History Trivia / Grease

** According to Didi Conn, Rizzo was initially supposed to grow her milkshake at Frenchy, not Kenickie, which would lead to Frenchy taking off her bandana revealing her pink hair. But Creator/StockardChanning threw it at Creator/JeffConaway because she was a bit miffed at him at the time, reportedly because some of Rizzo's hickeys had become real and very visible. She kept throwing it at him in subsequent takes, which stuck for the final scene.

* TrueCompanions: The T-Birds. On the surface, the Pink Ladies come across more coherent while the T-Birds appear to be “us” (Danny and Kenickie) and “them” (Doody, Sonny, and Putsie). But make no mistake, when an outsider tries to challenge one of them, the other four are right by his side. Just ask The Scorpions.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It's possibly the most '70s version of the '50s ever made. [[Theatre/{{Grease}} The original play]] is much more period-appropriate, and [[BeamMeUpScotty lacks many of the scenes people remember from the film adaptation]].

* UsefulNotes/AFIS100YearsSeries:
** AFIS100Years100Passions: #97
** AFIS100Years100Songs:
*** #70, "Summer Nights"
** AFISGreatestMovieMusicals: #20

* AFIS100YearsSeries:

* AFIS100YearsSeries:
** AFIS100Years100Passions: #97
** AFIS100Years100Songs:
*** #70, "Summer Nights"
** AFISGreatestMovieMusicals: #20

* {{Jossed}}: Creator Jim Jacobs said that whoever thought of the fan theory that the whole movie is Sandy's DyingDream after drowning in the beach must have been "on acid" and that Sandy was very much alive.

** Other examples include Creator/JohnTravolta (24) as Danny, Jeff Conaway (28) as Kenickie, Barry Pearl (28) as Doodie, Michael Tucci (32) as Sonny, Kelly Ward (22) as Putzie, Didi Conn (27) as Frenchie, Jamie Donnelly (31) as Jan, Dinah Manoff (22) as Marty, Eddie Deezen (21) as Eugene, Susan Buckner (25) as Patty Simcox, Lorenzo Lamas (20) as Tom Chism, and Dennis C. Stewart (29) as Leo "Craterface" Balmudo.
** Some of the actors were barely younger than Frankie Avalon (38), an actual teen idol from the late 1950s who makes a guest appearance.

* ScullyBox: Jeff Conaway, who was 6' 1½" (1.87 m), had to walk slightly stooped so Creator/JohnTravolta, who is 6' 2" (1.88 m), would appear taller.

** According to Didi Conn, Rizzo was initially supposed to grow her milkshake at Frenchy, not Kenickie, which would lead to Frenchy taking off her bandana revealing her pink hair. But Stockard Channing threw it at Jeff Conaway because she was a bit miffed at him at the time, reportedly because some of Rizzo’s hickeys had become real and very visible. She kept throwing it at him in subsequent takes, which stuck for the final scene.

** Harry Reems was originally considered for Couch Calhoun, but didn't get the part as Paramount executives feared controversy from casting a porn star in the film.

** Some of the actors were barely younger than Frankie Avalon (38), an actual teen idol from the late 1950s that makes a guest appearance.

* {{Misblamed}}: During an EntertainmentWeekly interview, Olivia Newton-John once apologized over the only character of color in the film was AlphaBitch Cha-Cha. First of all, the character was probably intended to be Italian, with "Cha-Cha" being a nickname for "Charlene" and her last name being "DiGregorio." And if we're going by the actors, as Annette Charles was believed to be of mixed Mexican-Sicilian ancestry, Lorenzo Lamas was also of Latino descent.

* {{Misblamed}}: During an EntertainmentWeekly interview, Olivia Newton-John once apologized over the only character of color in the film was AlphaBitch Cha Cha. First of all, the character was probably intended to be Italian, with "Cha Cha" being a nickname for "Charlene" and her last name being "DiGregorio." And if we're going by the actors, as Annette Charles was believed to be of mixed Mexican-Sicilian ancestry, Lorenzo Lamas was also of Latino descent.

* [[Misblamed]]: During an EntertainmentWeekly interview, Olivia Newton-John once apologized over the only character of color in the film was AlphaBitch Cha Cha. First of all, the character was probably intended to be Italian, with "Cha Cha" being a nickname for "Charlene" and her last name being "DiGregorio." And if we're going by the actors, as Annette Charles was believed to be of mixed Mexican-Sicilian ancestry, Lorenzo Lamas was also of Latino descent.

* ActingForTwo: Stockard Channing and Dinah Madoff play Rizzo and Marty respectively, and also appear as two of the dancers during the "Beauty School Dropout" number.

