- 2 days ago
Police squad! It's time to tackle the most absurd facts about Frank Drebin's big-screen debut! Join us as we reveal hilarious behind-the-scenes stories about this comedy classic. From recycled TV gags to bizarre cameos, this film is packed with more surprises than a steamroller at a royal banquet. Which piece of Naked Gun trivia knocked you over like a stray baseball bat?
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at fun and funny facts about the original Naked Gun, released in 1988.
00:22Number 10. Recycled Police Squad Jokes
00:25Before the Naked Gun, there was Police Squad.
00:28The short-lived series, which ran on ABC for six episodes, is full of hilarious gags, although some you might find familiar.
00:36I'm Captain Frank Drebin. I understand you've had a pretty rough time.
00:40Yeah, it was pretty bad.
00:41Cigarette?
00:42Yes, I know.
00:44Since Police Squad wasn't widely seen when it aired, it makes sense why the Naked Gun filmmakers reused a few jokes.
00:50Some are variations of past jokes like silly chalk outlines.
00:53Others are directly lifted, like Frank crashing his car into garbage cans and Al having a banana stuck on his face.
01:01Got something on the side of your mouth, Al.
01:05No, no, no, the other side.
01:07The pilot's climax has two gags that were later recycled.
01:11First, the culprit throws her wig at Frank, similar to the pillow that nearly suffocates him in the Naked Gun.
01:16They then engaged in a close-range shootout, just like in the Naked Gun 2 1ā2.
01:26Number 9.
01:28It's part of 1988's Steamroller Trilogy.
01:31The Naked Gun kicked off one of cinema's funniest trilogies, but did you know it's part of another trilogy?
01:36Lieutenant, the feeling is mutual.
01:38Well, an unofficial one, at least.
01:401988 gave us three classic comedies with a common link, a steamroller.
01:45In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a steamroller flattened Judge Doom, revealing his toony nature.
01:51A Fish Called Wanda also sees Kevin Kline get steamrolled.
01:54Go on, Ken!
01:55You don't have the guts!
01:56Admit it!
01:59Okay, you have the guts!
02:01Good!
02:02Wait!
02:03Kline even claimed in his Oscar acceptance speech that John Cleese told him,
02:06quote,
02:07I want to write a movie where you get run over by a steamroller.
02:10Finally, there was The Naked Gun, in which Vincent Ludwig meets his end via steamroller.
02:15And bus, and marching band.
02:17We suppose steamroller accidents happen more often than you think.
02:21Just ask Ed about his father.
02:22Oh, right.
02:25That's horrible.
02:27That's so horrible.
02:29I know, Ed.
02:32My father went the same way.
02:33Number 8.
02:35A reference I could feel in my hip pocket.
02:37The Naked Gun franchise is known for parodying other movies.
02:41Some are iconic even if you haven't seen them.
02:43I'll have my assistant provide you with anything you need.
02:46Others are for the true cinephiles.
02:49One such example is when Frank first meets Jane Spencer.
02:52The scene is reminiscent of the 1975 neo-noir film Farewell, My Lovely.
02:56From Jane's red dress to her greeting atop a staircase to Frank's inner monologue.
03:00In fact, Frank's comments about her hair and curves are almost identical to Robert Mitchum's dialogue.
03:07Both even say...
03:08She was giving me a look I could feel in my hip pocket.
03:12This is where the line between parody and plagiarism gets a little blurry.
03:16Although it's not the first time that the Zucker-Abrams team took lines from other movies.
03:20Those who've watched Airplane and Zero Hour back-to-back know what we mean.
03:24I think the man next to me is a doctor.
03:26Oh, thank you.
03:27Number 7.
03:27Weird Al surprised his dates with his cameo.
03:30Weird Al Yankovic pops up in all three original Naked Gun movies.
03:34By the final insult, a Yankovic cameo was expected.
03:38It's Weird Al Yankovic and Bella White.
03:42In the original, though, the audience didn't see it coming.
03:46Neither did the dates that Yankovic brought to the movie.
03:49Yankovic made multiple trips to the theater to watch The Naked Gun,
03:52bringing a different date each time.
03:54And you came down here to get a hot story, didn't you?
