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Home Alone

From Home Alone (1990), this is a medium shot of a cashier, Sally, holding a bag of army men labeled Attack Force.


Notice the slightly low camera angle and Sally’s downcast eyes, suggesting she is interacting with someone shorter than she. Also, Christmas lights, garland, and wreaths hang behind her in the store. Hopefully, those directorial decisions hinted to you that we’re likely looking at a Chicago-based Christmas movie that may involve a child. And indeed we are.


Mistakenly left alone at Christmastime, eight-year-old Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) must defend his home against a pair of burglars. During the process, Kevin ventures out to the grocery store, where he adds this bag of army men to his list. Amusingly, he tells Sally, “It’s for the kids.”


Did you know actor-comedian Robin Williams played with little toy soldiers too while he lived here in Chicago?


As a child in Chicago’s north suburbs, Williams staged battles with thousands of toy soldiers, his mother recalls. In fact, the young Williams even wrote the soldiers' dialogue, foreshadowing his performance style of carrying on conversations with himself through multiple voices.

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