Leslie Nielsen and Lloyd Bridges were absolutely brilliant in that movie.
The genius of that movie was playing something that silly with serious actors playing it straight. Bridges, Nielsen, Peter Graves and Robert Stack — four older guys who had always played serious/tough-guy roles — made that movie.
If you’re a fan of the movie like I am, you owe it yourself to buy the new book that they ZAZ guys just put out last year. Tells the whole story from the inside - fascinating. It’s on Amazon - Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!