03:58The comedic musician neglected to tell his dates that he was in the film.
04:02So the ladies were even more caught off guard than Leslie Nielsen
04:05when they got to the scene at the airport where Weird Al steals Frank's thunder.
04:08Frank, they're not here for you.
04:11Weird Al Yankovic is on the plane.
04:13Making the moment even more surreal,
04:15Yankovic wore a Hawaiian shirt on his dates,
04:18matching the one he had in the film.
04:20Number 6.
04:21Leslie Nielsen performed for the actual queen.
04:24Needless to say,
04:25the filmmakers didn't get the real Queen Elizabeth II to star in the film.
04:29Ladies and gentlemen,
04:31Her Royal Highness,
04:32Queen Elizabeth II.
04:34That job fell to Jeanette Charles,
04:48who also impersonated the queen in National Lampoon's European Vacation
04:51and Austin Powers in Goldmember.
04:54Leslie Nielsen did have a close encounter with the real queen, however.
04:58No, he didn't tackle her across a table,
04:59but Nielsen did perform for the queen and a few thousand others.
05:03You must be very proud of your grandson, Leslie.
05:05No, not a bit.
05:07Really?
05:08Really?
05:09You're not proud of his work?
05:10No.
05:11Doesn't make any difference to me.
05:12In 2005,
05:14Nielsen did a comedy bit at Saskatchewan Centennial Gala with the queen in attendance.
05:19At the end,
05:19the queen shook hands with the talent.
05:21Nielsen wasn't sure if the queen had seen The Naked Gun,
05:24although he reflected,
05:25quote,
05:26we simply looked at each other.
05:27There seemed to be an exchange of hidden meaning.
05:30What a marvelous thing.
05:31And Her Majesty did want to meet all the entertainers.
05:35And she's shaking everyone's hand, it seems.
05:37She's very happy to be here.
05:39Number 5.
05:40Ricardo Montalban had a gag cut.
05:42As the villainous Vincent Ludwig,
05:44Ricardo Montalban opened himself up to the silliest scenarios.
05:48My dear,
05:50something bothering you?
05:52I know.
05:52Why do you ask?
05:53Well, you haven't said a word.
05:54You seem nervous.
05:57Well,
05:58you know how important this game is for the angels.
06:01One joke crossed a line for Montalban, however.
06:04In the finished film,
06:05Frank says that Nordberg is at a hospital called
06:08Our Lady of the Worthless Miracle.
06:10According to director David Zucker,
06:12the name was originally Our Lady of the Never Had the Pickle.
06:15Well, this certainly counts as a shock to me, Lieutenant.
06:19But as you know,
06:20I am not the kind of man who takes this type of thing lightly.
06:23Montalban requested that the line be changed,
06:26supposedly due to his Catholic upbringing.
06:28The filmmakers honored Montalban's wishes,
06:30but that wasn't the end of this joke.
06:32In 1996,
06:34Nielsen headlined another parody movie,
06:36Spy Hard.
06:37Although Jim Abrams and the Zucker Brothers weren't involved,
06:40Spy Hard tried to replicate their style.
06:42Case in point,
06:43there's a convent named Our Lady of the Never Had the Pickle.
06:46Did he see us?
06:47Shh!
06:48Okay.
06:57I'm going in there.
06:58Number four.
06:59Mel Brooks pitched a joke.
07:01If you've seen the TV series Get Smart,
07:03you'll notice a few parallels to The Naked Gun.
07:05This is Agent 86.
07:07Stand by to execute checkpoint tracking plan on Harvey Sagan.
07:11Not only do both center on a bumbling authority figure,
07:14but some jokes are suspiciously familiar,
07:17like the shoe gadgets.
07:19It's hard to say how much of The Naked Gun
07:20might have been inspired by Get Smart,
07:22but at least one joke supposedly came straight
07:24from that show's co-creator Mel Brooks.
07:27We call it the Swiss Army shoe.
07:28At the baseball game,
07:30Frank goes undercover as an umpire,
07:32accidentally getting struck in the head with a bat.
07:35Reportedly,
07:35Brooks himself suggested this sight gag,
07:38which made it into the movie.
