Filming was compressed into a demanding weekend, with Henry, Jack, and Ed asked to memorize pages of dialogue, hit marks, handle action scenes, and square off against Ray Revello, Donald Flores, and Emmanuel Diego. None of the three were trained actors, but that became part of the appeal. They brought their own rhythms, personalities, and stubbornness to the roles, giving the film a texture that would have been difficult to manufacture with conventional casting.

The shoot also became a genuine family affair, with the younger generation and the Oldtimers effectively taking over 239 Holly Ave. for two long days of feeding lines, moving furniture, setting up shots, laughing through mistakes, and turning a familiar family home into a movie set.

Hank Della ended up serving as his own father’s stunt double. For the shots where Henry needed to move faster or take a fall, Hank put on his dad’s clothes and had his hair sprayed as white as possible. Daryl then pushed the illusion further in After Effects, pulling out the remaining color and brightening the hair until it matched Henry’s pure white. The effect was convincing enough to confuse people who knew them both. When Hank first walked up the street dressed as Henry, Jack and Ann Lewkowitz could hardly believe what they were seeing. Then, after watching what appeared to be Henry make the walk, they saw Hank come by again as himself. For the shot where the thugs throw Henry into a pile of garbage, the crew stuffed garbage bags with pillows and had Hank take the fall. He landed hard enough to sell the moment without actually subjecting his father to it.

The neighborhood itself was already part of their daily lives. Jack and Ann really did spend plenty of time watching the street from their window, so turning that familiar routine into part of the film gave the whole production an odd little overlap between fiction and reality.