The Big Picture

John Hughes’
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
, is a classic holiday favorite.
The original ending did not sit well with test audiences, who found John Candy’s character annoying.
The final version of the film has a heartfelt ending, and gives Steve Martin’s Neal more agency.

When it comes to classic holiday movies, it’s a safe bet that Planes, Trains & Automobiles is at the top of the list. The funny, feel-good Thanksgiving movie was written, produced, and directed by the extraordinary John Hughes, and stars Steve Martin and John Candy. Unlike his well-known teenage comedies such as The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Hughes breaks away from trademark teen dramas by telling a comedic, heartwarming story about a marketing executive and a shower curtain ring salesman, who are unexpectedly stuck together after travel mishaps force them on a three-day journey back home. The critically acclaimed ’80s movie is arguably one of Hughes’s career-best works, and its ending says it all. For Planes, Trains & Automobiles, however, its impactful yet golden ending was the reverse of what the director originally envisioned.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles A Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.Release Date November 26, 1987 Director John Hughes Runtime 93 Main Genre Comedy Writers John Hughes Tagline What he really wanted was to spend Thanksgiving with his family. What he got was three days with the turkey. Expand

How Does ‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles’ End?
Towards the end of Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Neal Page (Martin) and Del Griffith (Candy) finally catch a ride to the Chicago “L” station on a refrigerated trailer after their chaotic misadventures. Neal and Del have said goodbye before, although this time around, they have grown a mutual respect for one another. The buddies part ways with good feelings and Neal boards the commuter train for his neighborhood. On the way, Neal has a revelation about Del’s discussions during their travels and realizes the salesman was never trying to get home in the first place.

The triumphant ending sees Neal hurriedly returning to the station, only to find Del all alone. Del explains how he has been homeless for eight years ever since he became a widow. The final moments of the film show Neal compassionately bringing Del home with him for Thanksgiving. Neal introduces his newfound friend to his family, ending on Del’s heartwarming smile. The conclusion of Planes, Trains & Automobiles is perfect and all the more tissue-worthy, but this immaculate ending wasn’t the original plan.

John Hughes Envisioned a Different Interaction Between Neal and Del at the End
Image via Paramount Pictures

According to Den of Geek, John Hughes filmed an entirely different ending of Planes, Trains & Automobiles that changed the perception of Neal and Del’s characters. Initially, Neal does not have a flashback of his past conversations with Del and instead finds the salesman waiting for him at the next station. Neal becomes angry at Del for following him, demanding answers. In a long monologue, Candy’s character then unwillingly confesses he’s been attaching himself to people following his wife Marie’s passing. He’s been slowly “losing it” over time and seeing how lucky with life Neal is made him realize he’ll never have it as good, as stated in Slash Film.

Related Blame Steve Martin for ‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles’ R-Rating This Thanksgiving classic features a scene not suited for a family dinner.

This heartfelt speech leads Steve Martin’s character to invite Candy to his home out of pity rather than acting on his good nature. Audiences were even supposed to see an extended version of Neal and Del having Thanksgiving dinner with more of the Page family. While there is beauty in Hughes’s original ending, sometimes less is more. Eventually, the buddy movie was screened for test audiences, who were the catalysts for the director and the editor to return to the cutting room. John Candy’s portrayal of shower curtain ring salesman Del is humorous, annoying, and sometimes pitiful. When the original ending was shown to test audiences, people started to get annoyed with the character. In an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair for the movie’s 35th anniversary, editor Paul Hirsch revealed, “That speech was getting bad laughs. As he was delivering it, people started to giggle, and then it got worse and worse.”

The test audiences’ negative reactions made Hughes and Hirsch rethink the ending for the benefit of both characters. Neal needed to realize for himself about Del’s distressing situation without Del having to tell him at such great lengths. Unfortunately, the movie was already over budget, and the test screenings took place in the summer. There was no opportunity to film additional snowy footage at the Chicago train station. It was time to get creative with what the production had left to alter. Per Den of Geek, Hirsch went back to the editing room and pieced together some candid footage of Martin. Hughes had previously filmed a vulnerable Steve Martin during a time when he was getting mentally prepared for a scene. The editor intercut the outtakes of Martin’s vulnerability for the moment his character discovers his ignorance of Del’s dilemma. Additionally, Hirsch reversed the train footage, so it appears that Neal goes back to find his friend out of worry.

As seen in the final version of Planes, Trains, & Automobiles, Neal’s blow-up for Del following him was reconstructed, and John Candy’s laughable monologue was cut down to show only the most tearful points. Speaking to The Guardian, Steve Martin holds opposite feelings about Del’s speech being cut, “That scene was a page and a half long in the script, and in the movie I think it’s cut to three lines. But there was such beauty in it and I never understood why John [Hughes] trimmed that scene”.

And yet, in removing a bulk of Del’s speech and Neal’s anger, the characters have their dignity restored, and Neal’s decision to bring his friend home with him is the emotional resolution the film needed after all. The extended family meeting was also deleted from the final version. However, Neal’s wife simply welcoming Del home for Thanksgiving is the cherry on top! These edits, though major indeed, changed the empathy of the entire film from a hilarious comedy-drama to a classic, tender-hearted story about those we meet along the journey and the dear friendship that comes along with it.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.