Line #3 Trivia/NationalLampoonsVacation


1	* {{Blooper}}: When the Truckster leaves the corrupt mechanic's, the wheels are all visibly wobbling due to extensive axle damage from the crash. Once it's discovered that Edna died and Clark hurriedly pulls over, the wheels no longer wobble for the remainder of the movie.
2	* BreakthroughHit: For Creator/JohnHughes as a writer.
3	* ContractualPurity: Originally, the producers wanted Christie Brinkley to appear naked in the film, but she refused. A compromise was reached, where she stripped down to her bra and panties before jumping in the pool with Clark.
4	* {{Corpsing}}: Chevy Chase and James Keach stated in interviews, that during the "Dog tied to the bumper" scene, both he and Chevy were legitimately tearing up, and that Chevy consistently biting his lips and his shortness of breath were genuine. All because they were trying so hard to contain themselves from laughing.
5	* CreatorBacklash: Creator/HaroldRamis said in the DVDCommentary, that the scene where the Griswolds get off the wrong exit in St. Louis, and get lost in the hood, was one of the most politically incorrect sequences he ever shot, and that it practically demonized everyone involved. He also admitted that he wasn't proud of shooting it the way it appears in the film, and that he was not even sure if he would shoot that particular scene today, and if he did, he would shoot it, or write it out in a different, and more politically-correct way.
6	* DeletedScene:
7	** There were two scenes which were in the original script and shot but were cut from the final version of the film. One scene had the Kamp Komfort manager (Creator/BrianDoyleMurray) dress up in a moose costume and sneak into Clark and Ellen's tent to scare them (which explains the "wildlife fun" the manager mentioned as they checked in). That scene was cut because it made the sequence run too long, so it was re-written to have Dinky sneak into the tent instead. The second scene originally written/filmed but cut was one featuring the two Indians (the same ones who see Clark wandering aimlessly through the desert and say "What an asshole") as well as a camel rider who finds Ellen and the rest of the family and rescue them. That scene was cut because, according to Creator/HaroldRamis, the camel had been raised in Burbank and had only ever walked on pavement, and the camel did not take to walking on hot sand very well. All the shots of the camel were unusable. Remnants of both cut scenes appear as photos during the ending credits photo montage.
8	** There was a deleted scene that took place after the redneck mechanics clean Clark out of all his money for the car repairs and Clark mentions that they're going to run out of gas. In the deleted scene, they do run out of gas and Clark, Ellen and the kids are forced to push the car (with Edna still inside it) to the nearest gas station. The attendant fills the car up with gas and then Clark drives away very fast without paying for the gas because he has no money. The attendant then runs after them on foot but of course doesn't catch them. That gas station is also where Clark got those sandwiches because later after leaving the Grand Canyon motel, he tells Russ to get out the sandwiches he got at the gas station.
9	** It was originally scripted that after Aunt Edna was tied to the roof of the car and there was a shot of her fingers moving implying she was, in fact, still alive. This was considered "cruel" to have a live person on the roof of a car by the ratings board, so it was cut and she remained dead.
10	* HostilityOnTheSet: Tempers flared once between Creator/HaroldRamis and Creator/ChevyChase while filming in the desert, and Chevy threw a suitcase at him.
11	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes[=/=]MissingEpisode: The alternate ending has never been released officially. Creator/ChevyChase claims to have a VHS copy of the film with the original ending.
12	** The original release and VHS versions features [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xeQuqTxaV0 "I'm So Excited"]] by The Pointer Sisters as the Girl in the Ferrari's {{Leitmotif}}. Later versions (notably the TV and Netflix versions) would replace her motif with "Little Boy Sweet".
13	* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: As mentioned above, a scene with a camel rider had to be cut because the camel proved a nightmare to deal with.
14	* TheOtherDarrin: While Creator/ChevyChase and Creator/BeverlyDAngelo kept reprising their roles as the Griswold parents for the first four films, their kids were played by different actors each time: Creator/AnthonyMichaelHall, Jason Lively, Johnny Galecki and Ethan Embry played Rusty while Creator/DanaBarron, Creator/DanaHill, Creator/JulietteLewis and Creator/MarisolNichols played Audrey. Dana Barron is the only one to return to the role--she plays Audrey in the Cousin Eddie Christmas sequel--although she, Juliette, Anthony and Jason all appeared in [[https://youtu.be/9Mp9zddu1YM an Old Navy commercial]] spoofing ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation''.
