15 Pop Culture Trivia Facts About ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ and Other Thanksgiving Movies
Christmas movies are a thing, Halloween movies are a thing, but there really isn’t a definitive library of movies people turn to on Thanksgiving, save for one: Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The 1987 buddy-comedy directed by John Hughes is in league of its own and serves as a Thanksgiving tradition for many people, owing to its charming ending when John Candy’s lonesome character Del Griffith is invited to join Steve Martin’s Neal Page for Thanksgiving with his family.
There are, however, other movies that take place on Thanksgiving, and while they may not be quite as good or beloved as Planes, Trains and Automobiles, they do exist. Here are some trivia tidbits about those, along with a bunch of facts about the one Thanksgiving movie everyone cares about.
Inspired by Actual Events
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Back in 1987, Planes, Trains and Automobiles writer/director John Hughes told the Edmonton Sunday Sun that “This movie is based on an incident that actually happened to me. When I was an advertising copywriter I set out from New York to Chicago on Thanksgiving weekend and after a five-day delay, ended up in Phoenix, Arizona, via Wichita, Kansas.”
The Lost B-Story
In an Interview with Cracked, Laila Robins detailed the b-story that was cut from Planes, Trains and Automobiles where her character, Neal’s wife, suspected Neal was having an affair.
Wednesday at War
Christina Ricci said her favorite scene to shoot in Addams Family Values was the Thanksgiving play. Wednesday Addams delivers a speech skewering the holiday, then she and the other children playing Native Americans attack the camp counselors at the camp. “That was just really exciting because it was really like I was shooting an action/adventure film,” said Ricci.
Candy’s Unnatural Curls
John Candy got a perm to play Del Griffith.
Black Friday Movies Count!
The Black Friday-set Kevin James comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop was filmed at the Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Three Thanksgivings for the Price of One
The 1986 Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters was heavily influenced by an Ingmar Bergman film named Fanny and Alexander (1982) as both films are told over the course of three consecutive holiday celebrations. While Fanny and Alexander focuses on three Christmases, Hannah and Her Sisters takes place over three Thanksgivings.
Grumpy Legends
Set over the course of Thanksgiving and Christmas, the 1993 Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau comedy Grumpy Old Men was the sixth film the comedy duo did together and their first major pairing since 1981. Grumpy Old Men was a hit leading to a late-in-life revival for the duo.
“I Like Me”
Steve Martin said he was brought to tears by John Candy’s touching “I like me” monologue in Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Holiday Heist
Footage from the 2009 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade was used to recreate the famed parade during the 2011 Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller comedy Tower Heist.
Three of a Kind
John Hughes, Steve Martin and John Candy played poker in between takes of Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Lights, Camera, Giggles
It was difficult to film the cuddling scene of Planes, Trains and Automobiles because the cameramen kept laughing and shaking the camera.
Carving Way More Than the Turkey
“Every single holiday had a horror movie attached to it except Thanksgiving. So our dream was to make a slasher film around Thanksgiving,” director Eli Roth said of 2023 slasher Thanksgiving.
Back to the Turkeys
The 2013 movie Free Birds, which is about turkeys going back in time to stop the first Thanksgiving, had been titled Time Turkeys and just Turkeys before Free Birds was settled on.
A Much Longer Journey
The original cut of Planes, Trains and Automobiles was nearly four hours long, in large part due to all of the improvising by Candy and Martin. In the end, the final cut was 92 minutes.
The Remakes No One Wants
In recent years, two remakes of Planes, Trains and Automobiles have been rumored. One was with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore while the other was with Kevin Hart and Will Smith. Personally, I’d rather be slapped unconscious by Will Smith than have either of these ever see the light of day.