Brooke Seipel | Contributing Writer
This holiday season when it comes time to crack out the Christmas movies, you may look at them a little differently. The movies we grew up watching this time of year are riddled with secrets we didn’t know about production, actors, and mistakes made during filming. Look for the following fun facts when you start watching movies this month.
#1 It’s a Wonderful Life:
The scene with the gym floor that opens up to reveal a swimming pool is a real gym in Los Angeles. In fact, most of the movie was filmed in L.A. When you watch scenes where George looks a little wet from the snow or rain (which the movie tried to play it off as) he is really sweating like crazy. These parts of the movie were filmed in 90-degree weather while actors were in coats and scarves. The FBI also investigated the movie because people thought it was communist propaganda against banks.
#2 Elf:
The idea for the movie Elf was actually bouncing around as early as 1993 with Jim Carrey as the original choice for Buddy the elf. Will Ferrell ended up shining in the role of Buddy and was so committed to the role that he actually ate all of that candy you see in him eating in the movie. During filming Ferrell ate so many sweets he suffered frequent headaches and lack of sleep. Also, Ralphie from A Christmas Story makes a cameo as an elf in the workshop.
#3 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation:
During the beginning of the movie when Uncle Louis and Aunt Bethany arrive at the Griswold household, the camera appears to be a little shaky. This is because a minor earthquake happened while they were filming and they decided to use the shot anyway. The assistant director of the film is the grandson of the director of It’s a Wonderful Life. This is why the movie features the Griswolds watching the film, and fixing a wobbly newel post just as George does in It’s A Wonderful Life.
#4 A Christmas Story:
Throughout the movie, Ralphie asks for his coveted Red Ryder BB Gun a total of 28 times. The several fantasy scenes where Ralphie daydreams about having the gun were just a few of numerous other daydream scenes cut from the film. Not only were some scenes cut from the movie, but also some actors. Originally, Jack Nicholson was going to play the role of Ralphie’s father, until he ended up being too much for the film’s budget. Because of a lower budget, many of the snow scenes were filmed using soap to make snow. Some of these snow scenes took longer than expected to film because actors were sliding all over the set.
#5 Miracle on 34th Street:
This film is what made the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade a nationally viewed event. Before the film, it was only something locals paid attention to. It was also filmed in the actual department store, but only at night so business could continue during the day. In the film, Kris Kringle makes a small mistake in his U.S. history while trying to show he’s smart. Santa says that Daniel D Tompkins was John Quincy Adam’s Vice President. Not quite Santa, John C. Calhoun was Adam’s VP. Another blip in filming was that the cameras actually froze while filming. The final scene of the movie was filmed in such cold weather the cameras stopped working. A kind Samaritan let the cast stay in her house while they fixed the camera problems. Maureen O’Hara thanked the couple by taking them to a club later that night.