What I Did on Summer Vacation: A Christmas Story House

Sunday, May 22nd with the sun shining and temps hitting the low 80s, I made the glorious journey to Cleveland, Ohio to visit A Christmas Story House and Museum. You may remember that this film's story about Ralphie Parker and his quest for a Red Ryder BB gun at Christmas takes place in Hammond, Indiana. However, many scenes of the 1983 film were actually shot in Cleveland, Ohio. The house used for shooting in the film has since been turned into a hip destination spot and includes a museum and a gift shop across the street.

A still taken from the original film of the front of the Parker family home

My photo of what A Christmas Story home looks like today--minus one tree

A still from the 1983 movie--Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) running in front of his home

I was living in Northeast Ohio in the early 1980s when this film was originally shot. I actually remember seeing the call for extras to come to downtown Cleveland for the filming of the scenes for the Christmas parade and the shots in front of Higbees and the Christmas window displays. But as a young teenager, I blew off this opportunity--never expecting to become someone who would see A Christmas Story a million times and end up making a career writing about it and other Christmas entertainments!? Oh well. In a weird side story, I DID stand in line for four hours to audition to be an extra in what became the 2000 Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger film The Patriot. Despite my obvious dedication, they didn't pick me to appear in the film :(

Inside A Christmas Story House--next to a Major Award!

Click HERE to see my early post about the movie A Christmas Story.

Inside A Christmas Story Home, you will find reproductions of period 1930s-1940s furnishings and decorations. They encourage people to wander the home and photography is permitted. The above photo of myself was taken inside the House next to the Leg Lamp that stands in the front window. Across the street at A Christmas Story Museum, you will find actual costumes and items used in the filming of the original movie as well as photographs shot during the making of the film. Don't miss either venue--and the price of your ticket covers both buildings. However, photos are not permitted inside the museum.

I recommend coming down to see the house, museum and gift shop in Cleveland, Ohio. Tours are conducted year round and begin every half-hour during their open hours. Check the website for prices and hours. On the random May afternoon that I attended, there were people from Texas, Wisconsin and cities throughout Ohio in attendance. This is definitely one of those pleasant places where it feels like Christmas all year long. Be sure to let me know if you make the trek--I'd love to hear about your adventure.

A still from the 1983 movie of the back yard where Ralphie met Black Bart--and nearly shot his eye out!
Then...and now:

The backyard as it looks today--the shed still stands :)

Last July, I made the journey to several locations of the exterior shots for the 1977 Christmas TV movie The Gathering. I took photos from these locations and they were posted on the blog Made for TV Mayhem--a site dedicated to made-for-TV movies and other entertainments. Though the story in the much-beloved movie, The Gathering, takes place in snowy New England, both the house and some of the outdoor locations were shot here in Northeast Ohio (Hudson, Ohio and Chagrin Falls, Ohio). Click here to see that post again. And, while you're at Made for TV Mayhem, you should check out the rest of Amanda's site and follow that amazing blog :)

1980s Christmas: A Christmas Story (movie)

This feature film was first released into theaters but it has since earned its top spot as a favorite Christmas tradition because of its repeated broadcasts on television. In fact, it has been airing as a 24 hour marathon on Christmas every year since 1997 on one of the Turner Broadcasting channels. This popularity as a favorite holiday tradition can be measured as the 24 hour marathon continues to achieve higher and higher TV ratings with each successive year. That’s not bad for a movie made almost 30 years ago!

It’s no wonder that we love this holiday movie. The story has nostalgia built right in to it with a narrator providing adult reflections of his childhood Christmas. It doesn’t matter if viewers are aware that the story takes place sometime in the 1930s or ‘40s, long before most of us were alive. The movie effectively creates a sentimental, familiar time within the past whether you recognize the references to Little Orphan Annie and Ovaltine or not.

The movie is also just quirky enough charm the coldest of hearts from the scene where the boys triple dog dare their pal to touch his tongue to the frozen metal pole through the scene where the mother screams at the Chop Suey Palace’s Christmas duck served with a smile on its face.

This movie often seems more like a collection of short vignettes rather than one narrative sequence. But if there’s one overarching theme, it is probably the fear of not getting what you most want for Christmas. A very human story that everyone, whatever your age, can relate to.

What's your favorite scene(s)? Mine is the scene where Ralphie scrambles back up the slide to speak with the department store Santa--only to be told his Christmas wish is denied while Santa pushes him back down the slide by placing his boot on Ralphie's head!

"Back of the line, kid!" Jean Shepherd on the left.

This movie’s story is based on the novel “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” written by author and radio personality, Jean Shepherd. Not only is it Shepherd himself who provides the voice of the narrator but he also appears as the man in the department store in line to see Santa Claus who points out to Ralphie where the end of the line is.

"It's a major award!" Darren McGavin and Bob Clark

The film’s director Bob Clark also appears in the movie as the Swede, the character the father speaks to when they stand across the street, eyeing the new leg lamp in the window, repeating “it’s a major award.”

The cast includes: Peter Billingsley as Ralphie; Darren McGavin as the father; Melinda Dillon as the mother; Ian Petrella as Randy; Zack Ward as Scut Farcus; and Scott Schwartz as Flick.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter to all my friends :)

24-Hour Christmas Movie Marathons

The annual tradition of the twenty four-hour marathon of the movie A Christmas Story has really touched everyone. People who usually don't watch much TV at all still seem to know about how that movie runs continuously over the holiday. I'm frequently asked about that phenomenon and I usually respond in two parts:
1) I think it's a nice alternative to the TV Yule Log (looped broadcast of a burning fire in a fireplace). It's the kind of movie that appeals to both young and older viewers. But since everyone has seen it already, it's nice to just have on the TV in the background while the family gathers and goes about their usual traditions. Thus it has become just another Christmas tradition for many families. The story is so familiar to everyone that it's more about catching your favorite scenes throughout Christmas Eve or the following Christmas Day than about sitting and watching the movie in its entirety during the marathon.
2) I'm surprised more networks don't do the same marathon idea since it has become such a popular Christmas experience.

But last year, a rival cable network did just that--and broadcast twenty four hours of Will Ferrell in Elf. I have to admit, in my house, we flipped back and forth between the two marathons the whole holiday. I see that this year the Fox Movie Channel is airing a twenty four hour-marathon of Home Alone. Maybe next year: twenty four hours of A Very Brady Christmas?

Kolchak Christmas Story

I was in Los Angeles last week and doing the tourist thing. After we took the Paramount Studios tour, we made sure to stop by the Hollywood Forever Cemetary where many actors, directors and celebrities have been interred. Of course, I had to stop and visit with my favorite actor who played the whistling-in-the-dark newspaper reporter of the supernatural on Kolchak: The Night Stalker as well as the cursing/leg lamp obsessed father on A Christmas Story. A quiet visit to the cemetary is always a pleasant reminder that life is fra-gil-ay.