A Christmas Story (1983) - Plot Summary - IMDb A Christmas Story (1983) Plot Summary Showing all 6 plot summaries Christmas is approaching and 9 year-old Ralphie wants only one thing: a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun. When he mentions it at the dinner table, his mother's immediate reaction is that he'll put his eye out. He then decides on a perfect theme for his teacher but her reaction is like his. He fantasizes about what it would be like to be Red Ryder and catch the bad guys. When the big day arrives he gets lots of present under the tree including a lovely gift from his aunt that his mother just adores. But what about the BB gun? - Written by garykmcd Adult Ralph Parker is remembering back to a Christmas season when he was nine years old living with his parents and his younger brother Randy in the northern Indiana town of Holman. Then largely known as Ralphie, he, like most kids, loved Christmas, his favorite time of the year. He often fantasized about things that he knows now would never happen, but that within a kid's mind is totally plausible.

That Christmas was memorable for: his contest-obsessed father winning a prize for the first time in his life, that prize which would be the bane of Ralphie's mother's existence; his father's seemingly never-ending battle with the furnace in the house and the neighbor's pack of dogs; his mother's attempts to get Randy to eat, he at a stage when he never ate anything voluntarily; Ralphie's changing view toward the Little Orphan Annie radio program and commercial advertising; Ralphie and his friends Schwartz and Flick's changing battle with Scut Farkus and Grover Dill, their primary bullies; the triple dog dare Schwartz issued to Flick; and Ralphie's new relationship with Lifebuoy soap. But most memorable was what he wanted more than anything for Christmas: an official Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle, aka a BB gun.

As it looked increasingly like he was not going to get this prized gift, Ralphie went about trying to manipulate and outwit those he thought would either be the decision makers or influencers of that gift, namely his parents, his teacher, Miss Shields, and the big guy at the North Pole, even if he was in the form of a less than empathetic department store version. - Written by Huggo Ralphie, a young boy growing up, dreams of owning a Red Rider BB gun. He sets out to convince the world this is the perfect gift. But along the way, he runs into opposition from his parents, his teacher, and even good ol' Santa Claus himself. - Written by Angela Anuszewski <axa143@psu.edu> It's 1940, in the northern Indiana town of Hohman. 9-year-old Ralph "Ralphie" Parker wants only one thing for Christmas -- an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model BB rifle with a compass in the stock. Between his younger brother Randy and having to handle school bully Scut Farkus, Ralphie doesn't know how he'll ever survive long enough to get the BB gun for Christmas.

When Ralph asks his mother for a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, she says, "No, you'll shoot your eye out". When Mrs. Shields, Ralph's teacher at Harding Elementary School, assigns the class to write a theme about what they want for Christmas, Ralph sees a golden opportunity to express his desire to have a Red Ryder BB gun. Ralph gets a C+ on the theme, and Mrs. Shields has written "You'll shoot your eye out" on the theme. Ralph's next plan is to ask Santa Claus for a Red Ryder BB gun, and how does Santa respond? By saying "You'll shoot your eye out, kid." By this time, Ralph has had enough of that. When Scut Farkus and his sidekick Grover Dill start in on Ralph while he's on his way home from school that day, Ralph knocks Grover Dill to the ground, beats Scut's face bloody, and then pounds Scut's head on the snow-covered ground several times. Ralph thinks he'll never get the BB gun for Christmas now. And all of the other kids are going to be getting what they want for Christmas. But someone may have planned a surprise for Ralph.

- Written by Scott Francis It's Christmas time and there's only one thing on Ralphie Parker's Christmas list this year: a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-Shot, Range Model Air Rifle, but many obstacles stand in the way of his dream because every adult that he confronts keeps telling him he'll shoot his eye out. Meanwhile The Old Man just got a major award (a lamp shaped like a woman's leg), and Mom is making sure The Old Man doesn't come near her turkey, Ralphie's friend gets his tongue stuck to a flag pole, and Ralphie utters the f-word in front of his father. Christmas is drawing nearer and Ralphie visits Santa at the department store in hopes of asking him for his dream gift. Will he receive it? Let's hope so. A Christmas Story | Christmas Specials Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Amazon Instant Video This article is about the 1983 movie. For other specials with the same title, see A Christmas Story (disambiguation) .

A Christmas Story is a 1983 American/Canadian comedy 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. Directed by Bob Clark, the film has since become a holiday classic and is known for being shown numerous times on television during the Christmas season. In 2012, the Library of Congress recognized the film and was chosen for preservation into its National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." [1] Contents Synopsis SPOILER: Plot details or story follow. The film is set in the fictional city of Hohman (based on real-life city of Hammond, Indiana).

9-year-old Ralph "Ralphie" Parker wants only one thing for Christmas: "an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time." Between run-ins with his younger brother Randy and having to handle school bully Scut Farkus, and his sidekick Grover Dill, Ralphie does not know how he will ever survive long enough to get the BB gun for Christmas. Ralphie Parker, the film's protagonist. The plot revolves around Ralphie's overcoming a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to his owning the precious Red Ryder BB gun: the fear that he will shoot his eye out (the classic BB gun mother's block, "You'll shoot your eye out.") In each of the film's three acts, Ralphie makes his case to another individual; each time he is met by the same retort. When Ralphie asks his mother for a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, she says, "No, you'll shoot your eye out." Next, when Ralphie writes a theme about wanting the BB gun for Mrs. Shields, his teacher at Warren G. Harding Elementary School, Ralphie gets a C+, and Mrs.

Shields writes "P.S. You'll shoot your eye out" on it. Finally, when Ralphie asks an obnoxious department store Santa Claus for a Red Ryder BB gun, he responds, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid. Merry Christmas! Ho, ho, ho!", before pushing Ralphie down a long slide with his boot. One day after he gets the C+ on his composition, Ralphie is struck in the face with a snowball thrown at him by the bully Scut Farkus who then begins to tease and taunt Ralphie. Ralphie finally reaches his breaking point and then charges at Farkus knocking him down, and after knocking down Grover Dill, who tries to intervene for his pal, proceeds to beat Scut's face bloody. During the fight, Ralphie begins to swear non-stop as he lands blow after blow to the squealing Farkus. Ralphie's mother shows up and pulls her son off the bully, and takes him home. This part of the film occurs shortly after a scene where Ralphie gets into trouble for swearing while helping his father fix a flat tire.

