Five things you may not have known about the holiday favourite Home Alone, released Nov. 16, 1990.
1 A Harry situation. One of Joe Pesci’s most beloved performances is as the bumbling villain Harry Lime in Home Alone. But Pesci, who won a best supporting actor Academy Award for his performance in Goodfellas (also released in 1990), wasn’t the first choice for the part. Fellow Oscar-winner Robert De Niro, Bob Hoskins and Jon Lovitz all turned down the role of Lime. 2 F-bombs away. Pesci kept forgetting that he was filming a family movie during his character’s onscreen outbursts, so director Chris Columbus advised him to say “fridge” instead of “f---.” Keeping with his character, Pesci reportedly avoided film star Macaulay Culkin on set because he wanted Culkin to think he was mean. 3 Canadian content. John Candy has a minor role as Gus Polinski (Polka King of the Midwest). He improvised all of his lines in the movie. The Newmarket, Ont., native shared all his screen time with Toronto’s Catherine O’Hara. The two were well-known in Canada from television’s SCTV and were good friends off camera. Candy died March 4, 1994 — O’Hara’s 40th birthday. She delivered a tearful eulogy at Candy’s funeral. 4 Famous inspiration. The iconic image used on posters and video boxes of Culkin as Kevin McCallister with his hands on his face and screaming is based on the famous painting The Scream by Edvard Munch. 5 Money maker. Pesci and fellow bumbling villain Daniel Stern (Marv Merchants) weren’t convinced about the movie’s potential during shooting, so they intentionally gave over-the-top performances, neither one believing the film would become a massive success. Home Alone cost about US$18 million to make and eventually grossed almost $286 million.