Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is a 1991 comedy-fantasy directed by Stephen Herek. Christina Applegate stars as a teenager, whose mother leaves for a two-month summer vacation in Australia, putting all five siblings in the care of a strict tyrannical elderly babysitter. When the babysitter suddenly dies in her sleep, Applegate (as the eldest) assumes the role as "head of the household" to keep the freedom of having no parents around. She fakes a resume to get a job in the fashion industry, but proves capable -- and lucky -- enough to succeed.

The film is a classic teen fantasy, where the teen is thrust into the role of adult, to great success. It is marketed with the tagline "No rules. No nagging. No curfew. No pulse."

The film also features Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, Josh Charles, Danielle Harris, and a then-obscure actor named David Duchovny, later of The X-Files fame. The original music score was composed by David Newman.

Single Mother goes away for the summer. The kids are first delighted but then find that Mom has hired the sitter from hell to stay with them. When the sitter dies of a sudden coronary they deposit the body at a mortuary only to discover all their Summer expense money was in her purse. The kids must find a way to survive the summer without mom or her money. This means actual work! Written by John Vogel

When Mrs. Crandell goes on a summer vacation to Australia, she leaves her 5 kids Sue Ellen, Kenny, Zach, Melissa, and Walter in the care of an elderly but cruel babysitter, Mrs. Sturak. When Mrs. Sturak dies, the kids load her body in a trunk and deposit the trunk on the front step of the local funeral home. The kids are ecstatic because they think that with the big wad of cash their mom has left behind, they can have a summer of consumer madness. But when they discover that the money has been buried with Mrs. Sturak, the kids have to fend for themselves to make ends meet. 17-year-old Sue Ellen tries working at a fast food restaurant, but she can't stand the grease, so she puts together a false resume and, posing as a woman in her 20s, she applies for a job as a receptionist at a garment manufacturing company. The company's vice president, Rose Lindsey, is so impressed by her resume that she hires her on the spot as her executive assistant. Her deception looks to be working out great -- Sue Ellen manages to hold off the office lady killer Gus, avoids exposure by the embittered receptionist, borrows money from the company's petty cash box for household incidentals, and continues a relationship with restaurant employee Bryan. But suddenly, the garment firm is set to go under, and Sue Ellen must use her teen fashion sense to save the company and her job, and she has to get her siblings involved. Written by Todd Baldridge

A single mom takes a vacation to Australia leaving Sue Ellen, Kenny and the rest of the kids behind. But what they didn't expect was a elderly, viscous babysitter that mom left to take care of them who's ready to make their lives miserable! But suddenly she passes away on the first night! Now the kids figure they can have the summer of their dreams, only they don't have any money for the basics like movies, dates, and pizza. Sue Ellen must find a job, but to make it in the adult world she has fake it from the top of her resume to the trip of her nail polish. If she succeeds, Sue Ellen and the kids are going to have a great summer they'll never forget...so long as they don't tell their mom the baby sitter's dead. Written by Anthony Pereyra

The misadventures of five siblings, whose mother goes off on a two month vacation, leaving them under the care of a geriatric babysitter. The babysitter dies, and the fun begins. The oldest sibling, Sue Ellen, is left to fend for her younger siblings, who fight her every step of the way. Written by pattisue