Ralphie is worried about the swearing and is sure he will be in big trouble when his father gets home from work. Instead, Ralphie's mother tells his father about the fight casually at the dinner table. She then changes the subject of the conversation to an upcoming Chicago Bears game, distracting his father and getting Ralphie off the hook in the process. On Christmas morning, Ralphie looks frantically for a box that would hold the BB gun to no avail. He and his brother have quite a few presents, but he is disappointed because he did not get the gun. His disappointment turns to joy as his father points out one last half-hidden present, ostensibly from Santa. As Ralphie unwraps the BB gun, Mr. Parker explains the purchase to his none-too-thrilled wife, stating that he had one himself when he was 8 years old. Ralphie goes out to test his new gun, shooting at a paper target perched on top of a metal sign, and predictably gets a ricochet from the metal sign. This ricochet ends up hitting just below his eye, which causes him to flinch and lose his glasses. While searching for the glasses, Ralphie ends up stepping on them, breaking them.

However, he concocts a story to his mother about an icicle falling on him and breaking his glasses, which she believes. Suddenly, a horde of the next door neighbor's dogs, which frequently bother Ralphie's father, manages to get into the house, trash the kitchen and eat the turkey that was prepared for that evening's meal. Making a last-minute decision, Ralphie's father takes everyone out to a Chinese restaurant where they have a hilarious time eating what the narrator calls "Chinese Turkey" (in reality, Peking Duck, cooked complete with the head). At the end of the story, we see Ralphie lying in bed on Christmas night with his gun by his side. Randy is holding the toy zeppelin he received. The voiceover states that this was the best present he received or would ever receive. 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 winning a "major award." He entered a trivia contest out of the newspaper, which asked for the name of The Lone Ranger's nephew's horse (thanks to his wife, who supplied the answer: Victor).

A large crate arrived and inside was a lamp shaped like a woman's leg wearing fishnet stockings, much to Mrs. Parker's displeasure. Just two days later, Mrs. Parker broke the lamp, infuriating the Old Man. The leg was the logo of the contest's sponsor, the Nehi bottling company (the details of the contest were not necessarily made clear in the movie). Other vignettes include: Ralphie's friends Flick and Schwartz disputing over whether a person's tongue will stick to a frozen flagpole. Schwartz ultimately issues Flick a "triple dog dare" (the most serious of those used by the kids), and Flick's tongue gets stuck to the pole, much to his terror. A suction tube within the flagpole was used to simulate the freezing of Flick's tongue to the pole. Ralphie receiving his Secret Society decoder pin from the Little Orphan Annie radio show. After weeks of anxious waiting, and missing out on the daily "secret message" (which to a kid appeared very important) Ralphie finally is able to participate. *However, he learns a lesson in being ripped off, as the secret message turned out to be an Ovaltine radio commercial.

Ralphie and his friends dealing with the neighborhood bully, Scotty Farkus (Zack Ward). The Old Man's legendary battles with the aging and malfunctioning furnace. Ralphie letting slip the dreaded "Queen Mother of Dirty Words", the "F-dash-dash-dash word" (censored with the word "Fudge" after his father knocks a hubcap from his hands, spilling its contents, the lug nuts from a flat tire) and later, when asked where he'd heard the bad word, falsely blaming his friend, Schwartz, and not pointing out that his father utters the word daily. After Ralphie's mother telephones Schwartz's mother to inform her that her son had been responsible for passing along the bad word to Ralphie, we hear Schwartz getting what appears to be the thrashing of his life at the hands of his hysterical mother. Ralphie himself gets a bar of soap in the mouth for saying the word. To keep it censored, Billingsly says "fudge" on camera (the narration points out that he really didn't say "fudge").

The numerous smelly and bothersome bloodhounds of the next door neighbors, the Bumpuses, including the dogs destroying the Christmas turkey (prompting the family to go out and have Peking duck instead, resulting in a giggling fit by the mother and the boys). Several fantasy sequences depict Ralphie's daydreams of glory and vindication, including the vanquishing of a small army of villains dressed in stereotypical burglar costume of flat caps, black masks and striped shirts with his Red Ryder BB gun obtaining his parents' gratitude, an extremely good grade for his written theme about the BB gun, and parental remorse over a case of "soap poisoning" (related to his cursing). Mrs. Parker's misadventures in overly bundling Randy up for the winter weather by wrapping him in sweaters and a jacket so tightly he is unable to put his arms down, then Randy getting inadvertently knocked down and unable to get up under his own power (his only defense when they are confronted by Scotty Farkus.) Randy's refusal to eat a meal on his own incites hilarity between him and his mother at the dinner table. Spoilers end here.

Drew Hocevar One of the Two Christmas Elves 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. Shepherd provides the movie's narration from the perspective of an adult Ralphie, a narrative style later used in the dramedy The Wonder Years . The film's writers, Jean Shepherd and Bob Clark.

have cameo appearances in the film; Shepherd plays the man who directed Ralphie and Randy to the back of the Santa line, and Clark plays Swede, the neighbor the Old Man was talking to outside during the Leg Lamp scene. History and related works Origin Three of the semi-autobiographical short stories on which the film is based were originally published in Playboy magazine between 1964 and 1966. 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. 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." Critical reception 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. Critics were severely divided on the film, with the majority of reviews on the negative side.

Leonard Maltin proclaimed it a "Top screen comedy," while Roger Ebert proclaimed it "Funny and satirical ... a sort of Norman Rockwell crossed with MAD magazine. Vincent Canby's mostly negative New York Times review echoed the more common response. Critics seemed focused on the fact that Bob Clark, director of the critically reviled Porky's was the man behind the camera, and could not grasp the concept of Clark coming up with an instant classic like A Christmas Story The film would go on to win two Genie Awards, for Bob Clark's screenplay and direction. Years later, Ebert would re-evaluate the film, this time more favorably, writing that "some of the movie sequences stand as classic." By Christmas 1983, the film was no longer playing at most venues, but remained in about a hundred theaters until January 1984. Gross earnings were just over $19.2 million. 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, Warner Bros.

(through Turner Entertainment Co.) now has ownership of the film due to Ted Turner's purchase of MGM's pre-1986 library and Time Warner's subsequent purchase of Turner Entertainment. Television A Christmas Story first aired on television on HBO during the mid-eighties and quickly attracted a growing following. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the film began airing quietly on then-SuperStation WTBS and WGN America (then known as Superstation WGN). From 1988 to 1992, the film had a short-lived tradition of airing on the American Thanksgiving night (or the night after Thanksgiving) to open the holiday television season. In 1988, then-fledgling FOX network aired the movie the night after Thanksgiving. In 1989 and 1990, TBS showed it on Thanksgiving night, and in 1991 and 1992, they aired it the night after.

Turner, now a part of Time Warner 's umbrella of cable networks, has maintained ownership of the broadcast rights, and since the mid-1990s, 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, and in 1996, it was aired eight times over those three days. 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. 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, under its comedy-based "Very Funny" moniker, took over the broadcast rights for the marathon. Clark stated that in 2002, an estimated 38.4 million people tuned into the marathon at one point or another, nearly one sixth of the country.

