A Christmas Story (1983 film)
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A Christmas Story is a 1983 film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, including material from his books In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories. It was directed by Bob Clark.
Tagline: "A Tribute to the Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas..."
Plot summary
The film relates the tale of Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), who wants a BB gun for Christmas (specifically, "an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and 'this thing' which tells time") and will go to any lengths to get it despite the numerous adult admonitions, especially those of his mother, of "you'll shoot your eye out." Over the course of the film, Ralphie hides a Red Ryder advertisement in his mother's Look magazine, fibs about the spotting of grizzly bears in the neighborhood, blurts his desire outright, writes an essay on the subject, and asks an impatient Santa just as the department store closes. Ultimately, Ralphie's "Old Man" gives in and buys Ralphie his BB gun for Christmas, stating that he had one himself when he was 8 years old. Ralphie eagerly runs outside in his boots and pajamas to "try it out," but the BB ricochets off his glasses, injuring him slightly and briefly, but temporarily concerning him that he did not shoot his eye out.
Subplots
Several subplots are incorporated in the body of the film, based on other separate short stories by Shepherd. The most notable involves the Old Man (Darren McGavin) winning a "major award" (thanks to his wife supplying the winning answer of the name of The Lone Ranger's nephew's horse): a lamp shaped like a woman's leg wearing fishnet stockings, much to Mrs. Parker's displeasure. The leg was the logo of the contest's sponsor, the Nehi bottling company (this was not made clear in the movie.[1]).
Other vignettes, include:
Ralphie's friends Flick and Schwartz disputing over whether or not a person's tongue will stick to a frozen flagpole. Schwartzs gives Flick a "triple dog dare," and Flick's tongue gets stuck to the pole, much to his terror.
Ralphie receiving his Little Orphan Annie Secret Society decoder pin, and learning a lesson about being ripped off.
Ralphie and his friends dealing with the neighborhood bully, Scut Farkus (Zack Ward).
The Old Man's legendary battles with the aging and malfunctioning furnace.
Ralphie letting slip the dreaded "f-dash-dash-dash" word and later falsely blaming his friend, Schwartz.
The next door neighbors', the Bumpuses, numerous smelly and bothersome hound dogs.
Several fantasy sequences depict Ralphie's daydreams of glory and vindication, including the vanquishing of prison-striped villains, an extremely good grade for his written theme about the BB gun, and parental remorse over a case of "soap poisoning."
Major credits
The movie was written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark. Shepherd provides the movie's narration from the perspective of an adult Ralphie, a narrative style later used in the dramedy The Wonder Years. Shepherd also has a cameo appearance in the department store scene, as the man who directs Ralphie and Randy to the end of the line. Director Clark has a cameo as Swede, the neighbor who questions the Old Man about the Leg Lamp.
Cast
Darren McGavin as The Old Man (Mr. Parker) - Ralphie's dad is at the center of the Major Award vignette, and is depicted using colorful nonsensical invective. His first name is never revealed.
Melinda Dillon as Mrs. Parker - Ralphie's mom is the primary dispenser of the oft-repeated phrase, "You'll shoot your eye out."
Peter Billingsley as Ralphie Parker - the film's protagonist, a nine year old imaginative dreamer
Ian Petrella as Randy Parker - Ralphie's younger brother, who will not eat his meatloaf
Scott Schwartz as Flick - Ralphie's friend, who learns about tongues and cold metal the hard way
R.D. Robb as Schwartz - Ralphie's other friend, on whom Ralphie pins the blame for him knowing "the f-dash-dash-dash word"
Tedde Moore as Miss Shields - Ralphie's fourth grade teacher, the only on-screen character played by the same actor in the sequel, My Summer Story
Zack Ward as Scut Farkus - the neighborhood bully, who torments Ralphie and his friends en route to and from school
Yano Anaya as Grover Dill - Scut's toadie, who is promoted to main bully in My Summer Story
Jeff Gillen as Santa Claus - the rather frightening and cranky department store incarnation of "the Head Honcho," who delivers the last blow to Ralphie's hope for a BB gun
Jean Shepherd as adult Ralphie - the narrator. (Also has an on-screen cameo; see above.)
