Shortly after I released my video on the lost version of John Hughes’ Planes, Trains & Automobiles in November 2020, I received an unexpected message from someone who had worked with Hughes on Baby’s Day Out back in 1994. He told me that John had once mentioned they’d shot so much footage for the motel sequences in Planes, Trains that those scenes alone could’ve been their own movie.

I was immediately captivated by the story — so much so that I initially failed to register the sender’s name: Brian Haley. In fact, I even replied asking who he played in the movie.
That was embarrassing for a few reasons. First, I was a huge fan of Baby’s Day Out as a kid. Dare I say, it might have even been my first favorite movie — my VHS copy got more playtime than just about anything else I owned. But the second reason was even worse: Brian’s character, Veeko, had always been my favorite.

When I finally realized my mistake, I quickly apologized, and our conversation soon shifted from Planes, Trains & Automobiles to Baby’s Day Out. That exchange kicked off a near five-year quest to explore the inception, production, and legacy of the film. The challenge was figuring out how to say something new about a movie that has already been dissected countless times on YouTube — and to do so while still acknowledging its flaws.

I soon realized that Brian’s perspective would be the key to making this video, since he was actually there to see it all happen. Still, I didn’t want to rush into asking for an interview, so we stayed in touch while I got busy with other projects. I never stopped thinking about making a video on this movie though. Then, earlier this summer, I finally decided to jump back into my research, and soon discovered so many interesting factoids about the movie that I had never known. Once I had gathered enough research to map out where Brian's perspective would fit best, I finally asked for an interview — and he kindly agreed.

Through Brian’s incredible anecdotes and the archival material I managed to uncover, what began as a simple look back at one of John Hughes’ lesser-known comedies evolved into a full exploration of how Baby’s Day Out got lost in the shadow of Home Alone and never really got a fair shot. As someone who loved it as a kid, revisiting it through adult eyes made me appreciate it in an entirely new way.
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Baby’s Day Out may never be considered one of John Hughes’ great successes, but the story behind it — and the people who made it — deserve to be remembered with a little more empathy than they usually get. For me, this project wasn’t just about reassessing a movie; it was about rediscovering the kind of wonder that first made me fall in love with movies in the first place.

There was simply no better place to spend a Saturday morning in the year 2000 than at AMC’s N.Y.U.K.

I’ve brought up this show several times in the past, usually when discussing Leslie Nielsen or The Three Stooges, but I’d be willing to bet I’ve mentioned it totally randomly a few times as well. For years, I have wanted to profile this show more in-depth, but I wasn’t sure of the best way to approach it. I originally considered simply editing Leslie’s intros alongside the Stooges’ public domain shorts — releasing them on my channel as a fun walk down memory lane. I ultimately decided against that, though, as I felt this show was deserving of more. 

A few months back, while digging around on YouTube for some old commercials to feature on our first Don’t Touch That Dial! podcast special, I stumbled upon a series of commercial breaks that someone had recorded off AMC in the early 2000s. When I discovered a promo for N.Y.U.K. among one of these recordings, I found myself transported back to a simpler time and place, watching the Stooges in my pajamas over some Pillsbury Waffle Sticks to kick off the weekend. (As much as I’d love to begin my days as an adult this way, Pillsbury Waffle Sticks have been discontinued for decades now.)

I don't think I fully realized just how much this show had influenced my own work until I started revisiting full segments though. Looking back, I can clearly see how it inspired me to approach my work on Hats Off Entertainment, as this show was equal parts informative and entertaining. 

I didn’t want to mention this in my video because I’ve come to respect him a great deal, but as a kid, I detested Leonard Maltin. It wasn’t anything personal, but rather due to the fact that he introduced every The Little Rascals VHS tape put out by Cabin Fever in the 90s. At a time when I didn’t really care about movie history, these intros just felt like a needless detour that kept me from enjoying the antics of Spanky and the gang — resulting in a prompt pressing of the fast-forward button. Of course, when I watch these intros today, I’m able to enjoy them with a newfound appreciation. But as a kid… they bored me to death. Sorry, Leonard.

