The Thanksgiving Movie That Almost Ran Four Hours
Every Thanksgiving week, somebody on the internet says the same thing: "Those aren't pillows!" If you know the line, you know the movie. Planes, Trains and Automobiles came out in 1987, and it has been showing up on holiday screens ever since.
The story behind it is just as good as the movie.
A bad trip home
John Hughes got the idea from his own trip. He was stuck trying to get home from New York, and the delays stayed with him. He turned that frustration into a comedy about an uptight marketing executive, Neal Page (Steve Martin), who is trying to reach his family in Chicago for Thanksgiving. Standing in his way is Del Griffith (John Candy), a friendly, talkative shower curtain ring salesman who can't stop making things worse.
Three days to write it
Hughes was known for writing fast, and this script may be the best example. By most accounts he finished the whole screenplay in three days. Editor Paul Hirsch has said the first 60 pages came in about six hours.
It was also long. The script that reached Steve Martin ran about 145 pages, well past what a comedy usually needs. Martin has said he asked which scenes would be cut. Hughes shot it all anyway, reportedly more than 600,000 feet of film, almost twice the usual amount.
The cut nobody saw
Editors have described a first cut that ran four hours or more. Hughes's own director's cut reportedly came in around three and a half hours. The studio wasn't going to release a holiday comedy at that length, so it was cut down again and again. The version we know runs a little over an hour and a half.
Very little of the lost footage survives. Fans have wanted a longer cut for years, and so far it has stayed in the vault.
The ending Hughes threw out
Hughes originally ended the movie differently, with Neal discovering that Del had followed him home. Hughes later said he realized he didn't like that guy at the end of the story, so he changed it.
In the version we have, Neal learns Del has no home to go to, and he invites him to Thanksgiving dinner. It works because it comes from the two men, not from a gag.
One minute at the rental counter
Martin's long, furious rant at the car rental counter, aimed at Edie McClurg, is the scene people remember. It is one of the most famous in comedy, and it earned the film an R rating, which was unusual for Hughes, who was better known for teen comedies. He appealed, but the rating stayed because of the language, all of it in that one scene.
Edie McClurg, who played the agent, is said to have improvised her Thanksgiving-themed phone call in a single take.
Why we keep coming back
It cost about $30 million and earned back its money, and over the years it has become part of the holiday season for many families. John Candy is a big part of why. He plays Del as lonely and kind, and he lets us see both sides without making a speech about it. Hughes died in 2009, and Candy died in 1994, but the movie still gets people to call the person they ought to call.
So if you're traveling this month, pack patience. And if you're staying home, pull up a chair.
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