The hit comedy movie 'Airplane!' is 40 years old. It shows its age, but it's still relevant (back in theaters Aug 30)

nbc news ^ | July 21, 2020 | By Bryan Reesman

[FroggyTheGremlim]

I remember him in Forbidden Planet.

[frank ballenger]

My name’s not “Shirley”.

"Just kidding."--Johnny with the electric cord in his hands.

[dfwgator]

Robert Stack in an episode of the good but very short-lived Most Wanted was a police captain who had to impersonate an airline pilot.

Stack also made a brief appearance, in the David Zucker directed "Baseketball", playing himself on Unsolved Mysteries, it was hillarious.

[wally_bert]

I’ll have to look for that.

Stack also did a sort of Untouchables skit for the color version of the Lucy Show.

It’s in the boxed set of Untouchables.

Quite funny.

[FroggyTheGremlim]

“I used to sit on your face and wriggle.”

[dfwgator]

Elaine: Would you like something to read?
Old Lady: Do you have anything light?
Elaine: Uhh...how about this leaflet, Famous Jewish Sports Legends?

[forgotten man]

“Airplane” is a spoof of the movie “The High and the Mighty” made in 1954.

[scottinoc]

I remember Siskel and Ebert panned the Zucker brothers back in the 80s, long before the cancel culture. They were like “I wonder if the Zucker brothers think this is funny?!”. Um, yeah I guess they did.

[Jewbacca]

Goldberg is not amused.

I really don't follow American sports, much. I will note that Israel can't populate a decent football (real football) national team because our good players go off and play for much more profitable European league teams. Pisses me off to no end, but I can't blame them.

[Getsmart64]

What the heck??? Is that John Travolta?....lol

[Hardastarboard]

+ 1,000,000 to that comment. The NBA SUCKS any more.

[scottinoc]

Just wanted to tell you all, good luck, we’re all counting on you...

[freedumb2003]

It was “nigga.” I remember how shocked I was to hear it ftom her.

You are correct the overdub was “chump.” But that was not the original.

[OrangeHoof]

I disagree. I saw it in the theaters in the first couple of weeks that it came out in 1980 (we had a friend who was such a movie buff, he dragged us to every new film). It’s always been “chump”. Granted, this was Texas so perhaps the phrase (which is off camera) was redubbed after first release but the n-word was not to be uttered (by cultured whites, anyway) even back then.

Now, the scene in “Mad Men” where Mrs. Blankenship disses the Clay-Liston fight, she really does say the n-word but the DVD release changed it to “negroes”. Her shocking line was “If I want to see two n-——s fight, I’ll just throw a dollar out my back window”. Classic.

[p. henry]

Very true. A great film.

[Kickaha]

Laughing now!

[Rebelbase]

Yeah, what’s a Theater?

[Inyo-Mono]

I first saw this film in a theater in 1980 when I was 30, and have watched it on TV a few times since. That is the first time I noticed John Travolta in his Pulp Fiction outfit before Pulp Fiction was even made!

[BradyLS]

What? No Monty Python and the Holy Grail???