07:39Funny to think that Brooks would later direct Nielsen
07:42in Dracula Dead and Loving It,
07:43from getting hit with a bat to turning into one.
07:49Number three.
07:51Hey, it's the director's mom.
07:52Director David Zucker frequently worked with his brother Jerry.
07:55The Naked Gun didn't just bring the brothers together,
07:58but their parents as well.
07:59Their father, Burton Zucker,
08:01briefly appears as a photographer,
08:03but their mother, Charlotte, gets a meatier role.
08:05Mr. Ludwig?
08:06Yes.
08:07Uh, Mr. Papschmare is here.
08:10Show him in.
08:12Charlotte Zucker plays Dominique,
08:13Vincent Ludwig's assistant.
08:15Ludwig demonstrates his hypnotic beeper on Dominique,
08:18having her fire a gun.
08:19It thankfully isn't loaded.
08:21Zucker gave his parents small roles
08:23in the Naked Gun sequels as well.
08:25In the Naked Gun 2 1ā2,
08:26Charlotte Zucker is the woman who says,
08:28She certainly seems to get around marvelously.
08:31Oh, it does.
08:32Then, in the Naked Gun 33 1ā3,
08:34she made one more cameo as a medical receptionist
08:36who tells Frank to take a number.
08:38Charlotte appeared in Jerry's directorial outings as well.
08:42Remember the bank teller from Ghost?
08:43Yes, I'm here to fill out a signature card for a new account.
08:48And do you know your account number?
08:49Number 2. Silly Comedy, Serious Actors
08:52Just as Leslie Nielsen originally came from a dramatic background,
08:56the Naked Guns sought actors who weren't necessarily known for comedy.
09:00Two examples were a pre-scandal O.J. Simpson
09:02and a post-Elvis Priscilla Presley.
09:05I've heard police work is dangerous.
09:08It is. That's why I carry a big gun.
09:11Aren't you afraid it might go off accidentally?
09:13I used to have that problem.
09:14For the latter's role, the filmmakers almost went with Bo Derek,
09:18who turned them down.
09:19Ricardo Montalban was cast thanks to his work in Star Trek II,
09:22The Wrath of Khan,
09:23which coincidentally had a brainwashing subplot.
09:26Enter through the ears
09:27and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex.
09:33This has the effect of rendering the victim
09:34extremely susceptible to suggestion.
09:38The studio was adamant about casting an Oscar winner.
09:41The role of Ed Hawken thus went to George Kennedy,
09:45who was previously pursued for Lloyd Bridge's role in Airplane,
09:48given his work in the Airport franchise.
09:50The driving instructor was also played by an Oscar winner,
09:53John Houseman,
09:54this being his final role.
09:56Follow that car!
09:57Let's definitely check your mirror,
09:59signal,
10:01and now pull into traffic.
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10:20Number 1.
10:20Why the title changed?
10:22Given its TV roots,
10:24you might wonder why the film wasn't called Police Squad.
10:33Paramount feared being confused with Police Academy,
10:36which released a fifth movie that same year.
10:38Both franchises even had a common link in writer Pat Proft.
10:42The filmmakers received a list of about 20 potential names.
10:45Ronald Zhivago and Bam Bam Bam were considered,
10:48but they chose The Naked Gun because,
10:50according to David Zucker,
10:52quote,
10:52it promised so much more than it could ever possibly deliver.
10:56You're late.
10:59That depends on what I'm late for.
11:02In France,
11:03the film was titled
11:04Is There a Cop to Save the Queen?
11:05Mirroring the country's title for Airplane,
11:08Is There a Pilot on This Plane?
11:09While Police Academy comparisons were avoided,
11:12the title is similar to The Nude Bomb,
11:15a Get Smart movie.
11:16Yes, well,
11:17there's no need to get hostile about it, Norman.
11:19May I call you Norman?
11:20No, you may not.
11:21No, I may not.
11:22Do you have any Naked Gun trivia to share?
11:24Let us know in the comments.
11:25Where'd they find Nordberg, Ed?
11:27Right out there, Frank.
11:28You want to take a dinghy?
11:29No, no, I took care of that at the press conference.
11:31Let us know in the comments.
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