Drew Hocevar: As Christmas Elf, he pushes Ralphie down the slide at Higbees.
In the DVD commentary, director Bob Clark mentions that Jack Nicholson was considered for the role of the Old Man; Clark expresses gratitude that he ended up with Darren McGavin instead, who also appeared in several other Clark films. He cast Melinda Dillon on the basis of her similar role in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Peter Billingsley was already a minor star from co-hosting the TV series Real People; Clark initially wanted him for the role of Ralphie, but decided he was "too obvious" a choice and auditioned many other young actors before realizing that Billingsley was the right one after all. Ian Petrella was cast immediately before filming began. Tedde Moore had previously appeared in Clark's film Murder by Decree, and Jeff Gillen was an old friend of Clark's who had been in one of his earliest films.[2]
History and related works
Three of the semi-autobiographical short stories on which the film is based were originally published by Playboy magazine in 1964 – 1966.[3] Shepherd later read "Duel in the Snow, or Red Ryder nails the Cleveland Street Kid" and told the otherwise unpublished story "Flick's Tongue" on his WOR Radio talk show, as can be heard in one of the DVD extras.[4] Bob Clark states on the DVD commentary that he became interested in Shepherd's work when he heard "Flick's Tongue" on the radio in 1968. Additional source material for the film, according to Clark, came from unpublished anecdotes Shepherd told live audiences "on the college circuit."[2]
Initially overlooked as a sleeper film, A Christmas Story was released a week before Thanksgiving 1983 to moderate success, earning about $2 million in its first weekend.[5] Critics generally supported the film. Leonard Maltin proclaimed it a "Top screen comedy,"[6] while Roger Ebert proclaimed it "Funny and satirical...a sort of Norman Rockwell crossed with MAD magazine."[6] The film would go on to win two Genie Awards, for Bob Clark's screenplay and direction.[7] Years later, Ebert would re-evaluate the film, this time more favorably, writing that "some of the movie sequences stand as classic."[7]
By Christmas '83, however, the movie was no longer playing at most venues, but remained in about a hundred theaters until January '84.[2] Gross earnings were just over $19.2 million.[5] In the years since, due to television airings and home video release, A Christmas Story has become widely popular and is now a perennial Christmas special. Originally released by MGM; Time Warner (through Turner Entertainment Co.) now has ownership of the film due to Ted Turner's purchase of MGM's pre-1985 library and Time Warner's subsequent purchase of Turner Entertainment. However, it should be noted that producer-director Bob Clark is said to still hold 20% of the film's rights.
Television
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the film began airing quietly on SuperStation WTBS and Superstation WGN.[8] From 1988-1992, the film had a short-lived tradition of airing Thanksgiving night (or the night after Thanksgiving) to open the holiday television season. In 1988, then-fledgling FOX aired the movie the night after Thanksgiving.[8] In 1989-1990, TBS showed it Thanksgiving night, while in 1991-1992, they aired it the night after.[8]
Turner maintained ownership of the broadcast rights, and by the mid-1990s, began airing the movie increasingly on TBS, TNT and TCM. By 1995, it was aired on those networks a combined six times over December 24-25-26,[8] and in 1996, it was aired eight times over those three days.[8]
Due to the increasing popularity of the film, in 1997 TNT began airing a 24-hour marathon dubbed "24 Hours of A Christmas Story," consisting of the film shown twelve consecutive times beginning at 7 or 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve and ending Christmas Day.[8] This was in addition to various other airings earlier in the month of December. In 2004, after TNT switched to a predominantly drama format, sister network TBS took over the marathon. Clark has stated that one year, an estimated 38.4 million people tuned into the marathon at one point or another, nearly one sixth of the country.[2]
In 2007, the original traditional was revived, as TNT aired the film twice the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. According to TBS.com, the 24-hour marathon will continue for the eleventh year, starting at 8 p.m. eastern.[9]
Subsequent works
A movie sequel involving Ralphie and his family, called My Summer Story (alternate title It Runs in the Family) was made in 1994, featuring an almost entirely different cast. A series of television movies involving the Parker family, also from Shepherd stories, was made by PBS, including Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss, The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters, and The Phantom of the Open Hearth.
