Wyoming Loves This Classic Movie, Here Are The Fan Favorite Lines
Saturday night, I flopped down in front of my TV trying to decide what movie I wanted to watch. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, a classic came to mind.
When was the last time I watched Airplane?
The movie came out in 1980 and set a new standard for comedy. It was an instant classic.
As the movie cued up famous lines began bouncing around inside my head. It the credits began to roll I picked up my phone and asked Wake Up Wyoming listeners on Facebook:
What's your favorite line from the movie?
Within seconds the answers came rolling in.
Nobody had to look anything up.
Their memories had been jogged and they were all at home laughing and typing.
Part of what made the movie so unique is that most of the actors were known for serious roles. Many of them had never been in a comedy before. Audiences were curious as to how that was going to play out. But it was perfect.
What always gets me laughing, throughout the entire movie is the sounds of the engines.
It's a jet airplane, but we hear propellers.
Apparently, the airplane is a manual transmission. You'll see the pilot shifting gears. That makes NO sense.
There is no way to NOT laugh at the scenes with OTTO, the autopilot.
There are a few jokes in the movie that are dated. Younger generations won't get them.
"Win one for the Zipper." That's a reference to a movie starring Ronald Regan where he said "Win one for the Gipper."
A woman tells the stewardess that her husband doesn't want any coffee, but he takes a cup anyway. She thinks "He never drinks my coffee at home." That's a reference to a Folgers coffee commercial from back when the movie was made.
There are a lot of references to "speaking jive."
The creators of the movie wanted two black men speaking "jive" with subtitles for white people under them. The subtitles were to be just as funny as the "jive talk."
But the writers were two Jewish men who did not know "jive."
The two actors explained that "jive" is really just a word thrown in here and there. It's not a language.
Both actors had seen the problem and showed up with a rewrite of the jive-talking scenes for the movie. It was so funny it was incorporated.
Now you know who wrote both the jive and white dialog for the movie.
Folks across Wyoming sent me a LONG list of great lines from the movie.
There was just ONE GUY who said the movie sucked.
There is always that one guy.
Vintage Wyoming Movie Posters
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
Must Read Books From Wyoming Authors
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods