"Home Alone": That's how rich the McCallisters are – and seven more weird facts about the film

Highlights: "Home Alone": That's how rich the McCallisters are – and seven more weird facts about the film. Every year, »Kevin – Home Alone« is on TV. And with it the discussion about the question: How can this family afford all this? The »New York Times« has asked the US central bank Federal Reserve. The original is in Winnetka, a suburb of Chicago and one of the most expensive areas in the US. It would have been affordable only for the top 1990 percent of American families in 305.

Every year, »Kevin – Home Alone« is on TV. And with it the discussion about the question: How can this family afford all this? The »New York Times« did some research.

Enlarge image

The moment before the iconic scream: Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, tests Daddy's aftershave

Photograph:

ddp images

An eight-year-old alone in a property that is far too big – what could possibly go wrong? Quite a bit, as millions of people like to observe again and again.

This year, Sat.1 will once again show "Kevin – Home Alone" on December 24 at 20:15 p.m. And this for the tenth time in a row. The Christmas classic from 1990, in which a family forgets their youngest son when they leave for their Christmas vacation, has always been the ratings winner in Christmas Eve primetime in recent years.

For at least as long, fans have been discussing something that is completely left out of the film: How on earth can the McCallisters afford all this?

Property stands in Chicago

Above all, the absurdly large house of the family of seven heats up the discussion again and again. Father Peter emphasizes again and again that he works like crazy to make this prosperity possible for himself and Kevin's family. But how rich are the McCallisters really? The »New York Times« has asked the US central bank Federal Reserve .

A house like the McCallisters' – the original is in Winnetka, a suburb of Chicago and one of the most expensive areas in the US – would have been affordable only for the top 1990 percent of American families in 305. And that's probably how it would still be today. That is, for a family that, according to calculations, has an income of $000,1990 in 665 or around $000,2022 in <>.

So much for the numbers.

Where does the money come from? Even economists can only speculate about this. Fan theories say that Kate McCallister probably does something with fashion, as the saying goes. Where else would all the mannequins come from, which Kevin uses for his staged Christmas party to trick the scoundrels Harry and Marv into believing that he is not home alone at all? Another theory is that Peter McCallister may be connected to the Mafia (doesn't Kevin know an astonishing number of brutal torture methods?). Or just a simple businessman.

For those who want to tune in again this year, here are seven more fun facts for movie night:

There is no such thing as "angels with filthy souls"

The black-and-white film "Angels with Filthy Souls," which Kevin uses to chase the burglars away, is not real. The scenes were shot especially for the film. It stars cult actor Ralph Foody, who played his last role. His sentence "You can keep the rest, you bastard" went down in film history – or rather, in the history of films within stories.

The spider was real, and so was the scream

Very real, however, was the spider that lands on the face of crook Marv in one of the most famous scenes of the film as a very effective diversionary maneuver. Daniel Stern actually had the spider put on for this – after he had made the crew promise that they would shoot the scene on the first try. For a long time, it was also said of this anecdote that the bloodcurdling scream had only been added in post-production. Stern cleared up this at some point. The cry was as real as the spider: "I asked if the scream would scare the spider, but apparently tarantulas can't hear." So he gave it his all.

Cousin Fuller has made a career

Remember Cousin Fuller? It wasn't very popular – at least with Kevin. And so Kevin doesn't want to sleep in the same bed with him, because he wets himself at night if he drinks too much soda. Fuller was played by Kieran Culkin, Kevin's younger brother, and grew up to be one of the members of the "Sucession" Roy family: Kieran Culkin plays the outspoken Roman Roy, COO of the media empire, in the hit HBO series.

Joe Pesci took a hard bite

During the rehearsals for the scene in which crook Harry wants to bite little Kevin's finger, actor Joe Pesci got Culkin's finger neatly. "They hung me up on that hook and Pesci said, 'I'm going to bite off all your fingers, one by one,'" Culkin once recalled. During the rehearsals, Pesci got serious – and actually bit so hard that the spot can still be seen on his finger.

Less Play for the Boy

Kevin finds all kinds of exciting things as he wanders alone through the empty house. In an old suitcase he comes across a »Playboy«. The magazine is genuine, an issue from the previous year. However, the pages with the naked women are said to have been taped off beforehand so that Kevin, just like Macaulay, could not see nude photos while leafing through.

Kevin's ticket ends up in the trash before

It is not uncommon for film scenes to make no sense against the background of the story that is to be told. And, hey, this movie isn't exactly the epitome of faithful representations. But we can answer one question: Why didn't the McCallisters notice at the airport at the latest when boarding that Kevin wasn't there? Because they didn't have not only Kevin, but also his ticket with them. Kevin's father accidentally disposed of this when he wiped up the overturned drinks during a chaotic pizza dinner with the whole clan.

Elvis is alive – and wears a beard and turtleneck?

While we're on the subject of film scenes that you might want to pay special attention to this year: »Home Alone« also has its own Elvis myth. Of course. Some fans of the King of Rock 'n' Roll, who died 13 years before the film, are convinced that they recognized the singer in one scene. While the vast majority of people in this one scene watch Kevin's mother arguing with a staff member at the Scranton airport, quite a few Elvis fans zoom in on the person diagonally behind her. There, the man with the full beard and the turtleneck under the jacket, isn't that Elvis?

Sak