In the year 2000, an authorized stage play adaptation of A Christmas Story was written by Philip Grecian and is produced widely each Christmas season. In 2003, Broadway Books published the five Jean Shepherd short stories from which the movie and stage play were adapted in a single volume under the title A Christmas Story (ISBN 0-7679-1622-0), with stories including: "Duel in the Snow, or Red Ryder nails the Cleveland Street Kid", "The Counterfeit Secret Circle Member Gets the Message, or The Asp Strikes Again", "My Old Man and the Lascivious Special Award that Heralded the Birth of Pop Art", "Grover Dill and the Tasmanian Devil", and "The Grandstand Passion Play of Delbert and the Bumpus Hounds". This collection was also released as an audio book (ISBN 0-7393-1674-5), read by Dick Cavett.
The book Excelsior, You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd (2005, ISBN 0-55783-600-0), has several sections which comment on the movie A Christmas Story.
Home releases
Betamax (1985)
VHS (1985, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000)
Laserdisc (1985): pan & scan
Laserdisc (1993): Delux letterbox edition
DVD (1997): pan & scan
DVD (2000): widescreen; includes original theatrical trailer
20th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition DVD (2003): Widescreen; includes cast interviews, audio commentary, and featurettes.
HD DVD (2006)
Blu-ray (2006)
DVD (2007) widescreen
Settings
Locations
Main article: A Christmas Story House
The front of the Christmas house where Ralphie was filmed, in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland's west sideThe movie is set in fictional Hohman, Indiana, based on Hammond, Indiana, where writer Jean Shepherd grew up. The name is drawn from Hammond's early settlers, Ernst and Caroline Hohman. [10] Local references in the film include Higbee's department store, Warren G. Harding Elementary School, and Cleveland Street (where Shepherd spent his childhood years). Other Indiana references in the dialogue include a mention of a person "swallowing a yo-yo" in nearby Griffith, Indiana[11], the Old man's obscentites "hanging in a cloud over Lake Michigan," a mention of the Indianapolis 500, and the line to Santa Claus "streching all the way to Terre Haute."
The school scenes were shot at the Victoria School in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The school was sold to developers in 2005 and has been remodeled into a women's shelter. The Christmas tree purchasing scene was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, as it was the only location that still used red PCC streetcars - in fact, TTC streetcars can be seen during the scene. Ralphie beating up the neighbourhood bully was also filmed in Toronto, as was the soundstage filming of interior shots of the Parker home.[12] The St. Catharines' Museum owns some props used in the film, including two pairs of Ralphie's glasses (one of which is the smashed pair), and two scripts.
Director Bob Clark reportedly sent location scouts to twenty cities before selecting Cleveland, Ohio, as the principal site for filming. Higbee's department store in downtown Cleveland was the stage for three scenes in A Christmas Story. The first is the opening scene in which Ralphie first spies the Red Ryder BB Gun. The second is the parade scene, filmed just outside Higbee’s, on Public Square, at 3 AM. The final scene is Ralphie and Randy’s visit to see Santa which was filmed inside Higbee’s. Higbee’s kept the Santa slide that was made for the movie and used it for several years after the movie’s release. Higbee's was known for decades as a cornerstone of Public Square, as well as for its elaborate child-centered Christmas themes and decorations (e.g. the Twigbee Shop [1]), with Santa as the centerpiece, until the store, which became Dillard's in 1992, closed for good in 2002.[13] Higbee's was exclusive to Northeast Ohio -- there were no Higbee's stores in Shepherd's hometown. As such, he was most likely referring to Goldblatts in downtown Hammond (with the Cam-Lan Chinese Restaurant three doors down on Sibley Ave.)
The exterior shots (and select interior shots, including the opening of the leg lamp) of the house and neighborhood where Ralphie lived were filmed in the Tremont section of Cleveland's West Side. The house used as the Parker home in these scenes has been restored, reconfigured inside to match the soundstage interiors, and opened to the public as A Christmas Story House. The "...only I didn't say fudge" scene was filmed just down the street from the house.
