They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
This week marks the 35
th anniversary of the first broadcast of Police Squad on US television, giving us the tenuous excuse we’ve long been looking for to pay tribute to the movie trilogy that was eventually spawned from the TV series.
Like Airplane, the Daddy of all comedies, the Naked Gun trilogy is a laugh-a-minute riot, featuring so many jokes in such a short space of time that you’re guaranteed to find a host of new gags with each repeated viewing.
Comedy has evolved in the years since the release of Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult in 1994, but there’s certainly a Leslie Nielsen-shaped void in the genre for the type of silly, slapstick, gag-heavy piece of work that he helped make into an art form.
The men behind the Naked Gun series – David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams – struggled to find the right comedy formula after the third movie (only David Zucker was involved in what was the weakest movie in the series), but they certainly set a high bar with a trilogy that still stands the test of time.
Take a trip down memory lane below by reliving some of the many moments which made it so great.
“Maybe this will help…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTh9qpzhunE
Clip via Movieclips
“Anybody get a look at the driver?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPEnaz0Qm8
Clip via Movieclips
“I want you to know, I practise safe sex…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YFC0O393DQ
Clip via untoldentertainment
“Go for it, Stephanie”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz6A6t55qXk
Clip via Mark Cousens
“Ed, he’s got a picture of your wife”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw7fbLQeG5k
Clip via tomtraveller
‘Enrico Pallazzo’ sings the national anthem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73ZsDdK0sTI
Clip via Movieclips
‘Enrico Pallazzo’ saves the day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCpGCpHfaSs
Clip via MuckKills
“I’m a very lucky woman”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qobR3etoMak
Clip via Anssi Purola
An awfully big moustache
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2P1H1orxXY
Clip via gthedirector
Boxing nicknames
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEjo0ajod1M
Clip via Movieclips
“Sam, play our song, just one more time”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iZW909WuB4
Clip via pansulik
“I love it”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0La3aBSjvGY
Clip via The Kasikaasu
Nordberg’s unfortunate ride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI-ty9MfICM
Clip via Movieclips
Close-range shootout
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ItHxt_pAG0
Clip via Kamil Zupa
Alternative Untouchables opening sequence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwM7NgPE5lw
Clip via Movieclips
“We like to go out in the back yard, throw it around for a while
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r_dXbWf2Aw
Clip via Movieclips
“You might end up dead is my middle name”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijjZDsMbXCU
Clip via BestSpoofMovies
“Take it from me, this place here changes a man”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PG7ZsWyOus&t
Clip via Nizzinny
“Come here, sexy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTs-HKiOQj8
Clip via Movieclips
“I know what I’m doing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZJUuDLqjzU
Clip via Movieclips
