Home Alone and Home Alone 2 are two of the most celebrated Christmas movies of the 1990s. The first is all about Kevin McCallister's Christmas at home in Chicago after his parents accidentally leave him behind when they go on vacation. The second movie gets Kevin to the airport, but he boards the wrong plane when he confuses a stranger for his father. Then, he's stuck in New York while his family is in Florida.
Some of the most enthusiastic Home Alone fans still don't know everything there is to know about the first two movies. From creation to production to their time-honored legacy, Home Alone and Home Alone 2 are full of great surprises.
One Thought From John Hughes Started It All
James Hughes, John Hughes' son, wrote an oral history of Home Alone for Chicago Magazine in 2015. The writer recalled that his father had an idea after rushing to get the family ready for a European trip. "What if one of the kids had been accidentally left behind?" It took John Hughes only nine days to write the first draft of his script.
A White Christmas Wasn't The Plan
Mark Radcliffe, the associate producer of Home Alone, explained that snow wasn't in the budget for the first movie. However, production required continuous snow after a real blizzard occurred on the second day of the shoot. Snow machines, bags of ice, semi-trucks of shaved ice, and potato flakes helped create the wintry illusion.
Jacolyn Bucksbaum, the film's location manager, added that Kate McCallister's reunion with Kevin was filmed on Valentine's Day during a real, honest-to-goodness snowstorm. The natural snowfall is a glorious way to celebrate Kevin's holiday with his family.
Home Alone Started (And Debunked) An Elvis Conspiracy Theory
"Elvis is alive" conspiracy theories are nothing new, and the legendary singer contributed to one of the most interesting fan theories about Home Alone. In the scene at the airport where Kate is trying to get a flight home to see Kevin, a couple of irritated passengers are waiting in line behind her. One is a female extra and another is a male extra. Suspicious fans noticed that the man bears a resemblance to Elvis Presley, and some have posited that the extra really is Elvis.
Elvis died in 1977, 13 years before Home Alone's release. In 2018, Kenny Biddle officially busted the movie's Elvis myth. The actor waiting in line was never Elvis -- it was a Chicago man named Gary Grott. Biddle spoke with Grott's son to confirm the extra's involvement in the film. Gary Grott passed away in 2016.
Macaulay Culkin's Stunt Double Was A Grown Adult
Home Alone and Home Alone 2 make it look like Macaulay Culkin is doing all his stunts, but he certainly had some help. An adult stunt double named Larry Nicholas performed the child actor's stunts. Nicholas and Culkin had extremely similar builds at the time, even though the stunt actor was much older than the movie's main character.
Angels With Filthy Souls Is Not A Real Movie
The first two Home Alone movies feature black and white films that look like real classic movies. The first is Angels with Filthy Souls, and the second is Angels with Even Filthier Souls.
Neither of those movies are real; rather, both scenes of movie footage were filmed just for the Home Alone movies. It is quite possible that they were inspired by an existing 1938 film called Angels with Dirty Faces.
Chris Columbus Added An Important Thread To The First Movie
When Chris Columbus reflected on Home Alone's 30th anniversary, he revealed an important detail to Insider. Columbus explained his influence on the story arc of Old Man Marley: "...I added the moment when Marley talked about not being able to see his granddaughter. I also added the very end of the movie when Kevin sees that Marley is reunited with his granddaughter. That is probably my proudest addition to the movie."
Indeed, Marley's family troubles and eventual reunion with his granddaughter clearly moved Kevin McCallister and the film's devoted audience.
The Neighbors Archived Home Alone's Entire Production
The neighborhood scenes of Home Alone were filmed in Winnetka, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Herb and Joanie White were featured in a 2019 news story where they shared their home video footage of Home Alone's production. Herb and Joanie lived across the street from the Home Alone house, so Herb captured snippets of the filming process every day.
Now, all these behind-the-scenes clips have been transferred to DVD, and some of them mirror the final cuts used in the movie! The Whites loved being a part of the process (their house is briefly shown in the movie), and they were continually hospitable to the cast and crew.
The Cast Cared About The Neighborhood
The legacy of Home Alone is a powerful one, but it's even better than people realize. In addition to Joanie and Herb, other neighbors felt like they were part of the movie's family.
Macaulay Culkin and other members of the cast and crew visited a neighborhood woman in her 90s for her birthday and even sang to her that day. A small memory like this makes fans love the movie's history even more.
Home Alone 2 Hall Of Presidents
Home Alone fans have heard plenty about Donald Trump's cameo in the second movie at The Plaza Hotel. Since Trump owned the hotel at the time, he forced his way in for a few minutes in the spotlight. In 2019, Macaulay Culkin went on Josh Peck's podcast and shared an inside joke that "Donald Trump is the sixth most qualified person from Home Alone 2 to be President."
Culkin's Twitter account positions Macaulay Culkin as the third most likely, and other candidates (according to Peck's podcast) are Joe Pesci, Catherine O'Hara, Devin Ratray, Tim Curry, and Rob Schneider.
Home Alone 2's Duncan's Toy Chest Is Not A Real Store
Home Alone 2 convincingly captures the tourist's view of New York City. On his limo ride, Kevin asks the driver to take him to a toy store, and the driver drops him off at Duncan's Toy Chest. Though the store resembles the real FAO Schwartz toy store, Duncan's is a fictional establishment.
It wasn't filmed in New York, either. Both the exterior and the interior were filmed in Chicago -- the outside is the Rookery Building, and the inside is Uptown Theater. Even though it's made up, Duncan's is Kevin's dream toy store, and it's one that every kid would love to visit.