“Where did you hear that word?” Now I had heard that word at least 10 times a day from my old man 🤣 absolutely classic film and one of my personal favorite lines.
Every time I watch this movie, when she asks that question, I think she must be at least partially deaf to not already know he heard it from his father!!!
Did you watch the new one??? I did last year with my brothers, and we all cried. It was surprisingly very good, and if you and your "Old Man" alway watched it, I think you'll really like it.
This was my father's favorite Christmas movie. He would often say that this is what it was like growing up in the 1940's in the Midwest. He passed away in 2016. - Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio- home of the Christmas Story House.
My mom was from Cleveland and would watch the movie at least 10 times every Christmas. It reminded her of Cleveland in the mid 1930's. She passed in 2016 as well at age 91.
That house, from the outside, also reminds me of a scene from ",The Fugitive ". Buy yes, my parents were both Depression babies. My dad passed away young, in '79, but I'm sure he would have loved it.
My best friend lives in Cleveland , I live in the south, been to Cleveland and I Love it !!! That whole area , Canton too !! When I first saw Christmas Story I knew it was filmed in Cleveland !!!
My favorite Christmas movies are home alone a Christmas Carol scrooge it's a wonderful life the grintch the Santa Claus jack frost and this one but I like alot of other Christmas ones as well Jack frost is the Christmas movie that basically always gets to me basically
I read that TBS and TNT ran this movie for 24 hours every Christmas so that their employees could have the day off. But I love this movie, especially Darren McGavin as "The Old Man." He's hysterical. "NADDAFINGAH!"
Actually for many years they looped it for 24 hours I'm Thanksgiving. I remember the year a friend from Germany was here and we made him watch it during Thanksgiving dinner (one of those large "urban tribe" dinners)
Yeah, back in the days when I had nightmares (I stopped having them 25 years ago; I don't miss 'em), I used to play dead in my dreams. (When I stopped dreaming about being chased by Nazis or whatever, I started "kickin' A__," instead. One's a weird as the other.)
If anyone is curious about the exact date of the movie, I actually calculated it using the newspaper the father is reading at the dinner table at time stamp 1:02:31. There is a picture of a The KMS Admiral Graf Spee, a German Pocket battleship on it. I cross referenced that with the online archives of the Chicago Tribune and found the article about the sinking of the Admiral Graf Spee on 17 December 1939.
This *IS* _the Christmas movie_ ! It embodies so much of a real Christmas. The tree drama, crappy gifts, friends and enemies, and the inevitable dinner disasters.
This movie was released about the same time I started understanding the real world I lived in. I was in my 20’s. I had landed a really good job with an electric utility company that took me out into the real world. The job was a power line clearance tree trimmer. We would go into people’s backyards. While working out in the field, I met fantastic people that shared their holiday cheer with perfect strangers. It was common to enter a yard and find a pot of coffee and doughnuts or cookies. Every year, as the holidays approach, I reflect back on those years… and a Christmas Story. They were truly challenging but simpler times. As I approach my 63rd year, I reflect back with a humble appreciation for life and for the wonderful people that I had the opportunity to serve.
The original leg lamp used in the movie was destroyed after filming was completed. The slide used in the movie is on display at Castle Noel in Medina Ohio, along with many other props. Fox8 newscaster Stefani Schaffer along with her brother were extras in the movie. She's the one in blue coat sitting on the bench in the store. Higbees is now Jacks Casino. Filming was done in February, 2 months after Christmas. The area where the house is located has its own little cottage tourism , with a store across the street that sells souvenirs. Most of the cars used in the street scenes were all locally owned, all the owners were paid rental fees for their use and they were hired to do the driving. Most of these facts are very well known in the Cleveland area. I hope you enjoyed them.
The movie is a celebration of Americana, which is why so many of us Americans love it. I’m sure that’s why it’s not as big in Australia... just ot the same cultural history.
@@timothyneiswander3151 I saw it as a little kid in Alaska, later moved to NC (at around 7 years old) but didn't know it was a big thing until about 10 or 15 years ago, but here in the southeast it's a traditional movie.
@@kageakuma3009 It's definitely an east-coast/midwest thing. It doesn't snow like that in the south or west coast states and the houses look very different there as well. Not that any American can't enjoy it but it has its regional flavors that others might not appreciate as much.
