Hughes’ clever writing and the hilarious and heartwarming chemistry of its two leads.
Today, we give thanks to the mother of all Thanksgiving films by looking at some fun facts about the film and its production!
The original cut was 3 hours long.
Hughes’ script was 145 pages, and he shot 600,000 feet of film — almost twice the industry average — when filming Planes, Trains And Automobiles. A three-hour version of the film is locked up and deteriorating in a Paramount vault, but not in any working order. It’s apparently such a tangle of footage that it would take “months, maybe even years” (according to Hughes) to transform it into a presentable film.
Amongst the cut scenes, there is one involving a strip club (where Martin uses the phone to find Candy distracted by the dancers) and one involving a dinner on a plane (which appeared in the televised version of the film) where Martin’s brownie is completely covered by a passenger’s long hair. Seeing that Martin is no longer hungry, Candy fishes through the hair to retrieve and eat it.
Scenes aren’t the only lost aspect to the film though. Elton John and lyricist Gary Osborne were nearly finished with a theme song when Paramount insisted on holding ownership of the recording master, which John’s record company would not allow. Just like the extended cut of the film, the song has never been released.
There are two Kevin Bacon easter eggs in the film.
The opening of the film features a small cameo with Kevin Bacon, involving a neck-and-neck race between he and Steve Martin for a taxi. The scene is a direct reference to the 1986 film Quicksilver, in which the character played by Bacon is racing someone on a bicycle.
Later, when Martin calls his wife to inform her of his delay, you can hear a fight from She’s Having a Baby (1988), another Hughes directed film, in the background, which is between Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern.
Hughes performed the entire film for Reid Rosenfelt instead of letting him read the script.
Reid Rosefelt recalled going to meet with Hughes for a unit publicist gig on the film on his blog. He mentioned that he found it strange, but admirable that Hughes wouldn’t allow him to see the script for a film he would potentially work on and promote.
It wasn’t until the two became more familiar with each other that Hughes began to divulge information — but he still denied Rosefelt access to the script. Instead, Hughes performed the entire movie for him, which was probably more amusing than simply reading it. Although Rosefelt didn’t wind up getting the job, he’ll always have this peculiar memory and humorous anecdote!
John Candy’s character inspired his cameo in Home Alone.
Okay, so this will actually be a two-fer…
An odd thing about Candy on this film: before shooting began, Candy arrived with tons of exercise equipment, which he intended to use during production. The crew installed a treadmill, bench press, weights, and other exercise gear in his hotel suite. Steve Martin said Candy never used any of it during the production, but, you know, it’s the thought that counts, right?!
About the Home Alone cameo: Candy’s role as Del Griffith (“American Light and Fixture, Sales Director, shower curtain ring division”) led to the creation of Gus Polinski, the Polka King of the Midwest, the character he would play in Home Alone — both films being written and produced by Hughes. You could say that Polinski is the inverse of Griffith; one is more so a burden and makes traveling hell, whereas, the other helps you out in a pinch.
The F-bomb fueled tirade made Martin want to make the film.
That’s right, Neal’s verbal eruption in the rental car lobby was one of the scenes that made Martin want to make the film. The scene features 18 F-bombs in just 60-seconds (Scarface eat your heart out), and its gratuitous use of language was what bumped the comedy from PG-13 to R.
Edie McClurg, who is probably best remembered as Grace, Principal Rooney’s secretary in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, still claims that people come up to her and ask her to tell them “they’re f#$%ed.”
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!