* DawsonCasting: Most blatantly with Music/OliviaNewtonJohn (Sandy) and Stockard Channing (Rizzo). By the time the film came out, Channing was 34 (and actually old enough to have been in high school in 1959) and Newton-John was pushing 30. At least those two have fairly youthful faces -- Annette Charles (Cha-Cha), with her chiselled facial features, looks to be in her ''late'' thirties (or even early forties), and is in no way credible as a high school student (she was 29 when the film came out).

** Other examples include Creator/JohnTravolta (24) as Danny, Jeff Conaway (28) as Kenickie, Barry Pearl (28) as Doodie, Michael Tucci (32) as Sonny, Kelly Ward (22) as Putzie, Didi Conn (27) as Frenchie, Jamie Donnelly (31) as Jan, Dinah Manoff (22) as Marty, Eddie Deezen (21) as Eugene, Susan Buckner (25) as Patty Simcox, Lorenzo Lamas (20) as Tom Chism, and Dennis C. Stewart (29) as Craterface.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Sandra Dee apparently found "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" hilarious.

* CutSong: A good number of the Broadway songs did not make it into the film, or were changed into background tunes.

* DyeingForYourArt: Creator/JohnTravolta insisted that he have "blue black hair like Music/ElvisPresley and Creator/RockHudson in the movies" because "it's surreal and it's very 1950s."

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Aaron Tveit and Vanessa Hudgens previously acted together in Creator/NeilPatrickHarris' 2010 staging of ''Theatre/{{RENT}}'' (performed at the Hollywood Bowl), as Roger and Mimi.

** "Greased Lightning" was originally Kenicke's big number. When Creator/JohnTravolta announced that he was taking it from Conaway/Kenickie for the movie version, everyone in the cast, including choreographer Patricia Birch, and Jeff Conaway, who complained vehemently about losing the number even years later in interviews, was very against Travolta taking it and complained about this to the producers. But Travolta had the clout to steal the number, so he did.

* [[DyeingForYourArt Canoodling For Your Art]]: Jeff Conaway really did give those hickeys to Stockard Channing.

* DeletedScene: An extended version of the movie's ending showed more of Sandy and Danny [[FlightOfRomance flying through the clouds]], including the couple [[SealedWithAKiss kissing]], then [[ToonTransformation becoming cartoon characters]], to bring the movie full circle with the AnimatedCreditsOpening.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The original, theatrical edition of ''Grease'' has never received an official home video release. VHS and laserdisc releases before 1998 boasted PanAndScan picture, while the widescreen VHS/laserdisc/DVD/Blu-Ray/digital copy versions from 1998-2017 boast updated Paramount logos and a remixed soundtrack (sourced from the 20th anniversary theatrical re-release). Mostly rescued from limbo as the 2018 40th anniversary edition features an improved master of the movie with the classic Paramount logo and restored original 1978 audio track. Although, this version still features some differences. For example, the blurred-out Coca-Cola signs at the Frosty Palace became legible, 50s-looking Pepsi ads, and the scene in "Greased Lightning" where Danny is bringing down the souped-up engine for the dream car still has the 1998 sound effects sans the piano.[[labelnote:*]]If one listens closely though, they can still hear the original sound effects in the background, which was not the case for the 1998 version.[[/labelnote]]

* ThrowItIn: Didi Conn blowing up the giant bubble gum bubble during the "Beauty School Dropout" number was something she did on the spur of the moment.

* EnforcedMethodActing: In the 1978 movie, the rest of the cast didn't see Music/OliviaNewtonJohn in her carnival outfit until she walked into the scene. Their stunned reactions are completely genuine.

* DawsonCasting: The youngest major character is Jordan Fisher (then 21) as Doody. Most egregiously the main cast included 32-year-old Aaron Tveit as Danny, and 30-year-old Kether Donohue (Jan) and Carly Rae Jepsen (Frenchy). Also included 27-year-old Julianne Hough as Sandy, 26-year-old Carlos Vega as Kenickie, and 22-year-old Creator/KekePalmer as Marty.

** The "[[AbridgedForChildren School Version]]" omits ''Hopelessly Devoted To You'' and ''There Are Worse Things I Could Do'' are also cut.

** Some of the actors were barely older than Frankie Avalon (38), an actual teen idol from the late 1950s that makes a guest appearance.

* DawsonCasting: The youngest major character is Jordan Fisher (then 21) as Doody. Most egregiously the main cast included 32-year-old Aaron Tveit and 30-year-old Kether Donohue and Carly Rae Jepsen.