Christmas Vacation (1989)

Director:

Jeremiah S. Chechik

Writer (WGA):

John Hughes (written by)

Release Date:

1 December 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Yule crack up!

Plot:

The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Boss | Christmas Bonus | Christmas Eve | Vacation

Cast

Chevy Chase	...	Clark
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Ellen
Juliette Lewis	...	Audrey
Johnny Galecki	...	Rusty
John Randolph	...	Clark, Sr.
Diane Ladd	...	Nora
E.G. Marshall	...	Art
Doris Roberts	...	Francis
Randy Quaid	...	Eddie
Miriam Flynn	...	Cathrine
Cody Burger	...	Rocky
Ellen Hamilton Latzen	...	Ruby Sue
William Hickey	...	Lewis
Mae Questel	...	Bethany
Sam McMurray	...	Bill
Nicholas Guest	...	Todd Chester
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Margo Chester
Nicolette Scorsese	...	Mary
Keith MacKechnie	...	Delivery Boy
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Frank Shirley
Natalija Nogulich	...	Mrs. Shirley (as Natalia Nogulich)
Tony Epper	...	Bozo #1
Billy Hank Hooker	...	Bozo #2 (as Hank Hooker)
Alexander Folk	...	Swat Officer
Jeremy Roberts	...	Cop
Woody Weaver	...	Cop
Michael Kaufman	...	Young Executive
Doug Llewelyn	...	Parade Announcer (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Devin Bailey	...	Clark (age 9) (uncredited)
Frank Foti Jr.	...	SWAT Team Sargeant (uncredited)
Traci Kochendorfer	...	Downtown Shopper (uncredited)

Directed by
Jeremiah S. Chechik		(as Jeremiah Chechik)

Writing credits (WGA)
John Hughes		(written by)

Produced by
William S. Beasley	....	associate producer
Mauri Syd Gayton	....	associate producer
John Hughes	....	producer
Tom Jacobson	....	producer
Matty Simmons	....	executive producer
Ramey E. Ward	....	associate producer
Daniel Grodnik	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Angelo Badalamenti

Cinematography by
Thomas E. Ackerman		(director of photography) (as Thomas Ackerman)

Film Editing by
Gerald B. Greenberg		(as Jerry Greenberg)
Michael A. Stevenson		(as Michael Stevenson)

Casting by
Risa Bramon Garcia		(as Risa Bramon)
Billy Hopkins
Heidi Levitt

Production Design by
Stephen Marsh

Art Direction by
Beala Neel		(as Beala B. Neel)

Set Decoration by
Lisa Fischer

Costume Design by
Michael Kaplan

Makeup Department
Lee Harman	....	makeup artist
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist
Stephen Robinette	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
William S. Beasley	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matt Earl Beesley	....	first assistant director
Frank Capra III	....	second assistant director
Bryan Denegal	....	second second assistant director
Vicki Jackson-Lemay	....	second assistant director: second unit (as Vicki Lemay-Jackson)
Eric Jewett	....	first assistant director: second unit
Charlie Picerni	....	second unit director (as Charles Picerni Sr.)

