In one of the most famous scenes in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) thinks he’s finally got his home’s power grid-draining Christmas lights and decorations up and running, only for a snafu over plugs and switches to make him think he’s failed. This sends him into a comically vicious tailspin, kicking over and punching various plastic lawn decorations.
The retaliation on the Christmas lights fiasco wasn’t planned. In the midst of the chaos, Chase kicked and smacked his hand on the decorations. “That wasn’t in the script, but I was so angry I did it,” Chase told the Asbury Park Press. He connected with such force that he broke his pinky finger. “I thought it might melt or something, but no, it was a good, hard plastic.” According to Whosay, the take used in the final cut of the film, in which Clark punches a Santa Claus ornament, is the one on which he broke his finger. And then he kept on filming the scene, never breaking character. “I had to keep kicking. Because it hurt so much,” he said.