Vehicles
Cleveland car buffs donated a number of vintage vehicles for use in the film, which helped to enhance the authenticity of the production despite a limited budget. During filming in downtown Cleveland, members of a local antique automobile club, following a preset route, repeatedly circled the square. At the end of filming each day, the cars were washed under pressure to remove road salt, and parked underground beneath the Terminal Tower.[citation needed]
The Parkers' car was a Model 6, four-door Oldsmobile sedan from 1937.
Dating the story
Based on references to popular culture in the film, the story takes place no earlier than 1939, when the MGM film The Wizard of Oz came out, and no later than 1940, the last year that Ovaltine had sponsorship of the Little Orphan Annie radio broadcasts.[14][15] The World War II time frame is consistent with the presence of shoppers in military uniforms peering into the display window, which contained a toy tank. It is also seen that at one scene in the movie, Ralphie's father wears a Royal Air Force issue flight cap, indicating that the movie takes place in late 1940s and that Mr. Parker was probably a volunteer American pilot for the RAF. The most likely year is 1940, because Ralphie's new Radio Orphan Annie decoder pin is the 1940 model.[16] This dating is slightly later than author Jean Shepherd's own childhood (he was 19 years old in 1940) but earlier than that of director Bob Clark (who was born in 1939). However, it should be noted that Shepherd was age 10 in 1931, while Clark was age 10 in 1949 - a separation of 18 years. If the consensus between Shepherd and Clark was to find a "middle-ground" for their youths, they may well have divided the difference in half (9), then added that amount of years to the earliest date (1931), thereby arriving at 1940.
The Red Ryder BB gun was available during this period and for many years afterward, but never in the exact configuration mentioned in the film.[17]
Despite the many props and other references to this era, however, one can find the occasional anachronism, such as Scut Farkus (and the Old Man in a fantasy sequence) wearing a coonskin cap, a piece of apparel more evocative of the 1950s. Also, the police car (which can be seen through the classroom window) that responds to the stuck tongue is a 1947 Chevrolet. Ralphie's parents at one point are talking in the living room while the Bing Crosby/Andrews Sisters version of "Jingle Bells" - recorded in 1942- is heard on the radio, and so on. Such fuzziness of dating may be seen as a way to generalize the nostalgia for Ralphie's childhood as applying to other time periods as well. As Clark states in the commentary: "I set it in my mind as basically close to World War II. 1940 is my idea of when it is. That's when the cars are set for.... It's amorphously later Thirties, early Forties."[2]
Music
The mock heroic tone of the narration, filled with such hyperbole as "the legendary battle of the lamp", is matched by the extensive use of familiar classical music themes. For example, when the character Scut Farkas appears, the Wolf's theme from Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf plays in the background. (The name "Farkas" is derived from the Hungarian word for "wolf.") The piece that plays after Ralphie says "fudge", and after the lamp breaks for the second time, is the opening of Hamlet by Tchaikovsky. The Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofe is featured prominently in the movie. Movement 3- On The Trail provides a suitable Western feeling to a Red Ryder rifle fantasy sequence, and bits of Movement 1 [Sunrise] and Movement 4 [Sunset] were also freely arranged and adapted throughout the score. The music in the dream sequence with Ralphie in a cowboy outfit shooting at bandits and later when he finally plays with his BB gun outside of the house is based on the main theme from the classic John Ford western Stagecoach (1939). The Harp Solo from Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols" is briefly excerpted for the scene in which Ralphie awakens to a snowy Christmas morning.
Popular music of the time was also used, ostensibly as coming from the radio. This included three Christmas songs sung by Bing Crosby, two of them in conjunction with the Andrews Sisters.
Original music for the film's score was by Carl Zittrer, who worked with director Bob Clark on at least ten films between 1972 and 1998; and by Paul Zaza, who has worked with Clark on at least sixteen films, including Murder by Decree (1979) and My Summer Story (1994).
Merchandise
In the past several years, several companies have produced and sold merchandise relating to the film.
Since 2005, Department 56 has released A Christmas Story collectible village and figurines.