@@mr.pavone9719 I mean here in NC it doesn't snow very much anymore at least in my area lol but I remember snows when I was younger here. Always gives me nostalgia.
This was my dad's favorite Christmas movie. He was exactly the same age as Ralphie, so it reminded him a lot of his childhood. We would watch it together at least once every Christmas.
My father loved it too. Which was actually very interesting considering that my father acted just like the old man! The bits with the furnace and the extension cords and the fuses blowing out were my father to a "T" when I was a little boy. I sure felt a lot safer when we switched to circuit breakers! LOL And that line 'yoooooou used up.........all the glue........on PURPOSE' was exactly something my father would say! He's still alive too.....in his 90's now.
My favorite part is when Ralphies dad asked him if he got everything he wanted for Christmas and then he says “what’s that over there behind the desk?”
“Don’t anybody move! Hold it right there. A fuse is out.” “The old man could replace fuses quicker than a jackrabbit on a date. He bought them by the gross.”
My sister and I saw this movie when it was in theatres. By far, the most out loud laughing I have ever done in a movie theatre. I was concerned they were going to throw me out. Have always loved this film, in large part because it takes place when my dad was about Ralphie's age, so the sets, the clothing, the neighborhood, the cars, the lights, the wrapping paper, the radio, all the little details give me little glimpses into my dad's childhood. The street looks just like the street my dad grew up on, and even the school bears a striking resemblance to the one he attended.
It got me through years of present wrapping til early morning. Now I fall asleep and wake up to it. I think there's another station that broadcasts it also.
@@kevinstonerock3158 I started planting it on at least one tv when I was 16. I'm 39 now and about 3 years ago the whole family sat me down and told me they were done with it..... I still throw it on when I get the chance
This movie is a classic in our household and have tuned in while it’s looping to have it in the background while wrapping presents or baking holiday goodies. It’s funny, relatable to being a kid and young, family dynamic comedy, nostalgic and Christmasy so no wonder everyone likes it and plays it every year. 🎅🏻🎄 It is very Northern American though, so hope it still connects with the typical Aussies. 😊❤️👍
My parents were extremely brand conscious because back then certain brands were always dependable. Buick, Hoover, Zenith and Westinghouse were family favorites.
In God We Trust is a FANTASTIC book. It is all exactly like Christmas Story. It is hilarious, nostalgic, and heartwarming in exactly the same way. If you've never read it, I highly recommend it.
And despite having never sat and watched it from beginning to end in a session I've seen the entire movie who knows how many times at this point. I know all the scenes and the order since it's on so much at Christmas time I've caught bits for decades.
I think it usually starts around 8pm Christmas Eve and goes to midnight the following day. Hell they've been doing that for over two decades now and I think comedy central does Christmas vacation and bad Santa for a while now. I haven't watched regular TV for years though so I have no idea what's going on anymore, except for news clips about Trump and Biden.
Hopefully 2021 will be a better year... for once I wouldn’t wanna see Fauci’s face on the tv anymore or the so called Covid numbers.. and I hope trump is still president
I saw “A Christmas Story” when it was in the theaters in December 1983 when I was 30 years old and loved it. The nostalgic look at Xmas in a Midwestern city in the 40’s as seem through a child’s eyes was both charming and very well done. Bravo!
In 2003, Peter Billingsley had a small part in another Christmas film, "Elf", where he played Ming Ming the elf. He's the one who said "You're not a cotton-headed ninny muggins."
He also had a small part in Iron Man as an engineer saying: "I'm not Tony Stark." This also led to another cameo in Spider-man: Far From Home as the same engineer.
I can watch it all year round. One of the best films ever. My 5 year old son is starting to love it as well. He dropped some food the other day and did a perfect rendition of, 'Oh Fudge'. I was laughing my head off.
This is my favorite Christmas movie. It's one of the first times I ever watched my Dad, the hardest working man I've ever known, take time off, just sit, watch TV, and laugh. A few years ago, my wife and kids got me the pink bunny suit (ears and all) for Christmas. I put it on, and then my mom realized she'd forgotten a present and ran out to the garage. I hid behind the door to scare her, and when I jumped out, she was holding my present all right: a Winchester 300 short mag. The idea of someone in a bunny suit scaring a little old lady with large caliber rifle was hilarious, and I started to laugh. I still wear that bunny suit in the winter, because it's incredibly warm. The ears freak my horses out when I go outside, though. :) As for Australian movies, I really enjoy The Man From Snowy River, and The Light Horse. Someday I'd like to visit your country around Christmas, just to see what it's like to have Christmas when it's warm. Please keep up the great videos! And don't shoot your eye out.