TBS reported 45.4 million viewers in 2005, and 45.5 million in 2006. In 2007, new all-time ratings records were set, with the highest single showing (8 p.m. Christmas Eve) drawing 4.4 million viewers. Viewership increased again in 2008, with 8 p.m. Christmas Eve drawing 4.5 million viewers, and 10 p.m. drawing 4.3 million. In 2007, the original tradition was revived as TNT aired A Christmas Story twice the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend (November 25). In 2011, the 24-hour marathon is scheduled to continue on TBS, for the 15th overall year, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Christmas Eve. Home video releases Settings Locations The movie is set in a fictional town in Indiana, strongly resembling Hammond, Indiana where writer Jean Shepherd grew up. Local references in the film include 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, the Old Man being one of the fiercest "furnace fighters in northern Indiana" and that his obscenities were "hanging in space over Lake Michigan," a mention of the Indianapolis 500, and the line to Santa Claus "stretching all the way to Terre Haute." The Old Man is also revealed to be a fan of the Bears (who he jokingly calls the "Chicago Chipmunks") and White Sox, consistent with living in northwest Indiana. 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 neighborhood bully was also filmed in Toronto, as was the soundstage filming of interior shots of the Parker home. 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), with Santa as the centerpiece, until the store, which became Dillard's in 1992, closed for good in 2002.

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 parade was filmed at night for one reason. The producers wanted to film during day, but at this time, the BP Tower was under construction and during the daytime you could see the 1960s Erieview Tower and Federal Building from the Public Square. 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 at the foot of Cherry Street in Toronto. In 2008, two fans from Canada released a fan film documentary that visits every location used in the movie.

Their film, Road Trip for Ralphie, was shot over two years and includes footage of the film makers saving Miss Shields's black board from the dumpster on the day the old Victoria School was gutted for renovation, discovering the antique fire truck that saved Flick, locating all the original costumes from the movie and tracking down the real-life location of the movie's Chop Suey Palace in Toronto. Many years after the film was shot one of the old schools used in St. Catharines was demolished. During demolition, one of the movie scripts was found in the bleachers. It had scribbling on it from the directors. Vehicles Cleveland car buffs donated the use of a number of vintage vehicles for 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 thoroughly washed to remove road salt, and parked underground beneath the Terminal Tower. The Parker family car was a 1937 Oldsmobile Model F-37 four-door trunkback sedan.

It is made clear early on the Old Man's bittersweet relationship with his car, as revealed in the lines: "Some men are Baptist, others Catholic; my father was an Oldsmobile man;" "That hot damn Olds has froze up again;" "That [SOB] would freeze up in the middle of summer on the equator!". Transit fans will notice several Toronto pcc streetcars in a couple scenes. Ralphie's Red Ryder BB Gun The Red Ryder BB gun was available beginning in 1938 and for many years afterward (and indeed, still is), but never in the exact configuration mentioned in the film. The Daisy "Buck Jones" model did have a compass and a sundial in the stock, but these features were not included in the Red Ryder model. The compass and sundial were placed on Ralphie's BB gun but on the opposite side of the stock due to Billingsly being left-handed. Tributes and parodies In a segment produced for A Very Cartoon Cartoon Fridays Holiday Special , Dexter dares Johnny Bravo to stick his tongue on the TV monitors behind them, because Johnny thinks his tongue will not stick to them.

In another segment of the broadcast, Chicken complains that he did not get the BB gun that he wanted, to which everyone replies, "You'll shoot your eye out!" At the beginning of The Powerpuff Girls Christmas special, 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas , Buttercup worries that she will not get an official Red Raider carbine-action two-hundred-shot range-model air rifle. Princess Morbucks responds, "Who would want a stupid old BB gun? Besides, you'll shoot your eye out." In the Back at the Barnyard Christmas episode, It's an Udderful Life , Eugene "Snotty Boy" Beadie wants a Red Ryder Reindeer Tazer as his Christmas gift. Ralphie and the kid with goggles make a cameo in Grace Goodwin 's flashback in Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice . Dating the story Director Bob Clark stated in the film's commentary CD that he and author Shepherd wished for the movie to be seen as "amorphously late 30's, early 40's." The film is not specifically about a given year, it is about a particular time in American family life.

The film appears to be set roughly around the tail end of the Great Depression but before the United States involvement in World War II. There are references throughout the film that viewers enjoy linking to particular years, and if one connects a reference to a particular year, the movie can be "dated" as being as early as 1935 or as late as 1947. Some of the other "year clues" include - but are by no means limited to - the following: 1935: In the scene where Ralphie and his friends peer into the Higbee's toy store window, Lionel's model of the Union Pacific M-10000 can be seen running around a loop of track. That model was made from 1935-1941. Pre-1937: The tin Zeppelin mentioned in the original story ("it rolls and it beeps"), and appearing unremarked under the Christmas tree. Zeppelin travel ended for all intents and purposes with the Hindenburg disaster on May 6, 1937. 1937: Reference in the newspaper quiz to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , released by Disney that year.

Snow White can also be seen in the Higbee's window. The Parker family car. 1938: The color comics on Christmas Day - implying a Sunday. Christmas fell on a Sunday in 1938. 1939: Characters from The Wizard of Oz , released that year, appear in the Christmas parade. 1940: The license plates on the cars are silver (white) on a black field. Those were the colors of the Indiana license plates that year. Each year, Ovaltine brought out a different model for this decoder ring. The Radio Orphan Annie secret decoder model used in the movie is the 1940 model. The Red Ryder Daisy BB gun with "Golden Bands" was offered only in the first year of its manufacture. Christmas 1940 would be accurate for the Goden Band model. Scenes in the movie clearly show the rifle had golden bands. Additionally the 1940 Daisy pre-Christmas ads shown in the movie feature the gold banded rifle. In short the Red Ryder Daisy with "gold bands" ties the movie to Christmas 1940.

1943: The Bing Crosby/Andrews Sisters recordings of "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" are both very clearly heard on the living room radio (both recorded on September 27, 1943). 1946: Ralphie's father complains in the movie that "the Sox traded Bullfrog!" which is a reference to Chicago White Sox pitcher Bill Dietrich, who was in fact released from the Sox, not traded, in 1946. 1947: The police car in the schoolyard scene. Many other "year specific" references can be found in the film, as 1939-40 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). While Shepherd was age 10 in 1931, 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. These minor contradictory items only indicate what director Bob Clark said in his commentary, as previously stated above: The film is set in the "amorphously later Thirties, early Forties." The movie is intended as a credible, warm and thoroughly inviting memory of an innocent American Christmas around the World War II era. The individual viewer can elect to "date" the film to any year they wish, but for whatever year they choose, many contradictions occur within the film, and this fits exactly with the writer and directors idea of "around 1940". Sequel In 1994, a sequel with the same characters, but none of the same cast, was released. Titled It Runs In The Family (or My Summer Story), it told some further adventures of Ralphie and his family. While available on DVD, both it and its connection to the holiday classic are nearly unknown.

