Home Alone, the classic Christmas movie from 1990 directed by Chris Columbus and written by John Hughes, still delights audiences young and old every holiday season with its perfect blend of heartwarming moments and slapstick humor. Starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, a young boy who’s accidentally left at home when his family goes on vacation and who subsequently has to defend his home against a pair of burglars, it was certainly a staple of my childhood and probably yours, too.
For as many times as we’ve watched and re-watched it, however, there are countless behind-the-scenes stories and bits of trivia that add another layer of magic to the film — stories that I suspect many people might not know. I’ve collected a few of those tidbits, below, about the beloved film.
Home Alone was written in just over a week. Hughes, the filmmaker behind classics like The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, knocked out the first screenplay for Home Alone in nine days. The idea for it stemmed from his father’s travel anxiety. “I was going away on vacation and making a list of everything I didn’t want to forget,’” Hughes told Time magazine in 1990.
“I thought, ‘Well, I’d better not forget my kids.’ Then I thought, ‘What if I left my 10-year-old son at home? What would he do?’”
Most of John Candy’s appearance was improvised. The late comedic actor appears in Home Alone as a member of a polka band that gives Kevin’s mother, played by Catherine O’Hara, a ride home. Candy “was on the movie for only one day, but it resulted in so much great improvisation,” Columbus told Business Insider in 2020. “None of that stuff was in the script. The funeral-parlor story, that was all improvised at 4:30 in the morning. We could barely keep a straight face on set just listening to John.”
Speaking of John Candy, he made a paltry amount of money for his role. John Candy was one of the most beloved comic actors of the 1980s, but he earned a pitiful sum of money for his scenes in Home Alone — which he filmed during one mammoth 23-hour day on set.
Reportedly, he was only there to begin with as a favor to Hughes, and he took him the minimum pay rate from the studio. Meaning, he actually earned less money than the actor who played the Little Nero’s pizza delivery guy.
The Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score will infuriate you. More than 30 years after its release, the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score remains a ridiculous 66%, based on 116 reviews, which is a slap in the face to the beloved Christmas classic. Never mind that the film defined holiday nostalgia for a generation and remains endlessly rewatchable. Critics are still gonna do their thing and miss the timeless charm and heart.
A bigger actor was considered for the role of Harry, the burglar. Joe Pesci gave audiences perhaps the most beloved role of his career in the form of Harry, one half of the “Wet Bandits” in Home Alone. Before he took the part, however, the production team actually had its eyes on Robert De Niro — who reportedly never seriously considered coming on board, but still. A fascinating what if.
One of Culkin’s most memorable moments was improved. One of the most iconic scenes in Home Alone is the scream, when Kevin is grooming in the bathroom and singing along to music. At one point, we see him put on aftershave and them deliver that hilarious scream. Culkin, however, didn’t do it the way the director wanted him to. “If you put something on your face that burns, most people move their hands right away,” Columbus told Business Insider.
“So my direction to him was when you pat your face, move your hands and scream. And I think it was the first take, he kept his hands on his cheeks.”
There’s some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it animation in the movie. When it came to special effects, Home Alone’s production team had to get a little creative here and there — such as during the scene when Marv pokes his head through a pet door, and Kevin shoots him with a BB gun. According to Columbus, the production team paid a guy to hand-paint that BB going into Marv’s head for six frames of the movie.
The black-and-white movie Kevin watches isn’t real. Most people probably know by this by, but given that Home Alone is watched by new and younger audiences all the time, it’s worth pointing out once again: Angels with Filthy Souls, the gangster movie Kevin watches while he’s home alone, isn’t actually a real movie. The production team did an incredible job making it look like an authentic cinematic throwback, which is why so many people over the years have been shocked to learn it’s not an actual movie.
Home Alone’s director went on to direct a Netflix Christmas movie. Columbus has directed some truly legendary films over the years, ranging from Mrs. Doubtfire to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In 2020, exactly 30 years after the release of Home Alone, he returned to making holiday films by directing The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two, starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, for Netflix.