@@sethralavode9012 must be a YT glitch. The op comment is about the Xmas story movie running for 24 hours. I'm on a lot of 2a channels and maybe your comment is in ref to 2a vid. What vid are you commenting on?
This movie is quintessential mid century Americana. All of us over 65 remember when these scenes were our real life. That’s what makes it so special. How else are you going to relive wearing your winter snowsuit and not being able to put your arms down till you got to school? Watching is a yearly tradition that still makes me laugh. It’s wonderful.💕🎄
Even though it’s a period piece, it so perfectly captures the feels of Christmas for most kids who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s which is why it’s my favorite Christmas movie.
As a 70s little girl, I totally related to many aspects of the movie, despite it being in the Midwest and mostly about boys, and I was a girl in north Georgia. The characters (kids) are pretty much my mom's generation, and my family was about as nuts as Ralphy's.
@@bluelivesmatter719 That is the weirdest original casting decision I heard since I heard that Gene Hackman was the original choice to play the dad in the "Brady Bunch". Imagine a world where Jack Nicholson is the Old Man in "A Christmas Story" and Gene Hackman was Mr Brady in "The Brady Bunch".
I’m glad he didn’t as Jack type of acting isn’t for a family role. We saw what happened to his family with a boiler. Hate to see him battle a furnace lol
Nicholson is a legend, but I think he would have changed the gravity of the movie. The performances are all great, and the direction is just about perfect IMHO.
EVERY year it's a night after Thanksgiving movie. We watched it every year in 80s and 90s with our kids, and in the 2005-19 with the kids & grandkids. Now it's just hubby and I as seniors still watch it yearly. We LOVE it!!!!
This movie is proof that today's movie watchers are just craving movies about characters and story, not CGI and political messaging. Please someone out there start a studio that gets this concept. We movie goers are here with our wallets open just waiting for something genuine.
Why would Netflix knowingly promote a traditional, in tact family, especially one where father is a male who works and mother, who is not only female, but also stays at home? Then there’s the BB gun - Netflix only promotes unhealthy gun culture ... the kind with cartoonish, over-the-top, gratuitous violence. This movie is as misaligned with Reed Hastings’ Orwellian values as possible for a Christmas film, except for perhaps “The Story of Christ.” LOL
Jean Shepherd labored for decades in late-night radio, spinning his tales and philosophical musings into the darkness for a loyal but limited audience. (He did some things on public television, and his magazine pieces were a thing for a while, but at heart he was a night-shift radio humorist.) He worked side-gigs, from doing his Saturday Night show at a Greenwich Village nightclub "live" on radio, to one-man shows at local high schools, several of which I attended back in the day. The success of "A Christmas Story" was his final reward, well deserved, his one claim to immortality. And I am happy for him, wherever he is out there in the eternal night. But although I listened to his radio show faithfully, for several years in my young teens, and read all of his books, honestly I only watched "A Christmas Story" once, and thought it was just "OK".
@@LindaC616 Yes,he was a uniquely gifted humorist, and hard-working. I didn't mean to be hard on "A Christmas Story" -- I did like it, I'm just not crazy about it, as it falls somewhere in the middle of the various ways that Shepherd's work has been presented. A number of the Public Television specials, similarly based on his short stories with the same group of characters, were actually better in my opinion, but "A Christmas Story" does qualify as a "classic". Have a great Christmas!!
Dan Magoo, I believe that Greenwich village nightclub was called “The Limelight.” Jean Shepherd would host a live show in that location on Saturday nights over WOR-710 AM. I remember listening to the show one Saturday night with my brothers and we could hear my parents laughing in reaction to Mr. Shepherd’s hilarious stories as they sat in the audience. Mr. Shepherd would often appear at several NJ colleges, including Princeton University and St. Peter’s College. He often poked fun at the great Garden State, commenting on the “aesthetic beauty of Route 22” and how, when he was a young WW II Signal Corps soldier, stationed at Fort Monmouth, he and his buddies tried to pick-up girls on the paddle-boat ride on the lake between Ocean Grove and Asbury Park on the beautiful NJ shore. In fact, Mr. Shepherd lived in New Jersey for many years while he hosted his nightly show over WOR. Mr. Shepherd was one of our nation’s great humorists. Requiem aeternam, Mr. Shepherd.