A more direct sequel, a direct-to-video film titled A Christmas Story 2 , was released by Warner Bros. on October 30, 2012. Soundtrack Ralphie's Revenge & the "F" Word Joy To the World & Silent Night The Bumpus Hounds Make Their Rounds Glorious, Beautiful Christmas (closing credits music) Silent Night - Mormon Tabernacle Choir A Christmas Story House Home Hunting The house that was used as the Parker residence is located in Cleveland, Ohio For the film adaptation of these stories, Bob Clark chose Cleveland, Ohio because of Higbee's Department Store. Scouts had been unsuccessful in finding a department store that was willing to be part of the film. Higbee's vice president Bruce Campbell agreed to take on the project on the condition he be allowed to edit the script for cursing (namely "the Queen Mother of Dirty Words"). Appropriately, the fictional boyhood home of Ralphie Parker is on Cleveland Street, the name of the actual street where Shepherd grew up. In addition to the house exteriors, Cleveland was the location used for the scenes involving Higbee's department store, despite the fact that there were no Higbee's stores in Shepherd's hometown.

Restoration and reconfiguration In December 2004, Brian Jones, a San Diego entrepreneur and fan of the film since childhood, bought the house used by the producers as the Parker home on eBay for $150,000. Jones used revenue from his business, The Red Rider Leg Lamp Company, which manufactures replicas of the "major award" Ralphie's father won in the film, for the down payment. The previous owners had reconfigured installing modern windows, and covered the original wood siding with blue vinyl. Watching the movie frame by frame, Jones drew detailed plans of the interiors — which had been filmed on a Toronto sound stage — and spent US $ 240,000 to gut the structure, reconfigure it to a single-family dwelling, transform it into a near-replica of the movie set, and restore the exterior to its appearance in the film. A Christmas Story House Museum Jones purchased the house across the street and converted it into A Christmas Story House Museum, which contains some of the props from the movie, including Randy's snow suit, the Higbee's window toys, and hundreds of behind the scenes photos.

The house to the left of the museum features a gift shop with movie memorabilia, which opened to the public on November 25, 2006, with original cast members attending the grand opening, and the site drew 4,300 visitors during its first weekend. Related promotions According to their official web site , the official Christmas Story Chinese Restaurant is "The Pearl of the Orient." The Renaissance Cleveland Hotel offers a package deal for two that includes overnight accommodations and tickets to the House. As a bonus, the film is aired in the room 24 hours a day. Patty LaFountaine-Johnson, a local actress who portrayed one of the Higbee Santa's elves, hand-sews and autographs red-and-green felt hats similar to her movie costume and sells them at the house's gift shop. Broadway musical In 2012, a musical version of the holiday classic, co-executive produced by Peter Billingsley, ran during the holiday season at the Lunt-Fontaine Theatre. The show was revived at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden for 2013.

4 Surprising Facts About ‘A Christmas Story’ - Signature Reads 4 Surprising Facts About ‘A Christmas Story’ Peter Billingsley as Ralphie in ‘A Christmas Story’/Image courtesy of MGM SHARE It’s hard to believe, but this will be the thirtieth yuletide season featuring the iconic cry of “You’ll shoot your eye out!” That’s right it’s been thirty years since holiday movie fans were first treated to “A Christmas Story,” the 1983 Christmas classic directed by Bob Clark and based on the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd, about the misadventures of young Ralphie and his quest to receive a Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Riffle for Christmas, 1940. Contrary to public belief, the film wasn’t a box office bomb. It didn’t break records in regard to ticket sales, but it did well enough to earn a profit. Yet, most critics failed to appreciate the movie that today sits high atop many “best holiday movies” list.

“The reviewers when it opened in ‘83 didn’t get it,” explains Eugene Bergmann, author of Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd. “Most just thought it was a nothing movie, only a few of them said, ‘Hey this has got a little edge to it that makes it more than just a fluffy movie.’” It wasn’t until media mogul Ted Turner purchased the MGM library in a quest to own content for his basic cable empire that “A Christmas Story” finally found its place. Beginning in the mid-nineties, Turner Broadcasting’s airings of the film increased to the point when in 1997 the media giant ran its first twenty-four-hour Christmas Eve marathon airing of “A Christmas Story.” It’s estimated that nearly fifty-five million Americans tune every year to watch the film, making it a Christmas movie juggernaut. “You can say lines from the movie and the majority of people around you will know what you’re saying,” says Brian Jones, owner of the Christmas Story House and Museum in Cleveland.

“The multiple airings have led it out of cult status and into mainstream Americana.” But despite all those repeated views, there are still a sleighfull of themes, jokes, and aspects to “A Christmas Story” that you probably never noticed before. Here are a few. It’s Not Really About Christmas … Or Even “a” Story The use of “Christmas” in the movie’s title is a bit misleading. The film doesn’t even come close to touching on themes that are the usual Christmas movie fare: holiday spirit, family, friendship, togetherness, etc. Instead it’s more a film that just happens to take place during the Christmas season with storylines and plot points that could have easily been set during any other time of the year. “I mean what’s a leg lamp have to do with Christmas?” asks Jones, who sells replicas of the infamous home lighting decoration/major award from one of the movie’s most beloved storylines. “Nothing,” he says a second later.

But the real misnomer is the film title’s use of the singular “a story.” In reality, the movie is more a series of vignettes thinly held together by the longer spread-out plot: Ralphie’s mission to get a BB gun as a Christmas gift. It’s similar narrative device in how the source maternal of Shepherd’s book was structured. “[Shepherd] referred to that book as a novel and it says so on the front cover, but it really wasn’t,” says Bergmann, who explains that In God We Trust started out as stories that Shepherd told on his radio show that were then transcribed as individual short stories and collected and tied together in the book via a connecting narrative story of the narrator visiting his hometown and reminiscing with a grownup Flick (of the tongue stuck to the frozen flagpole fame). So the film adaption jettisons the book’s original narrative story and instead opts to feature all of Shepherd’s childhood anecdotes to run at the same time with the one set during the Christmas season featured most prominently. “It’s almost like the quest for a Christmas present is more an underlying theme that ties a bunch of side stories together,” admits Jones.

