Thanksgiving is fast approaching here in Western New York (next Thursday). It seems like it 2021 went by in the blink of an eye, but pretty soon the holiday season will be here.

One of the best things about the holidays are the countless Christmas movies that come back on television. It's not just Christmas movies either. Thanksgiving movies are also a thing and in case you didn't know, the most famous Thanksgiving movie ever was filmed right here in Western New York.

Back in the 1980s, there was no more famous filmmaker than John Hughes. He's the man behind hit movies such as Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles.

One of his other famous movies was Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The 1987 comedy classic stars Steve Martin and John Candy. It tells the story of a dad trying to make it back home from New York City to Chicago the week before Thanksgiving, and his nightmare journey through middle America with an unlikely companion who tags along.

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The movie was mostly filmed in Batavia and South Dayton, with scenes filmed along the I-219 in Western New York. Other locations were used in Erie and Cattaruagus counties.

Extras were paid $50 for a 10-hour day. Many, including my dad have stories of Candy around Western New York during the movie's filming.

Remember the scene in Stubbville, Kansas? That's actually South Dayton. Director and writer John Hughes wanted a location that looked like the Midwest, but snowier, which was ironic because it didn't snow during filming, so a snow-making machine had to be used.

John Candy grew up in Toronto, so he was familiar with the Buffalo area before filming the movie.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen and judging by the reaction it has gotten over the years, I'm not alone in that assessment. Comedies in the 80s were so quotable, and this is near the top of the list.

Does anyone remember when Planes, Trains and Automobiles was filmed in Western New York?

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