​Quick aside: In 2014, I attended a screening of a few Laurel & Hardy shorts at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, and Leonard Maltin came out to introduce them! I couldn’t help but laugh as the man kept me from enjoying my beloved comedy shorts yet again — this time with no option to fast-forward.

I don’t quite remember the first time I saw or was made aware of N.Y.U.K., but it must have been during its premiere marathon on April 1, 2000. My parents, who knew I loved the Stooges, usually alerted me whenever there was going to be a marathon. Even if we would be out that day, my mom would have made sure to set up the video recorder so I could watch later. I still have a few tapes we recorded off cable during a 1996 Stooges marathon on The Family Channel.

Like I said in the video, it was a fool’s errand to seek out every Stooges short back then, as even the official video releases by Columbia Pictures left out 90 of them. I can’t be too hard on Columbia for that, though, as this led to me discovering my three favorite Stooges shorts: Punch Drunks, Violent Is the Word for Curly, and A Plumbing We Will Go — as they were all grouped on the same tape.

In any event, AMC quickly became the best way for me to watch the Stooges and discover more of their films. Though the network had first started airing the shorts in late December 1999, it wasn’t until they launched the N.Y.U.K. theming the following year that their Stooges block became appointment viewing for me. So what was it about N.Y.U.K. that appealed to me more? Well, for starters, I had always been a big Leslie Nielsen fan as a kid, so his involvement gave me something new to look forward to, especially in regard to the shorts I had already seen. Secondly, unlike Mr. Maltin’s work, these intros didn’t exist solely to provide historical context. Rather, they provided legitimate entertainment — showcasing these shorts using the same type of humor that the Stooges were masters of. 

The first challenge in making a video retrospective on this show was finding any information about its production. Fortunately, AMC had put out a press release to announce the series, which was picked up by most major news outlets. This release contained some great quotes from Leslie and then-AMC boss Marc Juris. Beyond that, however, I was unable to find any additional interviews, press, or even photos from the show.

It was then that I recalled seeing several adverts for something called AMC Magazine during those commercial break recordings I had seen on YouTube. Could there be some additional information available in one of those? Well, the only way to find out was by ordering some from eBay, as no digital archive exists for this publication. Fortunately, someone was selling copies of the March and April 2000 issues, which I figured would be the best ones to find potential information about N.Y.U.K.
Unfortunately, though, only one of those issues referenced the show — in the form of a tiny blurb that offered no new information. These magazines were mostly brochures that listed the network’s schedule for the upcoming month, mixed with some short articles and ads.

At least now I knew that promo photos had been taken of Leslie on the N.Y.U.K. set, as I was hoping I could dig some up to use in my video thumbnail. But, in keeping with the precedent that had been set, I was unable to find any additional promo photos, excluding a tiny black-and-white one that appeared in a single newspaper.

My quest for more information next took me to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, which lets you view snapshots taken from webpages that are no longer accessible. By searching specific keywords relating to the Stooges, I was able to locate the original webpage for this show on AMC’s early website. There I was able to find some additional graphics and logos (though they were all pretty low-res), as well as a few more blurbs about the show. I even located some small pics of the show’s three guest lecturers: Dan Lauria, Carrot Top, and Anna Nicole Smith.

This caused yet another disheartening realization, as I then discovered that there was no available footage of the Anna Nicole Smith intros to be found anywhere on the internet. According to the only known catalogue of the N.Y.U.K. segments — put together by a great Stooges fan site, Anna Nicole Smith's Dr. Anita Hugg was featured in only two intros, making them the rarest of the bunch.

Days after I released my video, someone left a comment claiming to have seen one of these intros on YouTube just a few years ago, though it had since been removed. Being that I had mentioned N.Y.U.K. in past projects, I had amassed a small collection of clips from the show in my files. I decided to go back and look at the videos I had downloaded for my Leslie Nielsen mini-doc, one of the first pieces I did on Hats Off way back in 2020. Back then, I tended to gather more footage than was needed, though I never deleted the surplus files. I guess I should be thankful for my terrible organization early on, though, because sure enough, I found the exact video this commenter mentioned — downloaded in full in a file on my old hard drive marked “Leslie Nielsen.” Of course, I had to upload it and share it with the world:

At the end of the day, all of my digging — the old magazines, archived web pages, blurry promo stills — was just background noise compared to the real reason N.Y.U.K. stuck with me. What made the show so special wasn’t the press releases or even the rarity of certain segments. It was Leslie himself. Watching him ham it up as “Professor of Stoogology” was enough to make those mornings unforgettable.

