15 Facts About “Home Alone” and Its Cast That You Might Not Know About

December has already begun, which means one of the most beloved and long-awaited holidays is ahead — Christmas. An important Christmas ritual is watching the movie Home Alone. A comedy about a boy who gets left alone over Christmas and ends up trying to thwart a couple of wet bandits from breaking into his home has been rewatched by hundreds of thousands of people all over the planet for over 30 years. But despite this, there are probably some interesting facts about this film that you have never heard of before.

1. Macaulay Culkin’s iconic shot was an accident.

The iconic poster of Kevin screaming was an improvisation by Culkin. He forgot to remove his hands from his face when he screamed. The shot eventually became the film’s most famous shot.

2. The attention to detail in this movie was incredible.

While watching, you might notice that in the first half of the film, the camera looks at Kevin from above — and in the second, on the contrary, we see him from below. According to the director, this angle change was necessary in order to demonstrate that, thanks to the events that had taken place, Kevin had become much more confident in himself.

3. Joe Pesci hurt Macaulay Culkin’s finger.

There is a scene in the movie where the gangsters hang Kevin on a hook and Pesci’s character says, “I’m gonna bite all your fingers off, one at a time.” Culkin recalled that during one of the rehearsals for this scene, Pesci bit him so hard that it tore the skin. The actor even had a scar.

4. The tarantula was real, but the scream was not.

The tarantula that crawled across Marv’s face was real. And in order not to scare the spider, actor Daniel Stern had to imitate the facial expressions of a screaming person while not uttering a sound. The scream was recorded and added later.

5. The glass toys were actually made of candy.

The “glass” Christmas decorations that Marv steps on when he tries to climb through the window were actually made of candy. However, in order to play it safe, actor Daniel Stern wore special rubber pads on his feet in scenes where he had to walk barefoot.

6. The house where Kevin’s family lived is real.

If you’ve always dreamed of visiting the McCallisters, you can go and see the original house. It is located at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois. In 2011, the house was sold for $1.58 million. Today, it is a tourist attraction.

7. Joe Pesci was constantly cursing.

Joe Pesci was best known for his roles in Martin Scorsese films like Raging Bull and Goodfellas. Apparently, he was used to playing gangsters, so on the set of Home Alone he cursed a lot and often. Once, the director advised him to use the word “fridge” instead of swearing.

8. Macaulay Culkin’s relatives were also in the film.

Macaulay Culkin’s real brother, Kieran, played Kevin’s cousin Fuller in the film, who was known for bed-wetting. The role in Home Alone was Kieran’s first. He was able to build a successful career and was even nominated twice for a Golden Globe.

9. Macaulay Culkin drew the battle plan himself.

Macaulay Culkin drew the plan himself that Kevin uses to crack down on the wet bandits.

10. Home Alone hit the Guinness Book of World Records.

Home Alone did not have the highest budget by Hollywood standards — only $18,000,000. However, despite this, it became the highest-grossing film of 1990 and even entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-grossing comedy with live actors. This title was reserved for Home Alone until 2017.

11. The movie Angels With Filthy Souls doesn’t really exist.

After watching Home Alone, many probably wanted to find and watch the movie Kevin watches when he’s home alone. However, to the regret of many fans, Angels With Filthy Souls does not exist in real life. The footage from the gangster movie was specially filmed for the Columbus picture.

12. Old man Marley wasn’t part of history.

At the beginning of the film, Buzz scares his brothers with a story about old man Marley. However, there was no such character in the original script. The director decided to add it because the film lacked sentimentality. And he got it. Marley’s reunion with his family is a true Christmas miracle!

13. Buzz’s girlfriend is actually a guy.

In one of the scenes of the film, Kevin finds a photo of Buzz’s girlfriend and speaks unflatteringly about her. Today, this joke may seem rude and inappropriate. Apparently, the filmmakers also understood this. Therefore, the son of one of the filmmakers agreed to play the role of the “strange girlfriend.” He really wanted to act in films and found it fun to participate in this way.

14. John Candy completed all of his filming in 24 hours.

John Candy played a bandleader in Home Alone who helps Kevin’s mom get home. Candy only had 24 hours to play all of his scenes and successfully completed his task. In many ways, his character was inspired by his other character, Del Griffith, from the movie Planes, Trains & Automobiles. At the same time, most of his dialogues were pure improvisation.

15. Some iconic scenes from Home Alone were re-created after almost 28 years.

In late 2018, Google and Macaulay Culkin filmed an ad that reprised some of the film’s most iconic scenes. Among them are the scene at the mirror and him jumping on the bed, among many others.

Bonus: Catherine O’Hara lost another Kevin.

What movie other than Home Alone do you like to watch at Christmas? Share in the comments!