What Is The Big Deal About "A Christmas Story" (1983)?!?

It's become a tradition to see it once a year...

 

It was a tradition when I was a kid that my parents took my brother and I to a movie every New Years' Eve. In '83 we saw this movie (I was 8 years old at the time). I enjoyed it then, and I've probably watched it every year since. One of my favourites.

As others have said, it's warm, cozy, and funny (not hilariously so, but funny).

My wife isn't a huge fan of it, but she'll still watch it with me every year.

 

I'm giving some props to Ralphie's Mother (Melinda Dillon). I loved it when she had Ralphie's back after he got into a big fight and also the way she coaxed Randy into eating. I still like this movie a lot and am a big Jean Shepherd fan too.

 

Was he also on radio prior to the 1970s? I ask because I seem to recall listening to him before then with my older sister, who was a big fan of his.

 

It's from Italy, fragile!

 

One time, I had a package with me, and a guy sitting next to me said "Fra-gee-lay"...and I really had no idea what he was talking about (I kept quiet). Seventeen years later...and I finally knew.

 

It's one of those movies that's great, but only if I watch it once every couple of years and don't overindulge in it. I love the attention to detail regarding the costumes and sets.

 

I think that maybe for some of us baby boomers born in 50's & 60's and growing up in the 1960's, the movie brings back very fond memories.
The houses, the furnishings, the school room, the friends, the old man are all something we relate to.
Heck, in our house my Dad actually had the bowling ball whiskey decanter that the old man has on top of the 1940's Philco radio. And I've got one of those radios sitting in my living room today!
Perhaps kids that grew up in the 1980's and beyond might have a hard time relating to the movie, but for many of us things had not changed so much from the 1940's to the 1960's that a lot is familiar.
And the great thing is that it really doesn't matter WHERE you "grew and festered as a youth". I've met people from all over the country that say that the movie reminds them of their home town.
Note: These are just images from Google, not mine

 

How did the print look? I've always wondered if this movie is capable of looking better than it has on home video. I'm pretty sure that even the latest BD and DVD editions use the same grungy, cropped master that was used for the VHS version!

 

Same here. It does nothing for me.

 

Mainly grew up in the 80s and 90s and love this movie. I think it translates well to my generation. The modern day Christmas has always been a mostly commercialized holiday, and our toys were all analogue. Even us 80s kids wanted BB guns for Christmas! Can't help but think it will continue to win fans through the ages as I think, as others have said, it's a well made movie and a nice break from special effects and blockbuster budgets.

Another vote here for Darren McGavin's "Old Man" as one of the most memorable holiday characters. Couple of my favorite lines:

"You know this wine's not bad...it's not good either, but eh - it's not bad."

And:

(looking at the dozen or so plugs that are in a single outlet): "Well, it's just one too many!"

 

I believe he was on in the 50s and 60s as well. I listened to him in the 1970s

 

I *think* it's supposed to be 1940. There's scene that I can't recall at the moment (possibly one re the decoder pin) where I'm almost certain a date is shown.

The period only places the characters and backdrop within a place in time. The feelings are beyond.

 

Wiki (for what that's worth) mentions:

Director Bob Clark stated in the film's DVD commentary that he and author Shepherd wished for the movie to be seen as "amorphously late 30s, early 40s". A specific year is never mentioned.

Either way, they certainly are evoking a period rather than a specific year. That helps in my opinion.

 

Can't be any earlier than 1939 due to the "Wizard of Oz" stuff in the Christmas parade!

 

Not only is it not an "illogical comparison", it is literally true.

 

I've always loved this movie. It was very popular here, due to the school scenes being shot at Victoria school in town, as well as a local class being used as the extras. The school is still standing, but is now a women's shelter.

The Red Ryder BB Gun subplot hits home for me as I vividly remember asking for a BB gun for Christmas when I was probably about 8. I still have it, 40 years later, and haven't shot my eye out!

 

True and the costumes are clearly based on the movie, not the book.
The floor model radio is a Westinghouse 780–X (I was wrong when I earlier called it a Philco).
That model radio was made in Canada in 1939-1940.
The old man's car is a 1937 Olds.
Daisy first made the Red Ryder BB gun in 1939.
Little Orphan Annie (Pierre Andre was really the host) ran from the 30's to the early 1940's, and a old radio website said that an actual decoder ring from 1940 was used in the movie.
Movie was likely set in the era of 1939 to about 1943.
But 1939 or 1940 would be a good guess.
Wizard of Oz characters in the parade after having been popular in the film.
Ralphie wanting the "new" BB gun that was just being made.
Little Orphan Annie show being popular.
Radio made in 39 and 40.
The old man NEVER would have had a car that was newer than a couple years old.

 

From IMDB:

There is a debate about when the film takes place.

Evidence seems to point to 1939 because of The Wizard of Oz (1939) references.

If you look at the calender on the wall (during the first dinner sequence), you can clearly see the first of December falls on a Friday. December 1st fell on a Friday in 1939, not 1940 as was previously accepted.

Jean Shepherd said the film is set in 1940 and it is usually agreed that the action takes place in 1939 (The Wizard of Oz characters) or 1940 (there is no reference to Pearl Harbor or WWII). But in Jan. 1940 Ovaltine dropped the "Little Orphan Annie" radio show and switched to "Captain Midnight." In Dec. 1940 Quaker Puffed Wheat was "Annie"'s sponsor. The announcer, Pierre Andre, also left "Annie" in Jan. 1940 because audiences identified him with Ovaltine, and he too went to "Captain Midnight." These facts would only fit the action of a film set in 1939.