When I finally sat down to rewatch those Nielsen segments, everything clicked back into place. Suddenly, I was a kid again, sitting in front of the TV, laughing at the Stooges like it was 2000 all over. The research helped fill in the gaps, but the real story came from my own memory and personal experience — and of course, the warmth and silliness Leslie brought to it all. 
Maybe there’s still more out there. Lost footage of N.Y.U.K. could easily be sitting on a stack of unlabeled VHS tapes in someone’s attic, waiting to be rediscovered. If you grew up taping the Stooges off AMC, now might be the time to dust off that old box of recordings — you never know what gems could be hiding there.

After a few requests, the Hats Off t-shirt shop is now open! Support the channel & podcast by donning our apparel! Stay tuned for new designs as well.

Being that it's Halloween this month, I decided to make three videos in my Almost Cult Classics - each highlighting a different movie that contains horror elements. 

First up was Arachnophobia! I've always had a fondness for this fun creature feature from Frank Marshall. Great performances throughout, especially from John Goodman. PSA: Don't watch if you're even remotely afraid of spiders.

Second up was Gene Wilder's Haunted Honeymoon! This was the fifth and final directorial effort by Wilder, starring he and his then wife Gilda Radner. It was a box office bomb, but I've always found it to be really inventive and original in its style. 

Lastly, I focused on a movie that's pure horror - The Changeling! It's a really eerie, slow building haunted house flick with a powerhouse performance from George C. Scott. 

Last March, I released a video essay exploring the career of Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges. Being that a year has now somehow passed, I thought it only fitting to examine the career of another one of the Stooges. This time - Larry Fine. Like myself, a fellow Philadelphian and lover of TasteyLakes. 

Back in November, I did a short documentary on the lost 3 hour version of Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). I used the shooting script, behind the scenes footage, and promotional material to paint a picture of the cut material that has never been seen publicly. The fan response was so great that I knew I had to do a similar doc on another John Hughes movie, as he was legendary for shooting hours of footage on his films. I then found out that the original cut of Uncle Buck (1989) was a whopping 4 hours long, and I just knew I had to find out more. 

Much like I did with my video on PT&A, I used the script & other promotional material to look back at the footage that had been cut from the theatrical film. Only this time, after posting the video, I was actually able to track down a missing 10 minutes from the rough cut of the movie. A viewer of my channel had access to a missing sequence of the film that was given to a member of the crew via VHS tape. It's clear that the scene came from an assembly cut of the film - an early version of the film that includes ALL footage shot, that is then trimmed and refined. Scenes in these cuts are typically way longer than they will in appear in the final cut, if they will appear at all. Case in point, the following scene:

This scene looks like it would have taken place mid-film. It has Buck (John Candy) gambling with some buddies, all of whom appear to be local repairmen, using the children's games Buck has at his disposal. One of these buddies, "the guy in the red hat" as he's referred, is Chicago character actor Mike Hagerty. Another, "Coquero" (spell check) is played by Candy's longtime driver, Frankie Hernandez. 

​I did some very minor editing to the scene to improve the audio, but otherwise it's pretty much intact. As a result, the pacing of the scene is off compared to the rest of the film, as the content has not been refined at all. I can only assume that this scene would've ended up being cut to about 3 minutes if it had been left in the film. Still, it's a disservice to trim any John Candy performance, especially in a scene that has never been seen before. 

I'm so honored to present and share this sequence with fans of the movie. It's only confirmed my theory that more lost footage of this movie it out there; in basements, attics, and storage sheds of friends & family of crew members. If you think you might have access to or know someone whom has ANY deleted footage from this movie (or any John Candy movie), please contact me: [email protected]. 