Art Department
Barbara Adamski	....	property master
Glen Cooper	....	stand-by painter
Kenneth J. Gagnon Sr.	....	construction coordinator (as Kenneth J. Gagnon)
David P. Newell	....	assistant property master (as David Newell)
Neil David Pontecorvo	....	greensman
Richard Dean Rankin	....	construction coordinator (as Richard Rankin)
John Rozman	....	leadperson
Dale Gordon	....	stage foreman (uncredited)
David J. Negron Jr.	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Timothy W. Tiedje	....	property master: Chicago (uncredited)
S. Bruce Wineinger	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Agalsoff Jr.	....	cable person (as John Agalsoff)
Greg Agalsoff	....	boom operator (as Gregg Agalsoff)
James R. Alexander	....	sound mixer (as James Alexander)
George H. Anderson	....	sound editor (as George Anderson)
David Baldwin	....	sound editor
Neal Burger	....	sound editor (as Neal R. Burger)
Joe Gilbert	....	adr editor
Stan Gilbert	....	supervising adr editor
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist (as Gary Hecker)
Dan Hegeman	....	sound editor
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer (as D.M. Hemphill)
Chris Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Larry Kemp	....	supervising sound editor
Lou Kleinman	....	sound editor
Glenn T. Morgan	....	sound editor
Victoria Rose Sampson	....	sound editor (as Vickie Sampson)
Mark Smith	....	sound re-recording mixer
Wylie Stateman	....	supervising sound editor
Edward M. Steidele	....	foley artist (as Edward Steidele)
Mark P. Stoeckinger	....	sound editor (as Mark Stoeckinger)
Karen Baker Landers	....	first assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Dino Dimuro	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Mark Lanza	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Allen Hall	....	special effects
Gary L. Karas	....	special effects (as Gary Karas)
Dieter Sturm	....	special effects snow maker: Chicago (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Bill Hansard	....	process projection (as Bill Hansard Sr.)
Justin Klarenbeck	....	special visual effects
David McCullough	....	special visual effects (as Dave McCullough)
Mark M. Pompian	....	main title animation (uncredited)
D. Kerry Prior	....	special effects artist/storyboards: DQI (uncredited)
Hoyt Yeatman	....	special visual effects: DQI (uncredited)

Stunts
Gregory J. Barnett	....	stunts (as Greg Barnett)
Janet Brady	....	stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunts
Erik Cord	....	stunts (as Eric Cord)
Tim A. Davison	....	stunts (as Tim Davison)
Cheryl Wheeler Duncan	....	stunts (as Cheryl Wheeler-Dixon)
Annie Ellis	....	stunts
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts
Sandra Lee Gimpel	....	stunts (as Sandy Gimpel)
Harold Jones	....	stunts
Steve Kelso	....	stunts
Bill MacIntosh	....	stunts
John Meier	....	stunts (as John C. Meier)
Noon Orsatti	....	stunts
Charlie Picerni	....	stunt coordinator
Steve Picerni	....	stunts
Chad Randall	....	stunts
John Robotham	....	stunts
Philip Romano	....	stunts (as Phil Ramano)
Sammy Thurman	....	stunts
Scott Wilder	....	stunts
Dick Ziker	....	stunts
Kenny Bates	....	stunts (uncredited)
Leslie Hoffman	....	stunt double: Doris Roberts (uncredited)
Jason White	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Amorelli	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Michael Amorelli)
Craig Asato	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Charles John Bukey	....	best boy grip (as Charles J. Bukey)
Richmond G. Cogswell	....	video assist (as Rich Cogswell)
Eric Engler	....	director of photography: second unit
Kevin Kelley	....	chief lighting technician: second unit (as Kevin Kelly)
Douglas Knapp	....	camera operator (as Doug Knapp)
David L. Parrish	....	first assistant camera (as David Parrish)
Ron Phillips	....	still photographer
Ted Rhodes	....	key grip
Scott M. Robinson	....	key grip: second unit (as Scott Robinson)
Bill Silic	....	chief lighting technician (as William M. Silic)
Bill Silic	....	gaffer (as William M. Silic)
Tama Takahashi	....	first assistant camera: second unit
John Wagner	....	second assistant camera
Kurt Young	....	dolly grip
Kirk Bales	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Albert Hood	....	electrician (uncredited)
Ron Kunecke	....	musco light operator (uncredited)
Randy Nolen	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)

Animation Department
Bill Kroyer	....	animator: main title animation (uncredited)
Bob Scott	....	animator (uncredited)
Dave Woodman	....	assistant animator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Juel Bestrop	....	casting assistant
Franklyn Warren	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mari Grimaud	....	costume supervisor: women
Eddie Marks	....	costume supervisor: men

