National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (partially found deleted scenes of Christmas comedy film; 1989)

Theatrical poster for the film.

Status: Partially Found

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is an American Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah Chechik and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, and Randy Quaid that was released by Warner Bros. in 1989. The film is the third film in the National Lampoon's Vacation film series, and focuses on series protagonist Clark Griswold's attempts to stay at home and have a great Christmas with his family. The film was released on December 1st, 1989, and was a financial success, ultimately making $73.3 million theatrically on a $25 million budget. And while initial reviews of the film were mixed, retrospective reviews were far more positive, with the film now often being considered a classic of the holiday season.

As is the case with many films, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation had multiple scenes shot for it that were ultimately removed from the final cut for various reasons, with the majority of these scenes not being released in any form since then.

Known Deleted Scenes

Audrey confesses a sin about hanging around under a railroad bridge with a boy named Sean Marley as the family is trapped under the log truck.
The Griswolds attempt to borrow a saw from Jolly Jerry, the owner of the Christmas tree farm (screenshots from this scene exist).
The Griswold family make homemade Christmas decorations out of popcorn, with Clark describing how people used to make their own Christmas ornaments out of whatever objects they had to hand.
Clark gets covered in pine needles and sap while decorating the tree, later getting a wastebasket and his Christmas sweater stuck to his hand as a result.
Clark and Ellen make love in bed while they are both covered in sap, with Audrey later walking in on them.
Clark's coworker Bill is shown to have an immense hatred of Christmas, describing the holiday as "a big pain in the ass."
Clark speaks to Russ in the mall after Russ catches Clark flirting with Mary, with Clark attempting to downplay the situation. Clark then pushes Russ ahead through a door in order to get one last look at Mary, realizing too late that he and Russ just entered the women's bathroom. Women's shrieks and slapping noises are heard before Clark and Russ exit the bathroom, both rubbing their faces.
Clark finds several more forgotten presents in the Griswold's attic (screenshots from this scene exist).
Clark reaches through the attic vent to test for faulty Christmas lights.
Multiple scenes of the Griswold family at the mall while Clark is trapped in the attic.
Clark leaves footprints in the ceiling as a result of walking between the attic's joists.
Art tries to figure out why there are two holes in the ceiling above the bunk bed he is sleeping in.
Rocky and Ruby Sue sleep together in the hide-a-bed, with a cage of anxious gerbils placed between them. Rocky is heard peeing the bed.
Clark speaks to Ellen in bed about his worries over Eddie's arrival, lamenting how Eddie's ramshackled RV makes the house look like "a junkyard."
The lives of Eddie and his family inside the RV are shown.^[1]
Ruby Sue tells Clark that she is awake because of Rocky's perpetual habit of biting her thumb in his sleep.
Uncle Lewis criticizes the quality of Clark's Christmas tree.
Eddie proclaims “Hmm, boy! Do you smell that?” in response to the smell of the holiday turkey. Aunt Bethany apologizes for the smell, mistakenly believing that it is a result of her breaking wind.
An unopened can of stuffing is found inside the holiday turkey.
The scene of Clark and Eddie bringing the chair to the curb is extended, with Clark detailing to Ellen the extent of the chair's smell, and how Aunt Bethany's cat exploded as a result of its electrocution.
Rocky questions if Santa Claus will still come after Uncle Lewis accidentally burns downs the Christmas tree, with Catherine assuring Rocky that he will. Uncle Lewis responds by lamenting the poor state of the Griswold's home, describing the house as being "a death trap from stem to stern" (footage and audio from this scene are featured in a trailer for the film).
The squirrel hidden inside the Christmas tree runs up Aunt Bethany's skirt. Aunt Bethany is unaware of this, believing that the pinching is instead the result of her girdle. Uncle Lewis remarks that the squirrel can be written off, claiming that "Nothin’ goes up there and lives to tell about it.”
A post-credit scene showing Clark's Santa Claus light fixture crashing through Todd and Margo's ceiling.^[2]

Availability

Despite National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation still maintaining an avid fanbase and receiving frequent home media releases up to the present day, the majority of the film's deleted scenes have yet to see a release. The only evidence of the majority of these scenes ever existing in any form is the film's screenplay, in which many of the scenes are contained in a written format. It is currently impossible to determine how many of the scenes present in the screenplay actually made to the filming stage, but through examinations of the film's trailers, promotional stills, and pieces of dialogue and set dressing maintained in the final cut, it can be inferred that at least a portion of these scenes were filmed and subsequently cut.

Most notable of these cut scenes is the scene in which the Griswolds attempt to borrow a saw from Jolly Jerry. Not only was this scene allegedly included in early cable TV airings of the movie, but many of the film's home media releases actually contain a still from the scene on their back covers despite its non-presence in the final cut.^[3] But despite Warner Bros. releasing material from these cut scenes over the years in this fashion, the full scenes themselves have yet to see the light of day.