Facts for A Christmas Story

The best part of Christmas, for me, are all the Christmas movies that are on television. I have a few favorite movies but by far, my #1 favorite Christmas movie, is A Christmas Story. It wouldn’t be Christmas without watching that movie, at least once or twice during the holiday season.

What I like best about the movie is seeing the familiar land marks of Cleveland, Ohio. I especially love seeing the old Highbees Department Store, across from the downtown square, all lighted up and decorated, along with other familiar parts of the downtown area and streets.

After watching the movie for the umpteenth time, I decided to list a few facts about the movie itself, which are pretty interesting to say the least.

·         The exterior scenes of A Christmas Story were shot in Cleveland, while the interior scenes were shot in Toronto.

·         Cleveland filming took place after the holidays so some of the decorations were still up. They re-decorated Highbees Department Store and the kids in the movie were able to play on the giant slide inside the store.

·         The snow and frost on the trees was frozen water put there by the crew. It took snow blowers 24 hours to cover the area.

·         To stimulate the scene where the little boy got his tongue stuck to the pole, a tiny cup stuck in a hole in the pole and the camera shot this at a certain angle so the viewer wouldn’t be able to see the hole.

·         They wanted to use Jack Nicholson as the father but it was too expensive. Good call because Darren McGavin was great in his role as Ralphie’s dad!

·         Nearly all the tears shed by the actors in the film were real.

·         The scene with the dogs running through the house wasn’t planned and it was spontaneous.

·         Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie, still has the Red Ryder BB Gun and the pink rabbit suit from the movie.

·         The glasses that were broken in the movie actually belonged to Peter Billinsley.

If you have never seen A Christmas Story – watch it during the holidays. This classic will become a family favorite!