Anybody else notice all the great old cars in the show? I was watching this morning as Ralphy was beating up the bully and the kids were running through an old model A shell. Ther are alot of cool cars throughout the whole program.Well anyways seasons greetings to all!!! Rob
I think there is a HAMB connection, someone here owned or supplied the cars for that classic. Merry Christmas!
wonder if any of those cars are still down there...they restored that house and you can buy a leg lamp at the gift shop...merry christmas
Yeah, when the bully was getting thumped there was that kool 37 Terraplane in the background. I especially like watching the movies from the 30' & 40's just for the cars. Oh, so much character and class.
Yah - we were watching the tape day B4 yesterday and I mentioned this was set in prewar Indiana. The boss corrected me. 1940. 'how'dja know?' I asked. 'it's on the box', was the reply. The Scut Farkas scene has a Tudor body and a Sport Coupe body layin' in the dirt. They're both primed - don't think folks primed the stuff they left in the dirt, tho...
happy holidays okay its a ralphie marathon today lets have the entire list of cars identified..* hamb style* i think we can do it ..... is it a sport coupe that ralphie walks thru before the "farkas incident"? what years is dads olds? okay i am going back to watch it again for the 5th time since yesterday.. paperdog
outside scenes were filmed in cleveland. the author, jean shepherd, grew up in hammond on cleveland street. there is a warren g harding elementary school a few blocks away. shepherd's middle name is parker, i guess that's where the last name comes from. he also had a younger brother named randy. flick grew up a few doors down, his parents ran flicks tap, which is still in business by the way. the real schwartz lived on another street. he died when his plane was shot down over italy in 1944. shepherd actually narrates the film. he doesn't use the name hammond in the movie, chosing to use hohman instead, which is the main drag through downtown hammond. there was no higbee's department store. he was probably referring to goldblatt's. i can remember seeing santa there back in the sixties.
Movie was all shot in Toronto, Canada from what I hear. I notice the TTC streetcars in it and there is a scene in the dept store that would be Simpsons right next to Eaton's. How do I know this? The scene is shot at the pen Dept. that my grandmother (r.i.p.) worked at for years. It was great seeing all the parts of the city that I grew up in and all the snow, and here I sit typing this and it is mid 70's and the sun is blinding me. Merry Xmas to all the HAMB'rs from........KNUX!
Silent Rick. I could be wrong. I do see the TTC streetcars and the inside dept store looks like the one that I would go to to visit my late grandma. KNUX!
they did use a soundstage in toronto for filming. they did shoot in two locations, the outside shots of the house were shot in cleveland, but they did shoot some in toronto also.
The boss corrected me. 1940. 'how'dja know?' I asked. 'it's on the box', was the reply. [/quote] I believe it was set in December of '39. In the department store scene, the characters from 'The Wizard of Oz' were going thru the store and the movie premired in 1939. Could have been a year later, but I don't think so.
Merry christmas all I love that movie so much I bought it. So shoot your eye out and dont say fuck or you get the soap and go blind. John
"FA RA RA RA RA...RA RA RA RA" That movie with Jennifer Anniston and Vince Vaugn,called "The Breakup",the guy who played "Ralphy",plays her best friends husband.
I grew up on Cleveland Street in Hammond and the Sheppard house is a dump. I lived on the next block down across the street from Flicks. One of the best movies ever.
I was watching this last night with the girlfriend. Noticed all the cars too. I kept telling her she could get me any of those for Christmas.
Guess what my Dad bought my boy for Christmas this year.........a Red Rider BB gun! Just like the one in the movie, it's cool. He also got his his first set of drums, yippy!