Editorial Department
Kathryn Camp	....	assistant film editor
Carlyn Montes De Oca	....	assistant film editor
Richard Currie	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Angelo Badalamenti	....	orchestrator
Andrew Barrett	....	orchestrator (as Andy Barrett)
Jim Harrison	....	music editor
Ron Payne	....	music supervisor
Charles Samek	....	orchestrator
Gary Wasserman	....	assistant music editor
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist (uncredited)
George Doering	....	musician (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: French horn (uncredited)
Shirley Walker	....	conductor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Dan Marrow	....	transportation coordinator
Gaston Veilleux	....	transportation captain
Robert E. Dingle	....	driver (uncredited)
Robert Bruce Robertson	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Ellen Adolph	....	production accountant
Katherine E. Beyda	....	assistant: Tom Jacobson
Kim Bodner	....	production aide
Lisa Boss	....	production aide
Thomas J. Busch	....	location manager (as Tom Busch)
Chris Ciaffa	....	production aide
Craig Dietrich	....	production aide
Marcia 'Mavis' Girard	....	script supervisor (as Mavis Girard)
Scott E. Hart	....	animal handler (as Scott Hart)
Chris Hilsabeck	....	production aide
Christie Johnston	....	production associate
Eileen Peterson	....	unit publicist
Shirley Randles	....	craft service
Angel Trujillo	....	caterer (as Angel Trujello)
Kirsten Welles	....	assistant: Jeremiah Chechik
Stephen Andrzejewski	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)
Robert C. Decker	....	location manager (uncredited)
Ralph Eggleston	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. (presents) (as Warner Bros.)
• Hughes Entertainment (as A Hughes Entertainment Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1989) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures A Warner Communications Company)
• Warner Bros. (19??) (UK) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (1990) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-edited)
• Fazer Musiikki Oy/Fazer Video (1990) (Finland) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1998) (Finland) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (2001) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (HD-DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1995) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)

Special Effects

• Dream Quest Images (special visual effects) (as Dreamquest Images)
• Sturm's Special Effects International (snow making) (uncredited)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting (as D. Bassett & Assoc., Inc.)
• Kroyer Films  main title animation
• Pacific Title  end titles and opticals

Also Known As:

"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" - UK (imdb display title), USA (complete title)
"National Lampoon's Winter Holiday" - Ireland (English title) (imdb display title), UK

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | UK:PG (cut) | USA:PG-13 (No. 30065) | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-3 (2003) (DVD) | Finland:K-7 (2007) (DVD) (as part of Vacation Collection) | Finland:S (1990) (VHS) | Netherlands:6 | Peru:14 | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Mattison Boyd Jones House - 727 West Kenneth Road, Glendale, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros.

Trivia:

This movie has four "Saturday Night Live" (1975) alumni: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brian Doyle-Murray, Randy Quaid and Chevy Chase.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Clark's encounter with Mary, the underwear salesgirl, a shot of the street and house is shown, and a tree can be seen in the front yard, with the fake-snow covered leaves blowing in the wind.

Quotes:

Clark:So, when did you get the tenament on wheels?
Eddie:Oh, that uh, that there's an RV. Yeah, yeah, I borrowed it off a buddy of mine. He took my house, I took the RV. It's a good looking vehicle, ain't it?
Clark:Yeah, it looks so nice parked in the driveway.
[Raises class to his mouth]
Eddie:Yeah, it sure does. But, don't you go falling in love with it now, because, we're taking it with us when we leave here next month.
[Clark nearly chokes on his drink]

Movie Connections:

References Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Soundtrack:

Hallelujah Chorus

It could happen to you!

The holidays are the hot time for those who love family to gather, and make merry. For the other 90% of the population it's a hassle, a burden, and frankly a pain in the butt. Without a doubt we've all experienced the "worst Christmas ever" but probably not like the Griswolds. This is without a doubt one of my favorite holiday films because even though family gatherings can be a pain, it's always there to (hilariously) remind me to be grateful.

This is without a doubt one of my favorite Chevy Chase movies, and it puts newer "National Lampoon" titles to shame. If you're a "deadpan comedy" fan and haven't seen this movie you owe it to yourself to wait until it gets cold, start a fire, and pop in this movie.