It’s Got Some Dirty Jokes You’d think that a movie that most people gather with their family to watch every year would be G-rated in its humor, but look closely enough and you’ll see some off-color comedy in “A Christmas Story.” Case in point: In the scene where the family is setting up the Christmas tree and a fuse blows, sending the living room into darkness and the father into barely contained excitement at the challenge to replace it, the narrator (voiced by the real Shepherd) explains, “The old man could replace fuses quicker than a jackrabbit on a date.” “Probably most people won’t get that all and it sort of floats over and past you before you think of what jackrabbits are famous for and what they would do on a date,” Bergmann says with a chuckle. “It’s an amazingly racy thing to say.” But such raunchiness is par for the course in director Bob Clark’s filmography. Another of his most famous films is “Porky’s,” the precursor to the modern teen sex comedy, and the success of which allowed him to make “A Christmas Story” after ten years of trying.

According to Jones, Clark and Shepherd, who collaborated closely on the film, originally wanted to make a not-so-kid-friendly cinematic look at what it was like to be a kid … with cursing. So in the scene where Ralphie gets in trouble for saying “Fudge” (though the narrating Shepherd explains to the audience that wasn’t what he actually said), the script read for the nine-year-old Ralphie to actually say “fuck.” “From my understanding, they wanted to make it more like ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,’ where there are curse words and whatever, so you can imagine how that changes the movie,” says Jones. In the end, the R-rated script was scrapped when the vice president of Higbee’s, the Cleveland department store featured prominently in the movie, refused to allow the store to be associated with a movie depicting a kid dropping the F-bomb, and the filmmakers were forced to change it. “I guess they were desperate for a place to shoot inside,” says Jones, who believes that the decision to tone down the film actually helps it. “I think a lot of its success comes from the fact that there aren’t many curse words in there and it becomes a family-friendly movie.

There’s an edgy sense of humor, but that’s lost on little kids.” It’s a Satirical Celebration of Commercialization A lot of movies that revolve around Christmas highlight the over-commercialization of the holiday and almost always end with their characters discovering “the true meaning of Christmas.” Not “A Christmas Story.” Practically from the start, with the early scene of children literally pressing their noses up against a toy store window, the film revels in the season’s modern consumerist nature to the point that it’s a sarcastic commentary on the trend. The film continually raises the issue of childhood wonder and excitement being mined for profit, from Ralphie’s disappointment at being tricked into buying a Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring that’s really just a “crummy commercial” for Ovaltine to a surly department store Santa who, along with his “elves,” doesn’t seem to like children. But the theme peaks on Christmas morning when Ralphie and his brother, Randy, tear into their presents as the narrating Shepherd describes them “quivering with unbridled avarice.” “Yeah, ‘unbridled avarice,’” Bergmann says, explaining how the line highlights the cheapening of the holiday to greedy spectacle.

“They should be paying attention to giving and how giving is a wonderful thing … You’re supposed to be thinking of the wonder and marvelous religious aspect of Christmas, which is what you’re supposed to be celebrating and of course the kids are just celebrating getting stuff. The objects themselves, the products are just after your money.” It’s Not Nostalgic By definition, nostalgia is to wishfully look back at the past with affection. And for some reason many fans of “A Christmas Story” confuse the movie as nostalgically remembering childhood. It doesn’t. From Flick’s tongue getting stuck to the flagpole to the smashed demise of the father’s prized leg lamp, most every storyline in the film ends in realistic misfortune. “It takes a very real look at childhood,” says Jones. “It doesn’t take the nostalgic sappy sense of ‘oh yay, kumbaya.’ It’s more of real gritty look back at how it really was to be a kid.” “This is pretty much Shepherd’s view of the world,” Bergmann explains. His philosophy was like that, that most everything in life was going to end in disaster.

He always hated when people accused him of [being nostalgic] and he says, ‘The past was no better than the present … and the future’s not going to be any better either.’” It’s a cynical attitude that’s most obvious in the scene just after Ralphie unwraps the prized air rifle he spent the whole movie pining for and races out to his backyard to shoot it. He tacks a target to a metal sign for Golden Age soda, takes aim, and pulls the trigger. The BB promptly bounces back and hits him in his face. “They’re making fun of the whole idea of nostalgia,” says Bergmann. “Because it’s the golden age that in a sense ricochets the BB back and almost puts his eye out.” Above: Peter Billingsley as Ralphie in ‘A Christmas Story’/Image courtesy of MGM A Christmas Story (1983) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends.

Error In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift. Director: Bob Clark Writers: Jean Shepherd (based on the novel "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" by), Jean Shepherd (screenplay) | 2 more credits » Stars: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 25 titles created 13 Nov 2013 a list of 33 titles created 07 Dec 2013 a list of 21 titles created 12 Oct 2014 a list of 23 titles created 21 Dec 2014 a list of 30 titles created 2 months ago Title: A Christmas Story (1983) 8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 3 wins & 11 nominations.

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Director: John Pasquin An 8-year old troublemaker must protect his home from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation. Director: Chris Columbus On the outskirts of Whoville, there lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans on ruining the Christmas holiday for all of the citizens of the town. Director: Ron Howard A mailman reveals the origin of Santa Claus. Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. Stars: Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing. Director: George Seaton An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed. Director: Frank Capra The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin. Director: Bill Melendez Edit Storyline Christmas is approaching and 9 year-old Ralphie wants only one thing: a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun.

When he mentions it at the dinner table, his mother's immediate reaction is that he'll put his eye out. He then decides on a perfect theme for his teacher but her reaction is like his. He fantasizes about what it would be like to be Red Ryder and catch the bad guys. When the big day arrives he gets lots of present under the tree including a lovely gift from his aunt that his mother just adores. But what about the BB gun? Written by garykmcd Peace. Harmony. Comfort and Joy... Maybe Next Year. See more » Genres: 18 November 1983 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Did You Know? Trivia The piece of music that plays after Ralphie says "fudge", and after the lamp breaks for the second time, is the opening of "Hamlet" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky . See more » Goofs When Ralphie is decoding Annie's secret message in the bathroom, the text's case on his writing changes from lower case to upper case between shots (watch the "E/e" in "Be"... (Be sure to drink your Ovaltine)). See more » Quotes Mr.

Parker : He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny. Mother : He does not! See more » Crazy Credits "Ming the Merciless" and "Flash Gordon" are listed as characters despite being cut from the general release. See more » Connections (usa) – See all my reviews Bob Clark, the director behind the collegiate slasher flick "Black Christmas" and the naughty sex comedy "Porky's" surprisingly went on to hold the reins of the charming, innocent, nostalgic holiday romp "A Christmas Story" in 1983. The film is seen through the eyes of nine-year-old Ralphie, and is frequently told through the older more knowing voice of Jean Shepherd, who wrote the source material "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" in 1966. The film takes place sometime in the early 1940s (Shepherd has been quoted as saying specifically 1940), although the tone and texture of the film allow for more of the uncertain "period" look.