Christmas ornaments have been released by several companies, available at such stores as Hallmark and Carlton Cards.
Several companies manufacture replica leg lamps as seen in the movie.
There is A Christmas Story Monopoly release.
Parodies and homages
The television show The Wonder Years was inspired by the film. The show, set in the 1970's, centered on its young male character, Kevin Arnold and his experiences growing up. It was narrated by an older, wiser Kevin (voiced by Daniel Stern), describing what is happening and what he learned from his experiences. Peter Billingsley makes a guest appearance as one of Kevin's roommates on the series finale.
The Starz cable network has an animated online parody of the film entitled "A Christmas Story in 30 Seconds (and Re-enacted by Bunnies)", produced in 2005 by Jennifer Shiman.[18]
For the 2006 Christmas season, Cingular Wireless commissioned a television commercial that featured a condensed version of the film's story where the lead character has a similar obsession with getting a particular type of Motorola cell phone. The repeated admonition is "You'll run the bill up!" (the commercial is for a prepaid service).
On the December 21, 2006 edition of TNA iMPACT!, professional wrestler Eric Young walked around carrying a leg lamp similar to the "major award" featured in the film. He also brought it with him for his match on the next night's Xplosion.
On the ESPN sports talk show Pardon the Interruption, a leg lamp similar to the "major award" appears in the background.
In the The Powerpuff Girls Christmas episode "'Twas the Fight before Christmas", first aired October 7, 2003, Buttercup wants an air rifle similar to Ralphie's. Princess Morbucks tells her "You'll shoot your eye out."
The Flash animation "A Fairly Stoopid Christmas Story" by animator Thorne Winter as appears on Newgrounds contains several comedic elements relating to "A Christmas Story", and is a semi-parody.[2]
A series of passwords from The Lost Vikings II (specifically, the pirate-themed levels) spell out "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine", the message on the Little Orphan Annie show in the film.
In a special Christmas episode of MythBusters, the plot of the "triple dog dare" was tested. It was found to be true: it is possible to get one's tongue stuck to a pole and have difficulty getting it off.
the triple dog dare scene was parodied in an episode of South Park, and Epic Movie.
Pop-Punk band, Fall Out Boy, have a song titled Yule Shoot Your Eye Out.
References
1 Shepherd, Jean [1966]. "My Old Man And The Lascivious Special Award That Heralded The Birth Of Pop Art", In God We Trust All Others Pay Cash (Mass Market Paperback), Bantam Books, 63.
2 a b c d e Bob Clark and Peter Billingsley. Audio Commentary: A Christmas Story [DVD special feature]. MGM.
3 Shepherd, Jean (2003). A Christmas Story. New York: Broadway Books, indicia. ISBN 0-7679-1622-0.
4 Warner Home Video. Radio Readings by Jean Shepherd [DVD extra]. Warner Video.
5 a b "IMDb Box Office/Business", IMDb, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
6 a b "New York Times movie listings - Microfilm", The New York Times, November 25, 1983. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
7 a b Ebert, Roger (2005). The Great Movies II. New York: Broadway Books, 103-107. ISBN 0-7679-1950-5.
8 a b c d e f "Orlando Sentinel Television Listings", Orlando Sentinel, 1987-2001. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
9 "Featured Movie: A Christmas Story (1983)", TBS.com, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
10 Hammond City History - TIME LINE: 1850 to 1880. HammondIndiana.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.
11 Famous Hammond Personalities: Jean Shepherd. HammondIndiana.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
12 A Christmas Story. Movie Rewind. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
13 Higbees. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
14 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovaltine
15 LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE. Radio Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
16 Olsen, John. A short history of Radio's Orphan Annie and her Decoder Badges.. First Generation Radio Archives. First Generation Radio Archives. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
17 Warner Home Video. Daisy Red Ryder: A History [DVD extra]. Warner Video.
18 Shiman, Jennifer; Angry Alien Productions (2005). A Christmas Story in 30 Seconds (and Re-enacted by Bunnies) (Macromedia Flash). A Christmas Story Parody in Bun-O-Vision. Starz on Demand. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Story