15	* PlayingAgainstType: Imogene Coca (the actress who played Aunt Edna) couldn't believe how mean she had to be.
16	* RealLifeRelative: Creator/HaroldRamis' actual daughter Violet has a small part as Daisy Mabel, Cousin Eddie's youngest daughter who was born with no tongue.
17	* SelfAdaptation: Creator/JohnHughes wrote the script based on his short story ''Vacation '58''.
18	* SerendipityWritesThePlot: According to Creator/AnthonyMichaelHall, originally it was supposed to be Creator/ChevyChase in the front seat of the roller coaster with Creator/JohnCandy. With the combined size of both men, they couldn't fit, so the changed was made with Rusty being in the front seat, instead of Clark.
19	* TechnologyMarchesOn:
20	** Today, finding out if the park is closed would be as simple as checking its web page, and because of the prevalence of GPS, getting lost driving across the country would be much more difficult.
21	** Also, Clark's payment problems after he's strongarmed out of his cash would not be that much of a problem nowadays considering that debit payments from his bank account is common and credit cards are accepted in far more places now.
22	** Losing credit cards is not as big of a deal since many people can pay for things using apps on their smartphones.
23	* ThrowItIn: Many bits in the film were improvised including Clark's dance with his sandwich, Clark's send-off to Aunt Edna, Rusty putting his feet up on the driver's seat and Rusty chugging of the beer.
24	* UncreditedRole: According to Rena Fruchter's 2007 biography "I'm Chevy Chase...and You're Not", Creator/HaroldRamis and Creator/ChevyChase did uncredited re-writes of the screenplay, shifting the focus from the teenagers to the parents. For instance, the Ferrari Girl was originally to be a thirteen-year-old love interest for Rusty instead of Clark.
25	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
26	** Creator/BillMurray and Creator/MichaelKeaton were considered for the part of Clark Griswold before Creator/ChevyChase was cast.
27	** Creator/KimCattrall was the original choice for the role of Ellen Griswold before the casting of Creator/BeverlyDAngelo.
28	** Creator/RobinWilliams was considered for Cousin Eddie before Creator/RandyQuaid was cast.
29	** Creator/JohnLandis was approached to direct the movie before Creator/HaroldRamis was hired, but turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon''.
30	** Creator/HaroldRamis originally wanted Music/ElmerBernstein to score the film, but he turned it down as he was busy working on the score for ''Film/TradingPlaces''.
31	** The Griswold's destination was originally supposed to be Disneyland, as it was in the short story, but it was rejected since the park is open year-round and thus the ending with Creator/JohnCandy wouldn't have worked.
32	** The ending was originally completely different. Clark would hold up Roy Walley in his home and force him to sing and dance, and the police arrive to arrest Clark, when it's revealed that the mysterious woman in the red car is actually Roy's daughter. She convinces her father to drop the charges and the family goes on a flight back home after receiving Walley World hats, but they discover that they caught the wrong flight and Clark forces the pilot to turn the plane around. Negative test screenings made the filmmakers rewrite the scene.
33	** The original script contained a scene where Rusty is seduced by a prostitute at the motel.
34	** There was an idea of doing a ''Vacation'' sequel where the Griswolds go to Australia, but Chevy refused.
35	* WriteWhatYouKnow: Creator/JohnHughes was inspired by an equally ill-fated family trip to Disneyland when he was five years old, which was what his National Lampoon Magazine article "Vacation '58" was about.
36	* WrittenByCastMember: According to Rena Fruchter's 2007 biography ''I'm Creator/ChevyChase...and You're Not'', Chase did uncredited re-writes of the screenplay alongside Creator/HaroldRamis, shifting the focus from the teenagers to the parents. For instance, the Ferrari Girl was originally to be a thirteen-year-old love interest for Rusty instead of Clark.

Context Trivia / NationalLampoonsVacation