The film follows the struggles of our child protagonist, specifically his longing for a very specific BB gun, which he references nearly thirty times during the course of the film, explaining why the come back "you'll shoot your eye out" is so associated with this movie. "A Christmas Story" is a wonderful, relaxing, little movie that never seems to age. 30 of 46 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes A Christmas Story - Wikiquote A Christmas Story Jump to: navigation , search A Christmas Story is a 1983 film , set in the 1940s, about a boy who has to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift. A Tribute to the Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas... taglines Contents Narrator (Ralphie as an adult)[ edit ] Some men are Baptists, others Catholics. My father was an Oldsmobile man. Now, I had heard that word at least ten times a day from my old man. He worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay.

It was his true medium; a master. But I chickened out, and I blurted out the first name that came to mind. In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan. Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window. Over the years I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap. Though my personal preference was for Lux, I found that Palmolive had a nice, piquant after-dinner flavor - heavy, but with a touch of mellow smoothness. Lifebuoy, on the other hand... (Yechh!) Of course! Santa! The big man! The head honcho! The connection! [chuckles] Oh, my mother had truly messed up this time! Scut Farkus! What a rotten name! We were trapped. There he stood, between us and the alley. Scut Farkus staring out at us with his yellow eyes. He had yellow eyes! SO HELP ME GOD, YELLOW EYES!! Aha, the Bumpus hounds! DA-DA-DA-DA--DA-DAAAA!!

Our hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpuses, had at least 785 smelly hound dogs and they ignored every human being on earth, except my old man. Every family has a kid who won't eat. My kid brother had not eaten voluntarily in over three years! In our world, you were either a bully , a toady , or one of the nameless rabble of victims ! Let's face it, most of us are scoffers. But moments before zero hour, it did not pay to take chances. I left Flick to certain annihilation. But BB Gun mania knows no loyalty. My old man's spare tires were only actually tires in the academic sense. They were round; they had once been made of rubber. It was all over. I was dead. What would it be? The guillotine ? Hanging ? The chair ? The rack ? The chinese water torture ? Mere child's play compared to what surely awaited me! [After Mother breaks the Old Man's Major Award, and he is unsuccessful at repairing it] With as much dignity as he could muster, the Old Man gathered up the sad remains of his shattered Major Award.

Later that night, alone in the backyard, he buried it next to the garage. Now I could never be sure, but I thought that I heard the sound of "Taps" being played. Gently. [After the Christmas turkey is stolen by the neighbors' dogs] The heavenly aroma still hung in the house. But it was gone, all gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE! Was there no end to this conspiracy of irrational prejudice against Red Ryder and his Peacemaker?! We plunged into the cornucopia quivering with desire and the ecstasy of unbridled avarice. Oh, life is like that. Sometimes, at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us! There has never been a kid who didn't believe that he would be stricken blind before he reached twenty-one, and then they'd be sorry! You used up all the glue on purpose! NADDAFINGA!! (Not a finger!!) GO on! Have a chew fellows on me!

It is my gift! That son of a bitch would freeze up in the middle of summer on the equator! Aha aha, it's a clinkerrrrrrr!!! That blasted, stupid furnace. Dadgummit! [Goes down stairs; falling sound is heard] Damn skates! [Coughs] For cripes sake, open up that damper, will you?! Who the hell turned it all the way down?! AGAIN?!!! SONS O'BITCHES! BUMPUSES!!! (Reading sign on wooden crate) Fraa-jeel-aay! Huh! Must be Italian! (After the Bumpus hounds steal the Parkers' turkey) All right, everybody upstairs, get dressed. We are going out to eat. [as he is going "furnace fighting"] You filthy system! I hate it! [cursing] ...dumb, frattin', housesnickle viper ! It's a beautiful duck. It really is. But you see..... it's.... smiling at me. He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny. He looks like a pink nightmare! Didn't I get a tie this year? A can of Simoniz !

[to Randy] I promise, Daddy is not going to kill Ralphie! [to Ralphie] You'll shoot your eye out! That's ridiculous! Jealous? Jealous of what?! That is... the ugliest lamp I have ever seen in my entire LIFE!!! [to Randy] Well, put your arms down when you get to school. Icicles have been known to KILL people! Randy[ edit ] [sing-song] Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double beetloaf. I hate meatloaf. [After Ralphie pushes him away from dresser after mother tells them to come down in two minutes] C'mon Ralphie!! I got here first!!! I can't put my arms down! I can't get up! Ralphie, I can't get up!! Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie! [After opening his biggest Christmas gift] WOW!! Whoopie, a Zeppelin!! [Admiring the presents under the tree] Wow a truck! That's mine!! [Points to a box] WOW look there! That's mine! [Feels a very hard present] What's in here? Oh, it's hard. Fire Truck. OH BOY! That's mine!

Schwartz: Hey, smart ass. I asked my old man about sticking your tongue to a flagpole in the winter, and he says that it'll freeze right to the pole, just like I told ya. Ralphie: [after cracking a secret code, reading it] Be sure to...drink your... Ovaltine. Ovaltine?! A crummy commercial?! Son of a bitch! Scut Farkus: [to Ralphie] Listen, jerk! When I tell you to come, you better come! [Ralphie starts quivering] What? Are you gonna cry now? Cry, cry for me crybaby! Cry! [begins mock crying and laughing] Shopper: [to Ralphie] Young man! Hey kid! Just where do you think *you're* going?! Ralphie: [to Shopper] Going up to see Santa Claus. Shopper: [to Ralphie] The line ends here. It begins there. [Points to the end of a very long line] Santa Claus: [To Ralphie] How about a nice, uh... football? Ralphie: [As narrator] Football? What's a football?

Without conscious will my voice squeaked out "football". Santa Claus: Okay, get him out of here. Ralphie: [As narrator] A football!? Oh, no! What was I doing!? Wake up, stupid! Wake up! Ralphie: [As child] NO! [climbs back up exit slide] No, no; I want an official Red Ryder carbine action 200-range-shot model air rifle! [smiles hopefully at Santa] Santa Claus: [to Ralphie] You'll shoot your eye out, kid. Merry Christmas. Ho. Ho. Ho. Ralphie: [smile fades to shock as Santa pushes Ralphie down the exit slide] NOOOOOO!! [In daydream] Black Bart: Oh NO! It's.... All Bandits: Old Blue! Oh no! Randy: [wailing] I can't put my arms down! [continues bawling, as Mother tries unsuccessfully to put his arms down] Mother: Well, put your arms down when you get to school. [winds scarf around Randy's neck, as he resumes wailing] Flick: You're full of beans, and so is your old man.

