As Thanksgiving looms, it's once again time to pick a movie for the long weekend, and one that is sure not to disappoint is the 1987 comedy, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" starring  Steve Martin as Neal Page, a high strung marketing executive, and John Candy as Del Griffith, a goodhearted but annoying shower curtain ring salesman. They share a three day odyssey of misadventures trying to get Neal home to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving with his family.

Written, produced, and directed by the late great John Hughes, the film was partly shot in New York City, and includes locations such as Madison Avenue, East 54th Street, Park Avenue, and LaGuardia Airport.

On the set of Planes, Trains and Automobiles with John Candy, Steve Martin and director John Hughes

A scene that is likely to be missed is the after the closing credits. Neal's boss is still at his desk analyzing the ads, his Thanksgiving dinner sitting on his desk.

The film marked a widely noticed change in the repertoire of John Hughes. It was greeted with critical acclaim upon release, a revelation in that Hughes was considered a teen angst filmmaker. It also got two thumbs up from Siskel & Ebert, with Gene Siskel declaring it John Candy's best role to date. It has 93% positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and is featured in Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" collection.  

Click HERE for a full list of film locations from Planes, Trains and Automobiles

There are several websites, besides otsoNY.com showcasing the various film locations used outside of New York.

Global Film Locations | It's Filmed There | 80s Movies Rewind | The Movie District | Movie-Locations

Wishing you a very merry movie-watching Thanksgiving from otsoNY!