If You're A "Planes, Trains, And Automobiles" Fan, Here Are 10 Facts You Need To Know

by N/A, 10 years ago | 3 min read

Writer John Hughes was best known for teenage driven films like Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off before coming out with the film Planes, Trains & Automobiles. This gave him a chance to write for a more adult audience, and tackle a holiday-driven film (before Christmas Vacation and Home Alone). Okay, the point isn't that this guy is a wildly successful writer of many cult comedies (but he is), rather it's to give you an insight into how this particular one was made.

Movies Celebrities transportation holidays Humor Comedy Movies Filmmaking Non-Premium

1) John Candy had treadmills, weights, and other exercise equipment set up in his hotel suite

Martin says he didn't use any of it.

2) Another Hughe's movie was being shot at the same time: "She's Having a Baby"

Because of that, Kevin Bacon makes a cameo in Planes, Trains & Automobiles stealing a taxi from Steve Martin. Also in Planes, Trains & Automobiles there is a scene where you can hear the audio of the fight scene in She's Having a Baby.

3) In the original ending Candy's character follows Martin all the way home, but Hughes changed his mind while in final editing

He decided Del should be a "noble person" and let Neal return home alone to his family, before Neal decides to go and find Del.

4) Jeri Ryan's first roll was in this film, but she was ultimately cut out

She's a passenger on the bus ride, but couldn't help but laugh at Martin and Candy's acting antics. The scene remained, but was reshot without Ryan in it (laughing in the background). She did alright for herself despite this hiccup (of laughter).

5) The film was supposed to be shot entirely in Chicago

But, without enough snow the film shot many scenes in Buffalo, New York. Martin explained they were literally living out the plot of the movie, because of all the moving stating, "“As we would shoot, we were hopping planes, trains, and automobiles, trying to find snow."

6) Steve Martin thought the script was far too long…it was 145 pages

Martin later claimed the first cut of the movie was four-and-a-half hours long. Martin had written his own screenplays before and thought that 145 pages was just too much for a comedy. Hughes was confused when Martin asked where they could cut things down. He clearly didn't think it was too long and didn't back down from that.

7) Writer John Hughes apparently wrote the first 60 pages of the the script in just six hours

The writing presumably came easy as Hughes had a similarly hellacious experience traveling during his days as a copywriter for Leo Burnett. In short, a flight back home took many delays after snowfall in Chicago and took roughly five extra days for him to finally make it back.

8) Edie McClurg improvised her phone conversation in the scene where Steve Martin drops 18 F-bombs on her

Originally, her role was just to put up a finger indicating Martin's character needed to hang on a minute while she complete a phone conversation. Then, Hughes told her to improvise something. That's when she came up with a whole conversation about Thanksgiving dinner. The improvising impressed Hughes quite a bit and the scene stuck.

9) The film was actually most beneficial to an uncredited actor

Constant delays in production made Hughes keep one actor on standby, who was supposed to one have one line and work one day. Since he was kept around so long, he earned enough money to put a down payment on a house. This actor was most likely Troy Evans for his part as a shy truck driver. You may know him from a five-season run on ER.

10) Martin didn't even know the camera was on for what turned out to be the final scene

Hughes kept cameras rolling in between takes while filming on the Chicago train. Martin was thinking about his next lines (not realizing the cameras were on) and Hughes felt he had a "beautiful expression" on his face in an unguarded moment. Neal is thinking about Del and this footage previously thought to be unusable footage turned out to be exactly what they needed to get the ending they wanted.