Think you know Christmas movies? Here are eight facts about some of the holiday season's favorite flicks.
1. The house from "A Christmas Story" is a museum that you can win a chance to stay in.
The house from "A Christmas Story" is a museum all year long, but a lucky winner and friends (a group of four) can win the chance to stay for two days and two nights over Christmas, according to Huffington Post. Gifts are opened on Christmas morning, including two BB guns.
Fifty-one eBay bids were made this year, according to Huffington Post, and $6,016.40 was the winning sum.
2. In the first version of "The Santa Clause," Tim Allen inadvertently uses a real sex service phone number as a joke.
Allen's character, Scott Calvin, is divorced and his ex-wife has a new husband. When his ex hands him a slip of paper that supposedly has her new mother-in-law's phone number on it, Calvin remarks, "1-800-SPANK-ME? ... I know that number."
Children have racked up charges from the phone sex line which reportedly transfers the caller from an 800 number to a 900 number, according to a Seattle Times article from 1997. The daughter of a very irate Long Island, N.Y., man had to receive counseling as a result of what she heard when she dialed. (Her household owed 1-800-SPANK-ME $250 before a therapist was called).
Disney ended up cutting the scene because of complaints, according to Huffington Post.
3. The black-and-white gangster movie playing in "Home Alone" isn't an actual movie. It was made specifically for "Home Alone," ya filthy animal.
Kevin McAllister, the lead character in "Home Alone," watches a gangster film called "Angels with Filthy Souls," which is a parody of a 1938 gangster movie called "Angels with Dirty Faces," according to Huffington post.
In "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," the featured gangster flick is called "Angels with Even Filthier Souls."
4. The Grinch wasn't supposed to be green.
In Dr. Seuss' book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Mr. Grinch was black and white with a bit of red shading, but that was all changed by Chuck Jones, the "Looney Toons" animator, according to Huffington Post. Jones directed the Grinch movie and decided The Grinch should be green like an ugly rental car. Dr. Seuss protested mightily, but lost the argument.
5. "Christmas Vacation" is based on a short story.
"National Lampoon's Vacation," released in 1983, was based on a short story written by John Hughes in the magazine National Lampoon. A short story entitled "Christmas '59" was also published in the magazine and inspired "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." (In the movie, Clark, played by Chevy Chase, finds a film reel labeled "Xmas '59" in the attic).
The short story begins thusly:
"All in all it was a pretty exciting Christmas, what with the relatives and the presents and the fun and the cops and Aunt Hazel's dog blowing up in our living room. Mom and my Aunt Martha wanted to have one of those fun old-fashioned Christmases that people on TV have, where everybody wears ties and sweaters and sits by the fireplace and makes Christmas-tree ornaments out of food. But as Dad said, the only reason those people have fun is they're getting paid for it."
6. "Miracle on 34th Street" was not marketed as a Christmas movie.
The release of "Miracle on 34th Street" was supposed to be in the fall of 1947, but the head of 20th Century Fox thought the film deserved to be released when all blockbusters are released - in the summertime, according to Huffington Post. So, it was marketed as a love story.
It worked. The film made $3 million.
7. "It's a Wonderful Life," Karl Marx.
The FBI did not approve of "It's a Wonderful Life" and believed the "commies" were attempting to use the film to turn the U.S. red. The original FBI memo, as printed by Wise Bread, reads:
"With regard to the picture 'It's a Wonderful Life,' [redacted] stated in substance that the film represented rather obvious attempts to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a 'scrooge-type' so that he would be the most hated man in the picture. This, according to these sources, is a common trick used by Communists. [In] addition, [redacted] stated that, in his opinion, this picture deliberately maligned the upper class, attempting to show the people who had money were mean and despicable characters."
8. Executives at CBS thought Charlie Brown stunk like a pigpen.
"They thought it was too slow," executive producer Lee Mendelson said about "A Charlie Brown Christmas," according to Huffington Post. CBS did not like that children provided character voices. They were not fans of the religious theme. Not having a laugh track was unheard of for the "blockhead" executives. A CBS executive told Mendelson, "Well, you gave it a good shot. Believe me, we're big 'Peanuts' fans, but maybe it's better suited to the comic page," according to Mental Floss.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" almost didn't make it on the air, but for a promise made to sponsors, the special aired on Dec. 9, 1965.
The Christmas special won an Emmy and still airs every year. The film turns 50 in 2015.
