How "The Naked Gun" Was Filmed (21 photos)

One of the funniest parody films of the past is "The Naked Gun" (1988), starring the incomparable Leslie Nielsen. This film became the pinnacle of Hollywood parody.





1. The film "The Naked Gun" was created by brothers David and Jerry Zucker, along with Jim Abrahams, who in 1980 made the excellent parody "Airplane" (1980). After the success of "Airplane," they decided to make another film in the same spirit, but with a police theme. They based their script on the film "The M-Team" (1957).



When the script was ready, the creators sent it to Paramount. The studio executives liked it and suggested the trio film a television project as a miniseries, to which they agreed. This resulted in the television series "Police Squad," which consisted of six episodes. Leslie Nielsen, with whom the Zuckers and Abrahams had previously worked on the film "Airplane," was cast for the lead role of Detective Frank Dreben.

2. After the success of the series "Police Squad," studio bosses offered the Zuckers and Abrahams a 12-episode sequel, but this time they declined.





They weren't interested in a television format, as they wanted a film about Frank Dreben to "storm" theaters. They worked hard on the script and convinced Paramount that they needed to make a feature-length film that would be shown in theaters. The bosses agreed, giving the directors $10 million (and later another $2 million). Their only condition was that the film reference the TV series "Police Squad," which the directors also agreed to.

3. To polish the script, the renowned screenwriter Pat Proft, who had already worked on "Police Academy" and who would later co-write the screenplay for "Hot Shots" with Abrahams, joined the guys.



Pat Proft

4. Leslie Nielsen, who had already played the role in "Police Squad," was cast again for the role of Frank Dreben. However, due to the actor falling seriously ill just before filming, filming had to be postponed.



5. Initially, Sigourney Weaver was considered for the lead female role, but after some consideration, the directors decided on another actress, namely Goldie Hawn, who had just recently completed filming "Overboard." However, Goldie Hawn declined the offer, deciding to take a few years off. The Zuckers then offered the role to Priscilla Presley, Elvis Presley's ex-wife. However, the studio bosses were not keen on the idea, as she lacked much acting experience and was already 42 years old at the time. However, the Zucker brothers and Abrahams managed to convince them that Priscilla would make the perfect Jane, and they ultimately agreed.



Elvis and Priscilla Presley

The bosses decided to use this to their advantage, using the King of Rock 'n' Roll's name in an advertising campaign, claiming that Elvis's wife was starring in their film.

6. The directors decided to cast George Kennedy as Captain Ed Hawken. They generally liked to cast actors who weren't exactly comedic in their comedies, believing it would only make the film funnier. The same was true for Leslie Nielsen, who, before Airplane, had mostly starred in thrillers and horror films.



Ed Hawken himself admitted that he wanted to star in Zucker and Abrahams's film Airplane, but he wasn't cast at the time, even though his character was parodied. But this time, luck smiled on the actor, as the studio bosses set another condition: the film had to feature at least one Oscar-winning actor, which was George Kennedy, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Cool Hand Luke (1968).

7. John Candy was originally considered for the role of Nordberg, but they couldn't reach an agreement with him. Ultimately, the role went to O.J. Simpson.



8. The film references Leslie Nielsen's personal life. When Ludwig offers Frank Dreben a cigar, he replies that he has Welsh roots. This is indeed true, as Leslie Nielsen's mother is Welsh.

9. The police car with flashing lights in the film's opening sequence was actually a dolly driven by the cameraman himself.



10. The film was shot primarily in the Los Angeles area. Interiors were shot on Paramount soundstages.

11. The role of Ludwig's secretary was played by David and Jerry Zucker's mother, Charlotte Zucker. The brothers regularly cast their mother in their films. In "Airplane," she played a makeup artist, and in "Ghost" (yes, this sci-fi, non-comedic drama was directed by Jerry Zucker), she played a small role as a bank teller.



12. Dreben and Hawken drive past a nuclear power plant, which reminded the protagonist of his wife's curves. In reality, the actors didn't drive past this plant. It was filmed separately and then added in during editing.



13. As you may recall, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev appeared in the film. The role was played by David Lloyd Austin, making his film debut. He would later portray Gorbachev twice more, namely in the TV series "Counterattack" and the film "Rocky IV."



14. The directors struggled to film the scene where Frank's car explodes and crashes into a fire hydrant. Something kept going wrong during filming, and ultimately, filming just one scene dragged on for three days.



15. The final cut of the film did not include the scene where Leslie Nielsen's character accidentally turns off all the equipment in Nordberg's hospital room, mistaking the light switch for the one that turned it off.



Also, the scene where Frank Dreben goes to the bathroom, forgetting to turn off his radio microphone, was much more extensive. He was supposed to make various sounds, as well as sing and bang, which everyone in the courtroom could hear. And let's not forget the deleted scene where, after talking to the woman at the hospital reception, she panicked and jumped out the window as Frank calmly walked away.



In fact, many scenes were cut from the film during the final editing, including a scene of Frank's philosophical reflections, during which he drove go-karts, did aerobics, and even visited the women's shower.



16. That samurai sword-shaped pen was custom-made specifically for the film.



17. The film wasn't originally supposed to feature a hypnosis scene, but because of the constant coverage of hypnosis and secret hypnotic organizations in the 1980s, the Zuckers and Abrahams decided to satirize that scene as well.

18. The scene with the fireworks store explosion became one of the film's iconic moments, and later even a meme. Fortunately, a real building didn't have to be blown up. A special set was built and later destroyed for the scene.



19. Frank's refrigerator contains expired mayonnaise, good until 1982. This is a subtle reference to the TV series "Police Squad," which aired in 1982.



20. The British were unhappy with how the Americans portrayed them (and the Queen in particular) in the film "The Naked Gun."



Incidentally, the role of Queen Elizabeth II was played by actress Jeanette Charles, who was often called the Queen's double. And the most surprising thing is that Jeanette and the Queen of England herself died at the age of 96.

21. Leslie Nielsen asked to personally perform the national anthem so that no one would dub it. And they eventually complied. Some time later, MTV recognized Leslie Nielsen's performance of the anthem as the best in comedy.



22. With a budget of $12 million, "The Naked Gun" grossed $152 million worldwide. It was an incredible success, thanks to which the "spoof" genre was dramatically elevated.

Such success also couldn't escape the attention of studio executives. As a result, two more "Naked Gun" sequels were eventually released. And in 2025, we saw another sequel to the film, this time with Liam Neeson in the lead role, who played the role of Frank Dreben's son, Frank Dreben Jr.