28 Surprising Things About 'A Christmas Story' Even the Biggest Fans Don't Know
Watch closely when you tune in this holiday season.
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We've all come to know — and love — the Parker family over the years. They almost feel like extended family at this point. After all, A Christmas Story (which plays for a whopping 24 hours straight on Christmas Eve on TBS and, you know, basically just all December long) is a bonafide holiday classic. No matter how many times you've seen it (who's counting?!), there are probably a few movie facts you don't know. Keep reading if you want to bring a few interesting nuggets to your annual viewing this year.
It's based on a book by Jean Shepherd.
In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash is the foundation for this family favorite. The author, Jean Shepherd, even narrates the film and makes a brief appearance in the department store scene when Ralphie and Randy wait to see Santa. Unfortunately, reports say Jean was a nuisance on set, constantly second-guessing director Bob Clark's work — but thankfully everything worked out in the end.
Jean Shepherd made another movie that sounds ... familiar.
In 1976, Jean released and narrated The Phantom of the Open Hearth, about a boy named Ralph Parker (not Ralphie this time around) preparing for his prom, his brother Randy, and — what do you know? — even a leg lamp that ends up shattered.
Peter Billingsley was the first kid to audition for the role of Ralphie.
Although he was the first kid to audition, director Bob Clark insisted on seeing other actors — actually thousands. As we all know, Peter ultimately got the job, and he claims Bob pushed him to act out of his comfort zone. You know the scene where Ralphie is shooting bandits and chewing tobacco? According to Peter, the tobacco he chewed in the movie was as real as it gets. He even said that the tobacco caused him to feel "really dizzy" and his "lips started burning."
There were three leg lamps made for the movie.
But none of them survived. Production designer Reuben Freed sketched different versions of the leg lamp until the director chose the one he liked best. Three leg lamps of the same design were created but were all broken during filming. Sad! But luckily, you can buy your own leg lamp on Amazon.
The leg lamp didn't have an electrical cord.
How have we never noticed this before?! When it's first taken out of the "fragile" box, there's no electrical cord or lightbulb to be found. It's only after the lampshade is discovered that the leg magically lights up.
The furnace fight scene was completely ad-libbed.
Darren McGavin admitted he found it too hard to string together angry sentences on the spot without using profanity, so he opted for complete gibberish instead. No cursing was crucial to keeping the movie's PG rating.
Ralphie’s "Scut Farkus" was NOT ad-libbed.
On the opposite end, another iconic physical scene from the movie was scripted down to the very last word. The irrational, rambling rant Ralphie goes on while beating up his bully was written into the script.
Melinda Dillon's reaction in the restaurant scene is real.
Melinda Dillon, who plays Ralphie's mother, was completely caught off guard seeing the duck served with its head. In fact, she was intentionally given the wrong script so that her reaction — including every laugh and shriek that ended up being left in the film — is completely genuine.
There's a secret deleted scene with an '80s superhero.
The deleted scene featured Ralphie rescuing Flash Gordon from Ming the Merciless on planet Mongo. The Christmas Story Museum in Ohio has the pages from the script, and even a picture of the character in space. Interestingly, both Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless are in the end credits of the film.
The snow was totally fake.
Although the movie was shot in two snowy destinations (Cleveland and Toronto), most of the snow and frost was the result of frozen water and massive snow blowers. It took roughly 24 hours to create the winter wonderland we see on the screen.
Ralphie doesn't know how to spell Christmas.
Look closely and you'll spot his assignment from Mrs. Shields comes back with a very noticeable "Chistmas." Despite giving him a C+, the teacher doesn't seem to notice or correct the missing "r." Of all words!
The flagpole scene was actually painless to film.
We've all seen it (and some may have even tried it themselves), but the flagpole scene proves not everything is as it appears. Scott Schwartz, the actor who played Flick, revealed that a suction tube (basically a mini vacuum cleaner) helped suction his tongue to the pole for the entirety of the scene. Thankfully, no harm was done.
Jack Nicholson was almost cast as Old Man Parker.
Yes, the award-winning actor from Batman and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Apparently, Jack was interested in playing the part of the Parker family patriarch. Bob Clark had his sights on Jack too, but the actor came at too high of a price — he was an Oscar winner at this point.
Remember the kid wearing goggles? He wasn't an actor.
He wasn't even supposed to be in the movie in the first place — seriously. When filming the Santa scene at the department store, Bob Clark found a kid he thought would be a great fit for the movie (because of his stylish goggles, of course). The young boy — and his guardian — took Bob's offer and the rest is history.
Ralphie didn't actually have a soapy mouth.
The soap scene, while believable, was all thanks to Peter Billingsley's sharp acting skills. The iconic red Lifebuoy soap we saw in the movie was actually made of wax. Because of the movie's small budget, real soap was out of the question. Bob Clark chose this soap brand, because it was known for tasting the worst (he knew from a childhood experience!).
It's unclear exactly when the movie is supposed to take place.
There are many clues that hint at what era the Parkers are living in throughout the film — except they bizarrely all suggest different years. First, Mrs. Parker mentions a Bears vs. Packers game, which happened in 1941. Then the Orphan Annie decoder pin shown on screen is the same model that came out in 1940. And the calendar in the kitchen has December 1st on a Friday, which took place in 1939.
'A Christmas Story' wasn’t in theaters on Christmas.
Director Bob Clark explained that after premiering a week before Thanksgiving, the movie sat in theaters during "the two slowest weeks of the year." As a result, it was pulled from theaters before Christmas, except for a few select screens. If it played in late December, he predicted it would have tripled or quadrupled its earnings.
You can stay at the Parker family house.
In 2004, the house from the movie was auctioned off on eBay for $150,000. The new owners restored the house, built a museum across the street and auction off a two-night stay during the most wonderful time of the year. All money from the auction goes to A Christmas Story House Foundation, a non-profit to preserve this landmark and the surrounding neighborhood.
Ralphie most certainly didn't say "fudge."
We all know the scene where Ralphie utters the "the word, the big one, the queen mother of dirty words, the F-dash-dash-dash word!" It turns out, they had 12-year-old Peter Billingsley go all out for every take. "Oh, they had me say 'f--k,'" he told BuzzFeed in 2013. "On all the takes. I think we looped in the word 'fudge' on top of it, so you could get the mouth to curl to the consonant of 'K' instead of 'D.' I was like, 'Ohhhhhh, f--k!' I had been in Hollywood for a long time at that point; it wasn't the first time I'd heard it, or probably said it."
The Schwartz shuffle will leave you very, very confused.
Ralphie's two best friends in the film are Schwartz (played by R.D. Robb) and Flick (played by a real Schwartz: Scott Schwartz). When Ralphie tells his mom it was "Schwartz" who taught him how to say "fudge," the voice you hear over the phone in the following scene — which is supposed to be R.D.'s fictional friend, Schwartz — is actually the voice of Scott Schwartz. Got it?
Amanda Garrity is a lifestyle writer and editor with over seven years of experience, including five years on staff at Good Housekeeping, where she covered all things home and holiday, including the latest interior design trends, inspiring DIY ideas and gift guides for any (and every) occasion. She also has a soft spot for feel-good TV, so you can catch her writing about popular shows like Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias, Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart and more.
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