Scott Schwartz: Oh, yeah? Flick: Yeah! Scott Schwartz: Well, I double-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] The exact exchange and nuance of phrase in this ritual is very important. Flick: Huh! Are you kidding? Stick my tongue to that stupid pole? That's dumb. Scott Schwartz: That's 'cause you know it'll stick! Flick: You're full of it! Scott Schwartz: Oh, yeah? Flick: Yeah! Scott Schwartz: Well I double dog-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Now it was serious. A double dog-dare. What else was left but a "triple-dare you"? And finally, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple dog-dare. Flick: [over narrator's voice] This guy's really dumb. Scott Schwartz: I triple dog-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Hmm. Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple-dare and going right for the throat. Flick: All right, all right.

[Flick sighs and hesitantly sticks his tongue out] Scott Schwartz: Well, go on, smart-ass, and do it! Flick: [tongue out] I'm goin', I'm goin'! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Flick's spine stiffened, his lips curled in a defiant sneer. There was no going back now. Flick: [puts his tongue on pole] This is nothin'. [tries to pull off, but can't and realizes Schwartz was right.] Stuck? Stuck?! STUCK! STUCK! [he starts screaming and bawling] Scott Schwartz: Jeez! It really works! Look at him! [the school bell rings and the students run back to the school except Flick, who keeps bawling] Flick: Ralphie, come back! Come back! Don't leave me, come back! Ralphie: But the bell rang! Scott Schwartz: Well, what are we gonna do?! Ralphie: I don't know, the bell rang! Flick: Don't leave me, come back! Come back, come back!

[he bawls as he's still stuck to the pole] Mr. Parker: What is the name of the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse? Mother: Ah... Victor! His name is Victor. Mr. Parker: How the hell did you know that? Mother: Everybody knows that! Mother: Is this another one of your silly puzzles? Mr. Parker: Yeah, another one of my silly puzzles. This one could be worth $50,000. Mother: What is it this time? Mr. Parker: Name the great characters in American literature. Mrs. Parker: Victor? Mr. Parker: Yeah. Mrs. Parker: The Lone Ranger's nephew's horse? Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Meanwhile, I struggled for exactly the right BB gun hint. It had to be firm, but subtle. Ralphie: Flick says he saw some grizzly bears near Pulaski's candy store! [Everyone stares at Ralphie] Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] They looked at me as if I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] A "C+"?! Oh, no!

It CAN'T be! Ralphie: "C+"? Miss Shields: [as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz] C+! [cackling] C+! [Ralphie looks down to see "P.S. You'll shoot your eye out!"] Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Oh, no! "You'll shoot your eye out"? Ralphie: Oh, no. Ralphie as Adult: My mother must've gotten to Miss Shields! There could be no other explanation! Miss Shields and Mrs. Parker: [sing-song; Mrs. Parker dressed as a jester] You'll shoot your eye out! You'll shoot your eye out! [both laugh mockingly] Ralphie as Adult: Was there no end to this conspiracy of irrational prejudice against Red Ryder and his Peacemaker?! [Mr. Parker accidentally flips the hubcap off Ralphie's hands with the nuts in it] Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Oh! For one brief moment, I saw all the bolts silhouetted against the lights of the traffic, and then they were gone. Ralphie: Ohhh, fffffuuuuuudge.

Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Only I didn't say "fudge." I said the word. The Big One. The Queen Mother of Dirty Words. The "F-Dash-Dash-Dash" word. Mr. Parker: [stunned] What did you say? Ralphie: Uh, um... Mr. Parker: That's what I thought you said. Get in the car. Go on. Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] It was all over; I was dead. What would it be? The guillotine? Hanging? The chair? The rack? The Chinese water torture? Hmmph. Mere child's play compared to what surely awaited me. [Ralphie gets into the car.] Mrs. Parker: Everything go alright? [Ralphie doesn't answer.] Mr. Parker: [closes the trunk and checks his watch] Ah! [Ralphie watches Mr. Parker gets into the car] Mrs. Parker: 8 minutes. Mr. Parker: You know what your son just said? Mrs. Parker: No. What? Mr. Parker: I'll tell you what he said. Randy?

[He whispers the R-rated F-word in Mrs. Parker's ear.] Mrs. Parker: [screams in shock] RALPHIE! [scene switches to Ralphie with soap in his mouth] Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Over the years, I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap. My personal preference is for Lux, but I found Palmolive had a nice, piquant after-dinner flavor; heady, but with just a touch of mellow smoothness. Lifebuoy, on the other hand-- Ralphie: [disgusted] Yuck! Mrs. Parker: You ready to tell me? Ralphie: [mumbles and nods his head.] Mrs. Parker: [removes soap from his mouth] All right. Where did you hear that word? Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Now, I had heard that word at least 10 times a day from my old man. My father worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium; a master. But I chickened out, and I blurted out the first name that came to mind.

Ralphie: SCHWARTZ! Mrs. Parker: [angrily] Oh, I see. [puts soap back in Ralphie's mouth] Ralphie: [screams with soap in his mouth] Mrs. Parker: [dials Mrs. Schwartz] Hello, Mrs. Schwartz? Yes, I'm fine. Um, Mrs. Schwartz, do you know what Ralph just said? Mrs. Schwartz: [indistinguishable] Mrs. Parker: No. He said... [inaudibly whispers the R-rated F-word into the phone] Mrs. Schwartz: [through phone] NO, NOT THAT! Mrs. Parker: Yes, that. Do you know where he heard it? Mrs. Schwartz: [through phone] Probably from his father. Mrs. Parker: No! He heard it from your son! Mrs. Schwartz: [through phone, angrily screaming] WHAT?! WHAAAT?! WHAAAAAT?! [She is heard in the background smacking Schwartz, and Mrs. Parker covers her mouth in shock.] Schwartz: AAAAGH! WHAT'D I DO, MOM?! WHAT, I DIDN'T DO NOTHING!

AAAGH! [Mrs. Parker winces as Schwartz screams and bawls in pain] Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Another shot of mysterious, inexorable official justice. Mrs. Parker: [takes soap of Ralphie's mouth.] Rinse out and go to bed. Ooh, am I glad you finished your homework this afternoon, 'cause I want you getting right into bed, and I don't want to see any lights on. You are being punished, so no comic-book-reading. I'm gonna come in there, and if there are any lights on-- [angrily] W-Don't you give me that look; you're going to get it! [During Ralphie's daydream where he has gone blind] Mrs. Parker: Why, it's Ralph! Mr. Parker: Well, come on in, Ralph. Where have you been? Mrs. Parker: Why... he's carrying a cane! Mr. Parker: What is it, Ralph? What happened? Mrs. Parker: Why, he's... blind! Mr. Parker: Blind? Oh, my god! Randy: Ralphie! Mrs.

