Disaster films were the rage in the 1970s and as the decade wore on the films got even more star studded and the stakes got higher, the script flabbier and our square jawed heroes getting even more po faced with each impending disaster.

Surely this could not continue and after Airplane it did not, as it burst the disaster film bubble and stop calling me Shirley!

Airplane with its deadpan humour, jokes with double meanings and risqué gags both visual and spoken broke the mould.

Even more than 30 years later it entices a new generation even though some of the topical references (Gerald Ford, Ethel Merman) might be meaningless to some new viewers.

The real beauty of Airplane was getting solid actors to play their part straight. Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack and Leslie Nielsen shine in their roles, totally ignoring the mayhem around them.

For Neilsen a man known for playing solid drama roles, it gave him a lucrative extension in his career as a slapstick comedy actor.

Airplane is just plane crazy.

I do like comedy and spoof movies, and Airplane! is one of the best examples of the genre. The film still holds up well after all these years, with skillful enough camera work, and the direction is smart. The story is simple but well-paced and fun, while the film's cast is a distinguished one. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty are great leads, and Peter Graves, Robert Stack and Lloyd Bridges look as though they are also having a whale of a time. But I will always remember this film for the late Leslie Nielson, whose comic timing is just genius, and the "don't call me Shirley" is one of comedy's most memorable and quotable moments. Where Airplane! succeeds most is in its humour. The script is brilliant and wickedly funny with very accurate spoofs and purposefully cringe-inducing puns that make me laugh anyway, and there are some inspired sight gags as well. All in all, a classic and how to do a spoof. 10/10 Bethany Cox

AIRPLANE!, a laugh-a-minute spoof of aeroplane disaster movies, is a comedy that still works today. I'm a big fan of spoofs, slapstick humour and surrealism, and all of these combine in a film which is only now starting to look slightly dated. It's also a film notable for featuring numerous 'straight' actors making their comedy debuts, making their deadpanning all the more effective.

The highlight, of course, is Leslie Nielsen, whose latter-day career in comedy was launched thanks to this, but the others are still effective - particularly Peter Graves and Lloyd Bridges as the harassed air traffic controllers. Meanwhile, on board the plane, all of the disaster staples and gags are rolled out to amusing effect. The gag rate is extremely high, and while not all of them are successful, at least there's never a dull moment.

I have to admit that I do prefer the later spoofs by this time - such as the scattershot NAKED GUN movies - but AIRPLANE! is the one that helped to start the trend, and it's a lot of fun to sit through.