I have been a silent movie fan most of my life. I've always loved the films of Keaton, Chaplin, & Harold Lloyd. Whenever I had done research on them though, one name kept coming up consistently in all of their stories - Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

Admittedly, I knew very few details about him. I knew, as his name lead on, that he was a rotund comic of the silent era, who was involved in a scandal that involved a young woman's death and something about a coke bottle. That was it. That alone kept me from researching his life or watching any of his films. 

His name would come up again during the research for my Chris Farley video. Farley, near the end of his life, had signed on to play Arbuckle in a biopic penned by David Mamet. It was also rumored that John Belushi and John Candy had also been attached to the role at some point. Farley, evidently, had greatly identified with Arbuckle's story and related to his "tortured clown" personality. When I pieced the Chris Farley video together I decided to include clips of Arbuckle during the segment where I discussed the project. And that would be my first time really watching the work of Roscoe Arbuckle.
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Shortly after, I became fascinated with his work. Almost every silent movie gag that I have laughed at or recreated in my own work seemed to originate with Arbuckle. I started going down YouTube wormholes, watching clips of him. I began buying up the rare DVD's of his work wherever I could find them. I also started reading books about his life. The catalyst in all of this was reading Jerry Stahl's "I, Fatty". This fictionalized biography, which was written as Arbuckle's lost memoir, is lovingly composed by Stahl, whom researched every aspect of Arbuckle's life to provide a deep, dark look into his soul. While parts of the book should be taken as fiction, most of the information presented is factual. Stahl paints a picture of a tormented clown, wanting nothing more than to make others laugh to hide his own pain. 
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Regardless of the facts and fabrications of the controversial scandal that ruined his career, Arbuckle's story was a heartbreaking one. I encourage anyone interested to do their own research on the scandal itself and form their own opinions. For me personally, it became clear, from reading any account of the scandal, that Arbuckle was slandered in the press in a way that dictated the public's perception of the case - something that is still in affect to this day. While I do believe that Arbuckle was innocent, it's also impossible to know certain details due to the media's constant mishandling of the case.

Whatever your thoughts on the topic may be, I really encourage you to look into the life and career of Roscoe Arbuckle. The stigma around his name today, just about 100 years since news of the scandal first broke, is unfair. He was a pioneer of the silent film industry and had friendships with the three biggest silent film comedians IN HISTORY. That alone is telling of his person and talent. 

Below is the video piece I put together to illustrate that point. I hope you enjoy it. 

For those of you that have asked where you can find his films on DVD, here's a rundown of the best options:

The Round-Up - Restored Blu-Ray/DVD - CineMuseum
​As far as I know this is the only solo Arbuckle Blu-Ray available. A terrific restoration of one of his feature films. Please support these guys! They plan to restore more of his features and are the only ones willing to do so!

Forgotten Films Collection - Amazon
An out of print 2005 DVD collection for some of his starring shorts as well as ones he directed as William B. Goodrich. Worth the expensive price tag if you can find it for sale. Also check eBay!

Buster Keaton Shorts Collection - Amazon
This set is a MUST HAVE. Hidden away on this Buster Keaton Blu-Ray are 14 of the best Arbuckle & Keaton shorts. They look great, sound great and come with tons of bonus content.

My 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' documentary short got some amazing news coverage. Here's some links to really great write-ups on my video and the #ReleaseTheHughesCut campaign:

Unpacking the ​3 hour cut of Planes, Trains & Automobiles - The A.V. Club

New Documentary Explores What Was Cut from Planes, Trains & Automobiles - Inside Hook

Thanksgiving Classic Planes, Trains & Automobiles Leads Fan to Demand: Release the John Hughes Cut - ComicBook.com

Planes, Trains & Automobiles Being Celebrated as the Ultimate Thanksgiving Movie - MovieWeb

Release the 3 hour cut of Planes, Trains & Automobiles and We'll Be Thankful - The Dad

Unpacking the 3 hour cut of Planes, Trains & Automobiles That Could've Been - Yahoo!

