Planes, Trains & Automobiles
An uptight New York ad executive racing against a snowstorm must endure a chaotic cross‑country flight beside an obnoxiously chatty traveling salesman, jeopardizing his desperate bid to reach his family in time for Thanksgiving.
“What he really wanted was to spend Thanksgiving with his family. What he got was three days with the turkey.”
Synopsis
Neal Page, an irritable marketing executive, is on his way home to Chicago for Thanksgiving when a series of delays compel him to travel with Del Griffith, a well-meaning but overbearing shower curtain ring salesman.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 263+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Paul HirschShot by Donald PetermanScored by Ira NewbornDesigned by John W CorsoSound by Jim Alexander Nm0018482Costumes by April FerryStunts by Bennie E Dobbins
Box Office
1987 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 3.3× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$49.5M
US & Canada: $49.5M — 100% of worldwide · International: $272 (0%)
Full synopsis
Also known as
- Ein Ticket für Zweide
- Planes, Trains and Automobilesen
- Un ticket pour deuxfr
- Un biglietto in dueit
- (Bulgarian)Самолети, влакове и автомобили
Release dates around the world5 countries · showhide
- CanadaNov 25, 1987
- United StatesNov 25, 1987
- ArgentinaDec 10, 1987
- AustraliaDec 26, 1987
- JapanFeb 11, 1988
Production & Distribution
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Cast & Crew
263 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Supporting cast
69Richard Herd
as Walt
Susan Kellermann
as Waitress
Matthew Lawrence
as Little Neal
Edie Mcclurg
as Car Rental Agent
George Petrie
as Martin
Gary Riley
as Motel Thief
Charles Tyner
as Gus
Susan Isaacs
as Marie
Lulie Newcomb
as Owen's Wife
John Randolph Jones
as Cab Dispatcher
Nick Wyman
as New York Lawyer
Gaetano Lisi
as Cab Driver - New York
Diana Castle
as Stewardess
Julie H Morgan
as Stewardess
Bill Erwin
as Man on Plane
Ruth De Sosa
as New York Ticket Agent
Ben Stein
as Wichita Airport Representative
Kim Genelle
as Receptionist
Grant Forsberg
as Brand Manager
David Raiport
as Cafe Patron
Andrew J Hentz
as Bus Lover
Karen Meisinger
as Bus Loverette
Gary Palmer
as Pilot
Diane Nieman
as Earring Customer
Sylvia Vitrungs
as Earring Customer
Joann Taylor
as Earring Customer
Julie A Herbert
as Earring Customer
Jennifer Allswang
as Earring Customer
Wendy Lee Avon
as Earring Customer
Amy Meyers
as Earring Customer
John Moio
as Screaming Driver
Victoria Vanderkloot
as Screaming Driver's Wife
Angelis Alexandris
as Pedestrian
Shirley Anthony
as Wichita Airport Commuter
Kevin Ash
as Cab victim
Jimmie Booth
as Plane Passenger
Dominick Clark
as Man on telephone in airport
Jules Dean
as Holiday Traveler
Troy Evans
as Antisocial Trucker
Richard Fike
as Street background
Charles Franke
as Man in suit on train
Bob Harks
as Restaurant Patron
Susan Hayden
as Woman
G Wayne Hill
as Airport Traveler
Robert Hitchcock
as Plane Passenger
Conrad Hurtt
as Bus Rider
Kathryn Janssen
as Holiday Traveler
Angella Kaye
as Child at Wichita Airport
Anthony Kulick
as Man at Airport
Debra Lamb
as Roxanne
Larry Ludwig
as Man at Wichita Airport
Farrell Mayer
as Holiday Traveler
Gary Mcnerney
as Park Avenue Pedestrian
Nanci Meek Kusley
as Mother in airport
Christopher Meister
as Child At Rental Counter
Dawn Morgan Keefe
as Coffee shop customer
Elva Morgan
as Earring Customer
Daniel Niswander
as Man at Wichita Airport
Peter Austin Noto
as Baker
Ricardo Sandoval Iii
as Man at Motel
George Sasaki
as Plane Passenger
Tom Skilling
as TV meteorologist
Nico Stevens
as Holiday Traveler
Ken Tipton
as Holiday Traveler
Lyman Ward
as John
Flynn Welles
as Holiday Traveler
Tom Willett
as Airport Traveler
Chino Fats Williams
as Marathon Shuttle Driver
William Windom
as Bryant
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
4Other crew
182Adam Bernardi
additional editor
Andrew London
additional editor
Joe Gilbert
adr editor (uncredited)
Ed Golya
adr mixer (uncredited)
Scott E Hart
animal trainer (as Scott Hart)
Deborah Belovitch
apprentice editor
Emmy Scharlatt
apprentice editor
Rick Howe
apprentice editor
Harold Michelson
Art Director
Mark Valenti
assistant (uncredited)
Susan J Bonno Buckner
assistant accountant (uncredited)
Phil Abraham
assistant camera operator: New York
Parents Guide
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