Even though it’s now 35 years old, John Hughes‘ 1987 film “Planes, Trains, And Automobiles” remains a classic comedy and maybe the best Thanksgiving movie ever made. It may even be Hughes’ most beloved film, too: a controversial pick, but certainly in the running. Now, in the lead-up to Turkey Day, Vanity Fair wants fans of the film to check out a long-lost deleted scene from the film that sees John Candy and Steve Martin at the height of their odd-couple chemistry.
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For those unfamiliar with “Automobiles,” maybe check out the film before watching the clip. But for those who need only a plot recap of the movie, here goes: Martin plays Neal Page, an uptight advertising exec who just can’t seem to make it home in time for Thanksgiving. Worse yet, he keeps running into Candy’s Del Griffith, a shower-curtain ring salesman who can’t seem to stop talking, talking, talking. Their respective journeys out of New York City for the holiday soon take a parallel course, forcing the two strangers to constantly butt heads, and forge an unlikely bond in the process.
In the newly uncovered deleted scene, Neal and Del share a seat on a bus, and Del decides it’s a good idea to start singing “99 Bottles Of Beer.” The tune starts wearing thin for Neal, but Del, ever undeterred, takes things up a notch, restarting the song at “1000 bottles.” While only a minute long, the deleted scene is but one of many shaved off from the film’s initial super-long 4-hour cut. But in an era where studios never saved scenes left on the cutting room floor, Hughes kept duplicate copies of his films as he edited them. This scene is one of an hour’s worth of deleted scenes included on the new 4K release of “Planes, Trains, And Automobiles.”
For more info about Hughes’ movie and its production, check out Vanity Fair’s oral history of the film. Check out the deleted scene from “Planes, Trains, And Automobiles” below.