Vacation (1983)

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers:

John Hughes (screenplay)
John Hughes (short story "Vacation '58")

Release Date:

29 July 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Every summer Chevy Chase takes his family on a little trip. This year he went too far.

Plot:

The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Arizona | Kansas | Cross Country | Death

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Jan. 1	7:00 PM	COMEDY
Sat. Jan. 2	4:30 PM	COMEDY

Cast

Chevy Chase	...	Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Ellen Griswold
Imogene Coca	...	Aunt Edna
Randy Quaid	...	Cousin Eddie
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Russell 'Rusty' Griswold
Dana Barron	...	Audrey Griswold
Eddie Bracken	...	Roy Walley
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Kamp Komfort Clerk
Miriam Flynn	...	Cousin Catherine
James Keach	...	Motorcycle Cop
Eugene Levy	...	Car Salesman
Frank McRae	...	Grover
John Candy	...	Lasky, Guard at Walleyworld
Christie Brinkley	...	The Girl in the Ferrari
Jane Krakowski	...	Cousin Vicki

Also Known As:

National Lampoon's Vacation (UK) (USA) (complete title)
American Vacation (Europe: English title) (video title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Germany:16 | Finland:K-7 (2006) (DVD) | Finland:S (1983) | Netherlands:AL | Australia:M | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | West Germany:6 | USA:R (certificate number 27018)

Filming Locations:

Alamosa, Colorado, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The gas station and sporting goods store were located at the intersection of Ocean Ave and Santa Monica Blvd in Santa Monica and have since been torn down and replaced by hi-rises.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Clark and Ellen get off the vibrating bed, Ellen was previously seen wearing only a blouse after she got out of the shower, but when the kids come in the room and Clark tells them to go away, he is pointing with a bra on his finger, one that Ellen was not wearing.

Quotes:

Ellen Griswold: [after the bartender shoots at Clark] Clark, I don't think that was funny. A loud noise like that could damage the kids' hearing.
Clark Griswald: C'mon, Ellen. It looked real. Hell - I thought it was a real gun. Didn't you think it was real, honey?
Audrey Griswold: What?
Clark Griswald: I said didn't you think it was real?
Audrey Griswold: What?
Ellen Griswold: Oh are you happy now Clark? She's deaf.
Clark Griswald: Oh what the hell - it was fun anyway.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Chariots of Fire

Just one word: Awesome!

I have seen this movie many times on TV (the German dubbed version, of course) and I loved it every time...allthough the more often its shown, the more it gets cut on TV.

Now, for the first time (thanks to DVD), I have been able to watch it in its original language. And it was just awesome! The dialogues were even better and the characters were so much better outlined.

I swear that I will never see such a great movie in a dubbed version again!

To any Germans in here: go get it on DVD (even though it is just in Mono) - and delete the video tape if you have recorded it from TV.