• A rapid scriptwriter, Hughes pumped out forty pages of this one in only eight hours.
• The concept for this movie originated during the filming of a scene in Uncle Buck in which Miles (Macaulay Culkin) interrogates a would-be-babysitter through a letterbox.
• The role of Uncle Frank was written with Kelsey Grammar in mind.
• Jeffrey Wiseman (neighbor kid Mitch Murphy) auditioned for the role of Kevin McCallister. Hughes had already had Culkin in mind for the lead role, but he held auditions to make sure he had made the right choice.
• Joe Pesci's character, Harry Lime, is named after Orson Welles's character from the 1949 film The Third Man. The role was originally offered to Robert DeNiro, but he turned it down.
• Old Man Marley was not in the script's early drafts and was added in later when it was realized the story needed an emotional connection. Early drafts ended with a freeze as Kevin remarked that he'd "just hung around."
• Gus Polinsky and the polka band were also late additions to the story. John Candy shot all of his scenes in 24 hours.
• John Heard had brought the book Nobody's Angel (which Peter McCallister can be seen reading when they realize Kevin's not there) to the set for recreation, then brought it into the scene for atmosphere, necessitating that Twentieth-Century Fox clear the book's rights.
• The movie that Kevin watches on video tape is not a real film, but footage specially created. It was called "Angels With Filthy Souls" (most likely based on a real life 1938 mobster movie called "Angels With Dirty Faces"). Its imaginary sequel, "Angels With Filthier Souls" appears in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Click here to see a video clip of "Angels With Filthy Souls."
• The family is watching "It's A Wonderful Life" on the TV in the hotel room in France.
• Unused to family films, Joe Pesci made a concentrated effort to keep the f-word out of his lines (Columbus suggested he say "fridge" instead). Daniel Stern accidentally let "s***" slip when his character retrieved his shoe through the letterbox.
• Catherine O'Hara and John Candy have a brief scene together; the two actors had worked together on "SCTV" in the early 80s.
• Candy was offered a portion of the film's profits. He turned it down, instead taking on his role as Gus, which he felt would be more appropriate.
• The weather fluctuated drastically during the shoot, with very warm and very cold days alternating
• The wax-and-plastic artificial snow used in the film was given to the Lyric Opera of Chicago when shooting finished. It has since been used in numerous opera productions.
• Daniel Stern was reluctant to have the tarantula on his face and had to remain still and quiet during the take of it. His scream, inspired by one from Psycho, was dubbed in afterwards.
• To create the illusion Joe Pesci's head being ignited by the flamethrower, a mirror was placed in front of the camera to make the flames appear longer than they were.
• Stern wore special false feet for scenes in which Marv walks around barefoot, but insisted on not wearing them for when he steps on the nail (which was rubber) and the ornaments (which had been made of sugar).
• Bruce Broughton originally composed the score to the film but was replaced by John Williams. His name can still be seen on some of the early trailers. Later Boughton scored the music for two more Hughes scripts, a remake of Miracle on 34th Street, and Baby's Day Out.
• Macaulay Culkin's famous pose of screaming with his hands on his face is reminiscent of the painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch.
• Director Chris Columbus went on to direct several of the Harry Potter films.

Dutch

• John Candy was originally chosen to play Dutch Dooley, but things fell through in the end.
• Doyle's last name is Standish, the same as Claire in The Breakfast Club (both families are wealthy). Hughes has once said that his characters often know one another or are related in the prose rendition of his stories, so I wouldn't be surprised if these two were (but this only speculation).
• Ethan Randall (now Ethan Embry) and Ed O'Neill reunited for a 2003 redoing of the TV series "Dragnet."

Curly Sue

• The songs "Innocent Believer" and "Git Down" by 2YZ were written and produced by Hughes' son, John Hughes III. He also produced "Yacht Club Swing" for the soundtrack.

Career Opportunities

• Josie mentions a Larry Frye from high school; Frye was also the last name of Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (a relation perhaps?).

Only the Lonely

• Maureen O'Hara (who starred in the original Miracle on 34th Street) was absent from the screen for twenty years when director/writer Chris Columbus contacted her to do the role of Danny's mother. In fact, he had actually written the script with her in mind.
• Maureen O'Hara and Anthony Quinn had previously worked together in several movies, including Against All Flags, The Black Swan, Buffalo Bill, The Magnificent Matador, and Sinbad the Sailor.

Dennis the Menace

"His pranks basically come out of innocence." - John Hughes
• Dennis the Menace was John Hughes' favorite comic strip while growing up.
• Mason Gamble, the then-six-year-old boy who portrayed Dennis, is also from Chicago.
• Mason beat out 20,000 other boys to win the role; the final ten auditioned with Walter Matthau.
• Walter on Dennis: "He's energy-zapping because he's inquisitive."
• John on Walter: "He likes laughs; he's not a snob about it."

  "If it isn't appropriate for my kids, it certainly isn't for other people's kids. I'm kind of a goofy dad makin' movies for everybody's kids, I guess." - - John Hughes

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

• Home Alone 2 was the second highest money-maker of 1992. Macaulay Culkin was paid a salary of 8 million dollars, the biggest paycheck ever given to a 12 year-old actor at the time.
• Donald Trump makes a brief cameo in the Plaza Lobby when Kevin asks him for directions.
• Director Chris Columbus (who also directed the first Home Alone) appears on camera for a moment in the toy store. He is seen holding a child and pointing to a stack of toys as Kevin walks past. His daughter, Eleanor Columbus, also appears in the same scene, as well as appearing in two Harry Potter films (also her dad's) as Susan Bones.
• The Toy store, "Duncan's Toy Chest", was named after the Executive Producer Duncan Henderson.
• All the children who appeared in the toy store scene were each allowed to take their favorite toy home as part of their salary, and even though it didn't actually work, Makauly Culkin kept the Talkboy. A real-life version of the Talkboy was created by Tiger Electronics shortly after the film's release (along with its pink-and-purple counterpart, the Talkgirl).
• The name of the show Kevin is watching in the first scene is a fictional game show called Ding Dang Dong. Appropriately, it was taped on the set of an actual game show called $100,000 Fortune Hunt (Illinois' original lottery game show). The host in that scene is Bob Eubanks from the Newlywed Game.
• Composer John Williams appears in the Carnegie Music Hall scene, as the orchestra's conductor.

Baby's Day Out

• The book "Baby's Day Out," featured in this movie, is available to purchase as a Golden Book.

Miracle on 34th Street

• The new version of this film was going to feature a little boy instead of a girl, but Elizabeth Perkins refused to do the movie if it was changed.
• Macy's department store refused permission for its name to be used.
• Alvin Greenman (The Doorman) appeared in the original version of the film as Alfred.
• In its original theatrical release, 20th Century Fox offered a full refund to any viewer who didn't enjoy the film. Approximately 1500 tickets were returned to the studio.