Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is a 1991 American coming-of-age dark comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Neil Landau and Tara Ison, and starring Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, John Getz, and Josh Charles. The plot focuses on a 17-year-old girl who assumes the role as head of the house when the elderly babysitter whom her mother had hired to watch over her kids while she is in Australia suddenly dies. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead was released in theaters on June 7, 1991 and grossed $25.1 million on a budget of $10 million. Despite moderate box-office success and receiving generally negative reviews from critics upon release, the film has gone on to gain a cult following on VHS and cable television. Plot Sue Ellen "Swell" Crandell is a 17-year-old Los Angeles high-school graduate who cannot afford to accompany her friends to Europe for the summer. When her divorced mother leaves for an Australian vacation with her boyfriend, Swell looks forward to a summer of freedom with her siblings Kenny, Zach, Melissa, Walter, and their tri-colored Cardigan Welsh Corgi Elvis. Much to Swell's dismay, her mother hires a live-in babysitter named Mrs. Sturak, a seemingly sweet old woman who assures Mrs. Crandell that she can take care of all five children. As soon as Mrs. Crandell leaves, Mrs. Sturak shows her true colors as a tyrant, quickly drawing the ire of the children. However, she soon dies in her sleep. After Swell discovers the body, the kids worry that their mother will blame them for the death if they notify authorities. They agree to stuff Mrs. Sturak's body in a trunk and drop it off at a local funeral home with a note saying "Nice Old Lady Inside, Died of Natural Causes" while keeping Mrs. Sturak's car. They discover that the envelope their mother had given to Mrs. Sturak containing money for the summer is empty and deduce that Mrs. Sturak had the money with her when they delivered her body to the funeral home.