The Orphan Annie radio decoder pin that Ralphie receives is the 1940 "Speedomatic" model, indicating that the movie takes place in December, 1940. Different decoder badges were made each year from 1935-1940. By 1941, the decoders were made of paper.

The film is set in 1941, according to the reference made by Mrs Parker to Mr Parker about an upcoming game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. These two teams met in a playoff game on December 14, 1941, a Sunday. It was their only playoff game against each other until January 23, 2011. The only previous time these two teams met during a regular season game in December was December 10, 1933. Throughout the 1940's the second game of the regular season between these two teams all occurred in November, the two latest being mid-November in 1942 and 1948.

The Lone Ranger's nephew's horse, known as Victor, was not introduced until 1943.

White Sox player Bill "Bullfrog" Dietrich (Bill Dietrich) is mentioned as being traded. He was traded to the White Sox in 1936 and released from the White Sox in 1946. Since the family drives a 1937 Olds, it would imply it was the 1946 trade. This would be consistent with the soldiers present at Higbee's corner window in the movie opening, since the war may have just ended. However, war-era versions of the decoder badge were paper due to the shortage and Little Orphan Annie was off the air well before 1946.

 

I CAN SEE the attraction to the film. There are parts that are clever, funny and interesting.
Surprise to me that even my parents like the film.

While I don't mind watching it, it just kind of turns me off. I don't particularly like the
cast, and generally it just kinda gives me a bad feeling. After watching it, I don't feel
like it was time well spent.​

 

Yeah, a review of a movie on a review site = some guy's rant on a forum. Exactly the same thing!

 

Other interesting items that date the film. These are mostly mistakes.

On Christmas morning (of what is supposed to be 1939 or 1940), the family is listening to Bing Crosby's "Merry Christmas" album while they open presents. That album was not released until 1945 (and reissued in 1947).

Vehicles parked outside Warren G. Harding School include a 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster and a 1947 Ford half-ton pickup.

The fire chief's car at the flag pole scene is a 1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster.

There are three Black children in Ralphie's class, however Indiana schools were not integrated until 1949.

The windup chattering teeth in Miss Shields' confiscation drawer weren't invented until 1949.

With the Christmas tree on the roof of their 1938 Oldsmobile, the moving car gets a flat. While changing the tire, Ralphie goes to help his dad, who implores him to hold the hubcap flat to catch the "nuts." We see them in the hubcap. That car used removable "bolts" like all GM cars into the 1950s. Even Jean Shepherd mentions "bolts" in his running monologue.

The Davey Crockett hat that Scut Farkus wore didn't come out until the 1950s as part of the Fess Parker mania.

The wheels on the wagons in the Higbee's store window have bright red plastic hubcaps. Radio Flyer used larger silver metal hubcaps on their wagon wheels until well into the '60s.

Colored bowling balls were not developed until the 1960s. In addition the ball already has the holes drilled in it. Aside from the fact that the holes are way too small for an adult, the holes are drilled to fit the user so they wouldn't have been in the ball until after his hand span was measured.

The Mickey Mouse costume seen in the parade depicts his 1960s look.

When the kids are gazing into the store window Christmas display, the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls are Knickerbocker Toy Company dolls from the 1970s.

Some of the Lionel electric trains in Higbee's window are identifiable as 1980s production.

A kid in a classroom scene has The Dukes of Hazzard digital watch.

A 1980s math book is sitting on Miss Shields' desk.

The toy wagons in the window of Higbee's Department Store have the 1980s "Radio Flyer" trademark.

At the beginning of the movie, a modern TV antenna can be seen on the top of one of the houses. (Full Frame version only.)


When Scut is laughing at Ralphie, there is a close up showing the braces on his teeth. The braces are the type that attach to the front of the tooth with adhesive, which were not invented until many years later. Braces at that time would have been the type with a metal band going around the tooth.

The BB package is too modern for the time period. The package should be red with black lettering and crimped at the ends like a shotgun shell.

In the night scenes showing street lights and also on the big ship docked across the road from the spot where Ralphie and Mr. Parker fix the flat tire, purplish mercury vapor street lights are shown, which had not yet been invented at the time.

When Ralphie steps on his glasses outside in the snow after shooting his Red Ryder BB Gun on Christmas morning, a 3 barrel hinge on the temples are clearly visible. This type of hinge was not available until the 1980s.

The BB gun is wrapped in red embossed, solid color paper with a metallic finish. Wrapping paper of the period was typically non-metallic paper lithographed with repeated designs, such as Santas, sleighs, snowflakes, and the like.

 

Another interesting fact from IMDB:

According to the Daisy Air Rifle manufacturers on the Special Edition DVD documentary on the history of the Red Ryder BB Gun, the gun did exist except for one error in the story: The gun did not have a compass and sundial as mentioned in the movie. According to the historians, writer Jean Shepherd confused the Red Ryder gun with another rifle that did have those features. But because the story and screen play were scripted to have the compass and sundial, guns had to be specially made for the movie.

 

Now that's a good quote!

I occasionally listen to Shep's radio shows from WOR.

The guy's true tallent was being a "talker/storyteller" rather than a writer (which he could do pretty well), screenwriter (mixed), or actor/host. He used to do a 4 hour late shift on WOR for a years before he developed the "usual" 45 minute format with the "story from his youth".

His radio engineer was usually his only audience in the studio and all of them say he did the show with little or no written notes...some people are just great at talking...sometimes about the most mundane or miniscule things.