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In 1957, Hollywood released a dramatic thriller called Zero Hour!](Zero Hour! (1957) - Movie | Moviefone) The film focused on Ted Stryker, a WWII pilot suffering over the belief that he was responsible for the deaths of six of his men during his last mission. Over a decade later, he hasn’t been on a plane since, until his wife leaves him and makes her exit via the skies. He follows, and disaster strikes. The plane isn’t full of con men or snakes, but rather … food poisoning! With everyone else incapacitated, he has to overcome his fear and fly the plane to safety.
Of course, it sounds familiar even if you never saw it. Twenty-three years later, the entire movie was spoofed in Airplane!](Airplane! (1980) - Movie | Moviefone) revealing not the thrills of the scenario, but the old flick’s utter ridiculousness and humor. They didn’t just take a random scene here or there, rather, they made more of a spoof remake. Many of the comedy’s lines or scenes come directly from the 1957 film, and there’s a great video on YouTube (posted after the jump) that pits them back to back, from the first exclamatory titles and planes flying through the clouds, to a safe, spazzy landing and offer of a drink.
Essentially, it’s MST3K realized on the big screen. Check out the clips and weigh in below – is there any serious retro movie that you think is in desperate need of a comedic spoof remake?
Continue reading Watch This: ‘Airplane!’ was a Remake of ‘Zero Hour!’