I don't think it's been said, but when the bully is yelling "cry" to Ralphie, his cronie is sitting on a 30/31 sedan. I yelled when I noticed the Terraplane...my family just gave me that look Great movie. Bryan
To find an American city resembling an Indiana town of the 1940s, director Bob Clark sent his location scouts to twenty cities before selecting Cleveland, Ohio, as the site for filming. The people of Cleveland were incredibly cooperative during filming, donating antique vehicles from every corner of the city. These vintage vehicles helped to enhance the authenticity of the production design. Ralph's school exteriors were filmed at Victoria School in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Cameo: [Jean Shepherd] writer/narrator is the irate man waiting in the Santa line at the department store. Singer/Songwriter Pepper McGowan was an extra during the mall scene. Jean Shepherd's book "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash", which the film is partly based on, is a collection of short stories that Jean Shepherd wrote for "Playboy" magazine during the 1960s. The film's setting is a town in Indiana, but was actually filmed in Cleveland, Ohio. The street the "Parker's" live in is called "Cleveland Street". The movie was based on a city in Indiana named Hammond. References were made throughout the film to support this claim. Examples: Harding school (on 165th St.) where Flick stuck his tongue to the flagpole, Goldblatt's department store, the mention of Griffith (a city that borders Hammond), Cleveland Ave and other streets that are located in Hammond. Although the movie was not filmed in Hammond the houses and look of the film is very authentic. Jean Shepherd (Writer) grew up in Hammond. Parts of the movie, including the Christmas tree shopping scene, were filmed in Toronto, Ontario. One of Toronto's trademark red trolleys can be seen driving by the shot of the outside of the tree lot. The St. Catharine's Museum owns some props used in the film, including two pairs of Ralphie's glasses including the pair that was smashed, and two scripts. The Daisy Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Rifle had to be created specially for the film, because it never actually existed. Director Cameo: [Bob Clark] Swede, the dim-witted neighbor, who marvels at the Leg Lamp from outside. Inspired the creation of "The Wonder Years" (1988). Some of the "snow" used during the scenes between the kids and the bullies was actually soap flakes. The stars later remarked that they were slipping and sliding during the filming of the scenes. The film was released just before Thanksgiving and became a surprise hit. By the time Christmas rolled around, the movie had already been pulled from most theaters because it had been "played out". After complaints were lodged at the theater owners and the studio, the film played on select screens until after the first of the year 1984. Jack Nicholson was considered for the role of Mr. Parker - "The Old Man". The "major award" was based on a real lamp: an illuminated Nehi logo. The Radio Orphan Annie 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 Department Store featured in the Santa scene is really Higbee's in Downtown Cleveland. There were no Higbee's in Hammond. During the filming in downtown Cleveland, the antique automobile club members, whose cars were used, were given a route to follow on Public Square. They were instructed to continue circling the square until otherwise instructed. Road salt was a major concern for the car owners and the cars were pressure-washed after each day's filming and parked underground beneath the Terminal Tower. When the character of Scut Farkas first appears, the "Wolf" music from Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" plays in the background. The name "Farkas" is derived from the Hungarian word for "wolf." The Parkers' Oldsmobile is a 1937 Model 6, four-door sedan. Mrs. Parker's memory is correct. The Lone Ranger's nephew, Dan Reid, rode a horse named "Victor". He was the son of the Lone Ranger's horse, Silver. While reading the newspaper at the kitchen table the "Old Man" angrily mentions that the "Sox traded Bullfrog". This is a reference to long time Chicago White Sox pitcher Bill Dietrich who's nickname was Bullfrog. He pitched during the 1930s and '40s. Dietrich was never traded from the Sox, he was released September 18, 1946. Ralphie says that he wanted the "Red Ryder BB Gun" 28 times. The piece that plays after Ralphie says "fudge", and after the lamp breaks for the second time, is the opening of "Hamlet" by Tchaikovsky. White Sox player Bill "Bullfrog" Dietrich is mentioned as being traded. He was traded to the White Sox in 1936 and 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. So, enjoy the movie anyway. It's Christmas. Bob Clark's success with the teen-sex comedy Porky's (1982) allowed him the ability to make a movie he wanted to make. Porky's there would have been no Christmas Story.
I believe it was set in December of '39. In the department store scene, the characters from 'The Wizard of Oz' were going thru the store and the movie premired in 1939. Could have been a year later, but I don't think so.[/quote] ...but did you notice that when Flick's stuck to the flagpole, the cops drive up in a '48 Chevy?
The Red Ryder BB gun that my grandfather owned was the first gun of any type that I was allowed to fire this was about 1957 or so. If I recall the gun was similar to the one created for the movie with the exception of the compass and the number of shot. There was no compass and the capacity was more like 600 not 200. I made the mistake of filling it up completely one time and it was very muzzle heavy. Thank goodness that the gun didn't have more power or I would have put an eye out with numerous ricochets that came right back down the barrel. I loved that gun like Ralph did his. As a kid of 6, 7, or 8 I spent many hours riding shotgun in several early 50's pickups (Chevy, Ford and Studebaker) looking for lizards in the oil fields around Ranger TX. What a great movie and what a great way to spend summers with the grandparents.
The Daisy Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Rifle had to be created specially for the film, because it never actually existed. I have an extensive Daisy BB gun collection and the Christmas Story RR guns are very rare. The actual 200 shot BB Daisy "with a compass in the stock" was a slide action Buck Jones (old B western movie star). A couple of years ago, Daisy sold a limited edition Christmas (not Christmas Story) RR guns. Obviously there was some sort of trade mark issues with using the title Christmas Story. Fox News had a bit on the fact that the house was restored and over 10,000 people had paid to go through it in December. They can't keep leg lamps in stock! BTW, Jean Shepard did a lot of stuff for CAR & DRIVER.
This is a great movie, and I look forward to it every year. I can watch it over and over again. It takes me back to a much simpler time.
"...but did you notice that when Flick's stuck to the flagpole, the cops drive up in a '48 Chevy? " I missed that one, Heathen........gotta go watch it again!
Actually - I think if those guns had more power they wouldn't ricochet as easitly sending the bb back at you. A more powerfull gun will penetrate the BB more often than not and nothing comes back at you. I think those red ryders are dangerous as hell. I never had many BBs returned with my air crossman 760 or what ever it was. Great Movie - I kept it on all day yesterday. I love how they continously play it on TNT.
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