National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Theatrical release poster by Chris Consani
Directed by	Jeremiah S. Chechik
Written by	John Hughes
Based on	Characters by John Hughes
Produced by	John Hughes Tom Jacobson
Starring	Chevy Chase Beverly D'Angelo Randy Quaid Miriam Flynn William Hickey Mae Questel
Cinematography	Thomas E. Ackerman
Edited by	Jerry Greenberg Michael A. Stevenson
Music by	Angelo Badalamenti
Production company	Hughes Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	December 1, 1989 (1989-12-01)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25 million[1]
Box office	$73.3 million

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a 1989 American Christmas comedy film and the third installment in National Lampoon magazine's Vacation film series. Christmas Vacation was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, written and co-produced by John Hughes, and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, and Randy Quaid with supporting roles by Miriam Flynn, William Hickey, Mae Questel (in her final film role before her death in 1998), Diane Ladd, John Randolph, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Juliette Lewis, and Johnny Galecki.^[2]

Based on Hughes's short story, "Christmas '59", published in National Lampoon,^[3] the film tells the story of Clark Griswold’s efforts to have a good old-fashioned family Christmas as they take a hilarious turn for the worse. It is the final film in the series to involve Hughes and National Lampoon. Filming took place in Summit County, Colorado, Silverthorne, Breckenridge, and Frisco as well as Burbank, California between March and June 1989. The film performed well at the box office, grossing $73.3 million against a $25 million budget while receiving generally mixed reviews from critics. It is now regarded as a Christmas classic.