Home Alone hidden details: the fake gangster film, the real tarantula and more

Home Alone hidden details: the idea came from a packing list

Hughes said he was making a list of everything he did not want to forget before a holiday and thought he had better not forget his kids, then wondered what his son would do if left at home. Eight pages of notes became the screenplay. Warner Bros. was meant to make the film, but when the budget grew and the studio demanded cuts, it shut production down. Fox picked it up the next day after Hughes had secretly approached them.

Moments that were real

Several moments viewers assume were faked were not.

• The tarantula that walks across Daniel Stern's face was real; Stern agreed to one take and mimed his scream so he would not startle it.
• Stern's accidental curse when his shoe falls through the pet door stayed in the film.
• Macaulay Culkin has said Joe Pesci bit his finger during a rehearsal or take and broke the skin, leaving a scar.
• Culkin's famous aftershave scream has been reported as improvised.

Casting that almost happened

Robert De Niro was considered for Harry, and Jon Lovitz turned it down before Joe Pesci was cast without auditioning, because he was offer only. Daniel Stern dropped out as Marv when the shoot grew from six weeks to eight without extra pay; his replacement, Daniel Roebuck, lasted two days of rehearsal before Columbus brought Stern back. John Mulaney was asked to audition for Kevin, but his parents declined. The role of Uncle Frank was written for Kelsey Grammer, and James Stewart was considered for old man Marley.

Where it was filmed

The McCallister house is a real home at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois, now a tourist attraction. Only the main staircase, attic and parts of the first floor were filmed inside it. Most interiors were rebuilt in the disused gym of New Trier High School, which Hughes had also used for Uncle Buck and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The flooded basement scene was shot in the school's empty pool, and the first-class airline cabin was built on its basketball courts. O'Hare Airport doubled as both itself and Paris Orly. The treehouse was built for the film and taken down afterwards.

John Candy and the soundtrack

John Candy, who plays polka band leader Gus Polinski, was available for only one day; his scenes took 23 hours to shoot. Columbus first hoped for Bruce Broughton to score the film, but Broughton had to cancel for The Rescuers Down Under. Columbus jokingly suggested John Williams, then got in touch with him through Steven Spielberg. Williams wrote the score, including the theme song Somewhere in My Memory. The fake gangster film proved popular enough to get a sequel in Home Alone 2: Angels with Even Filthier Souls.

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