I'm so thankful for all of you who tweeted #ReleaseTheHughesCut and got this story trending & my video seen! The Inside Hook article in particular garnered the attention of Judd Apatow, Ben Stiller, Rob Brydon, Jake Trapper, and Steve Martin himself! Even if nothing else comes from this effort, I'm at least glad that it's put me in touch with so many fellow fans of this film. Thanks for all the support!

Several years ago, I was browsing the trivia section for Planes, Trains & Automobiles on IMDB.com when I came across an unconfirmed piece of trivia that alleged that an original cut of the film had clocked in at over three and a half hours. I was stunned. Could it be possible that there existed an additional two hours of footage of my favorite film? I set out to do some research. Over the years, I scoured numerous sources including; multiple versions of the script, interview pieces with cast and crew, theatrical trailers, promotional images, even first hand accounts of those who seemed to back up the claim: Yes, an extended cut of the film existed and it was probably sitting in a Paramount vault.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles, released in 1987, was writer/director John Hughes' first attempt at making a more adult-oriented comedy, after his success in the teen film genre. Based on his own travel experiences, the script was allegedly written in under a week. Although Hughes originally did not plan to direct the film, he signed on once Steve Martin agreed to star in the project. Frequent Hughes collaborator John Candy was set to star opposite Martin. 

With a shooting script of 145 pages (nearly double the length of the industry standard for this type of comedy), the crew hit the road to film their road-trip comedy on location. Along the way, Hughes and the film's leads continued to improvise and add new sequences to an already elongated script. The result: a rough cut that came in at over 3 hours, 40 minutes long. Naturally, Hughes and the film's editor, Paul Hirsh then cut the film down to just over two hours. The studio, however, wanted more to be cut. So Hughes and Hirsch went into overtime and trimmed out everything that they possibly could to make the movie still make sense, before submitting a final cut that ran 1 hour and 33 minutes with credits. 

While the film has rightfully earned its status as a Thanksgiving classic, I always wondered what the missing material could possibly contain. Then, in 2016, I received a copy of the shooting script. Its pages were filled with not only incredibly funny gags and jokes, but also entire subplots and characters that are missing from the film. Additionally, a more flushed out ending revealed an even deeper side to Candy's Del Griffith, as well as a better understanding of Neal Page's relationship with his wife. From there I began to research exactly what was filmed and later cut from this amazing film.  

An early theatrical trailer (linked above) highlighted missing shots during the first motel sequence of the film. Additional promotional images also revealed several sequences scripted, but not present in the final cut:

The only deleted scene to survive in full, features Del & Neal having dinner on their flight. This scene was used in cable edits of the movie for many years and was the only deleted scene present on the "Special Edition" Blu-Ray/DVD of the film:

As I continued watching the film, sometimes multiple times a year, I began to notice all the remnants of the precise cuts made to secure a shorter runtime. It was only then that I realized just how fast the movie moves. Scenes rarely run longer than a few minutes, with little breathing room between location changes. While this ultimately does not affect the film negatively, it definitely made me yearn to see this longer cut, which allowed a little more breathing room between scenes. I decided to put my findings into a video short to highlight only some of what is missing. I wanted to create awareness around this lost cut in the hopes that the right parties can get involved and restore the missing material. Imagine my surprise when Steve Martin himself tweeted out a link to my video, giving some credit to my findings.

So where do we go from here? 

Do I expect a full HD transfer of the three and a half hour cut to come out of this? No. Even if it did survive intact, this cut likely would not be scored and edited in a way that is presentable to an audience. That being said, the two hour cut likely has survived and exists fully scored and edited in the way that it was screened for test audiences, and in the age of streaming, it could be restored and made available. 

So my proposal is this: 

Paramount, please restore and release any additional footage that is attainable. After 33 years, the fact that only a single deleted scene has been made available is just very disappointing. Please release some of this original cut. The footage doesn't even have to be edited with the completed film, us fans would just enjoy getting to see some of it, even out of context. If the project doesn't appeal to you, I humbly request to turn the original footage over to the teams at third party film restoration groups such as Criterion or Shout Factory. 

Lastly, for the fans of this film. Take to social media. Use the hashtag #ReleaseTheHughesCut to keep the conversation going and let the powers that be know we are interested in seeing John Hughes' original vision for this film realized.