Parker: Ralph, is this something WE did? Mr. Parker: What brought you to this lowly state? Mrs. Parker: Ralph, please tell us no matter how it hurts. What did we DO? Ralphie: Look, I can't. Mrs. Parker: Oh, please, Ralph. Mr. Parker: Please. Mrs. Parker: I must know what we did. What brought you to this? Mr. Parker: Please. [Mr. & Mrs. Parker begin wailing] Mr. Parker: How could we do it? Ralphie: Well, I'll manage to get along... somehow. Mrs. Parker: I'll never forgive myself. Ralphie: Thanks, mom. Mr. Parker: I told you not to use Lifebuoy! Oh, I feel awful! Mr. Parker: [admiring Randy sleeping in the mess of gift wrap] My gosh, would you look at that mess? Who's going to clean the papers up? Ralphie: Not me. Mr. Parker: Oh, really? Randy did it last year. Ralphie: Well, he can do it again. Mr.

Parker: You know, this wine ain't bad. You want a sip? Ralphie: Yeah. Mrs. Parker: No, you don't. Did you have a nice Christmas? Ralphie: Yeah, pretty nice. Mr. Parker: Yeah? Did you get everything you wanted? Ralphie: [thinking about not getting the BB gun] Well, almost. Mr. Parker: Almost, huh? Well, that's life. Well, there's always next Christmas. Ralphie: Yep. Mr. Parker: [feigns a surprised look] Hey. That's funny. What's that over there behind the desk? Ralphie: Where? Mr. Parker: Uh...behind the desk against the wall over there... Go check it out. [Ralphie goes to the desk and pulls out a large present] Mrs. Parker: What did we put over there, honey? Mr. Parker: [stammers] Uh, Santa Claus probably put it. Ralphie: [opens gift to see a Red Ryder BB gun] WOW! [Mrs. Parker is not pleased at the sight of the BB gun] Mr.

Parker: [laughs] Do you know how to load it? Ralphie: Yeah. [loads gun] 12 Things You Might Not Know About A Christmas Story (Even Though You've Seen It 90 Times) | Mental Floss 12 Things You Might Not Know About A Christmas Story (Even Though You've Seen It 90 Times) filed under: Movies Like us on Facebook Which Oscar-winning star wanted to play Ralphie's dad? Which actor went on to a seedy career in the adult film industry? Can you really get your tongue stuck to a metal pole? Here are a few tidbits to tide you over until the 24-hour Christmas Eve marathon on TBS. 1. Jack Nicholson was very interested in playing Ralphie's dad. But casting (and paying) Jack would have meant doubling the budget, so he was removed from consideration. Director Bob Clark — who didn't know Nicholson was interested at the time — says Darrin McGavin was the perfect choice. 2. What does Porky's, the raunchy '80s teen sex movie, have to do with a wholesome film like A Christmas Story?

Bob Clark directed both—Porky's in 1982 and A Christmas Story in 1983. If Porky's hadn't given him the professional and financial success he needed, he wouldn't have been able to bring A Christmas Story to the big screen. 3. For anyone keeping count, Ralphie says he wants the Red Ryder BB Gun 28 times throughout the course of the movie. That's approximately once every three minutes and 20 seconds. 4. Peter Billingsley, AKA Ralphie, has been good friends with Vince Vaughn since they both appeared in the CBS Schoolbreak Special (their version of the after-school special) in the early '90s. He doesn't do much acting these days, but he did make a surprise appearance on the "Vince Vaughn Wild West Comedy Show" in Memphis, Tenn., in 2005. Peter's doing quite well for himself, though. He was the executive producer of Iron Man and had a brief bit as William Ginter Riva. He also executive produced Four Christmases (which he had a cameo in), The Break-Up, and the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son. 5.

Mythbusters tested whether it was possible to get your tongue truly stuck on a piece of cold metal. Guess what? It is. So don't triple dog dare your best friend to try it. 6. Scott Schwartz, who played Flick (who stuck his tongue to the frozen flagpole), was submerged in the adult film industry for a number of years. He got out in 2000 to try to become a mainstream actor again, but I can't say he's done much of note: Community College ("A love story between four dudes and their ability to get free drinks") and Skinwalker, which starred ex-MTV veejay Jesse Camp, if that tells you anything. Joey Buttafuoco is in it, too, and gets billing over our poor Flick. 7. Next time you're in Cleveland, you can visit the original house from the movie. It was sold on eBay in 2004 for $150,000. Collector Brian Jones bought the house and restored it to its movie glory and stocked it up with some of the original props from the film, including Randy's snowsuit. 8.

Director Bob Clark got the idea for the movie when he was driving in the car with a date. He heard Jean Shepherd on the radio doing a reading of his short story collection, "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash," which included some bits that eventually ended up in A Christmas Story. Clark said he drove around the block for an hour until the program ended, which his date was not too happy about. 9. The Wonder Years was inspired in part by A Christmas Story. In fact, in one of the last few episodes, Peter Billingsley appeared as one of Kevin Arnold's roommates. 10. The real Red Ryder BB Gun was first made in 1938 and was named after a comic strip cowboy. You can still buy it today for the low, low price of $44.99. But the original wasn't quite the same as the one in the movie; it lacked the compass and sundial that both the Jean Shepard story and the movie call for. Special versions had to be made just for A Christmas Story. 11. While we're talking shopping, you know you want the leg lamp. Put it in your window! Be the envy of your neighbors! It's a Major Award!

You can buy it here, but if you're not feeling quite so flamboyant you can get a replica that serves as a nightlight for $14.99. The people who own the house also run a gift shop, and they sell pretty much everything you could possibly want from the movie: the decoder pin ($7.99), Lifebuoy soap ($3.99), the leg lamp variants mentioned above, and even pieces of the original house. 12. There are two little-talked-about sequels. The first one was a 1988 made-for-TV movie, Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss. Jerry O'Connell played 14-year-old Ralphie, who is excited about his first job—a furniture mover. Of course, it ends up being awful, and it might make him miss the annual family vacation at Mr. Hopnoodle's lakeside cabins. My Summer Story, AKA It Runs in the Family, debuted on the big screen in 1994. Kieran Culkin plays Ralphie, Mary Steenburgen is his mom, and Charles Grodin is his dad.

I'm not sure if it's because of this movie or A Christmas Story, but whenever our trio of dogs are running around in a pack, my husband always yells, "It's the Bumpus Hounds!" Merry Christmas! Don't shoot your eye out (kid). This story originally appeared in 2008. More from mental_floss...

Question: In the movie "A Christmas Story", what dangerous gift did Ralphie receive for Christmas?
Answer: Red Ryder B.B. Gun