I think this movie is overwhelmingly appealing to all age demographics. It just clicks on so many levels. I've watched it for 30 years, and my reasons for liking it have changed with age. But I've always liked it.
Love this comment. I'd bet Minty considers it to be "not very polite" though. He seems to strive for Pbs levels of wholesome. That's cool. It's his channel.
@@yondu689 If we're talking PURELY Christmas movies in the Top 10, "It's a wonderful life", Yes, Die Hard (Although a classic) not purely a Christmas movie. If so then Lethal Weapon as well.
To me, A Christmas Story fell into the same category as Princess Bride, and Garrison Keller's Lake Woebegone stories. I grew up at the end of this period and remember wanting a BB gun for Christmas. The last time the family got together for Christmas Eve, we ordered out from a local Chinese restaurant. The movie came to be a cult thing for a while, but I just enjoyed the story. I remember seeing Flash Gordon shorts before movies while living on my grandparent's farm outside of Stanhope, Iowa,(pop. 488). I also was a big fan and am very sorry to hear that these scenes were cut. Thanks.
I didn't become a thing here in Poland too, unlike Home Alone, or Die Hard :) This December I decided to watch it, I adore Black Christmas (it already became my annual December watch), I have enjoyed Porky's, I guess it was the perfect time for the Christmas Story. I really dug it. I need to check other Clark's flicks. Cheers Minty!
Correction: Flik was “triple dog dared” into sticking his tongue on the freezing flag pole. Schwartz broke etiquette by skipping the “triple dare you”, after his “double dog dare you”, and went for broke by challenging Flik with a “triple dog dare you”. Thanks for the video, it’s long overdue.😉
and when someone triple dog dares you you know it's serious. a triple dog dare is a dare that you MUST accept. you absolutely, CANNOT back down from a triple dog dare. it is considered blasphemy.
That was art imitating life. My father grew up during those times and I grew up in the Midwest. Everyone had heard stories about sticking your tongue to a cold Pole in the Winter time. And a friend of mine once, on a school trip, bought a popsicle that was so cold that her tongue stuck to it
This movie hits so many chords for me..memories of past Christmases for me. I acquired this movie shortly after it was released in DVD version and watch it every year it is one of my Christmas traditions..I never get tired of it. Like most every kid I too wanted a BB gun..after several years of hearing the 'you'll shoot your eye out!' my Mom finally caved and got me a BB gun for Christmas it was one of my treasured possessions for many years. All the other scenes in the movie brought back many childhood memories. And Melinda Dillon..lovely actress she was in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' also. Classic movie it will never get old.
I love the irony of someone who did not know this movie existed until just a few days ago is able to tell us yanks of 10 things we may not know about a movie many of us grew up with! LOL But bravo Minty! You pulled that off splendidly! I did learn a few things I did not know about this movie! About 5 or 6 of the 10!
I think the point being made is that while numerous sequels to A Christmas Story have been made, none of them have been regarded by fans as being particularly good or memorable, and have fallen by the wayside as they are ignored and dismissed by the majority of fans. Perhaps, had a sequel been made immediately, with all of the original cast returning, it would have been different. Or perhaps, despite the large number of Jean Shepard stories available to build on, A Christmas Story was something unique and special to the time and place it was made, and while it has been often imitated, can never be duplicated.
Well this is by far my favorite Christmas movie. Excellent actors and narration through out the movie. Everything is perfect about it. What can I say. Watch it. A true classic.
And he also in the MCU As a stark industries Engineer technician He was in the 1st iron man movie all the way to spider man far from home Where he andIn the bunch of ex stark Industries Employees Are in cahoots with Mysterio.
He also directed Couples Retreat(2009) with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau...He was also the ticket seller at the airport in Four Christmases(2008) starring Vince Vaughn....He must be real life friends with Vince and Jon Favreau
"A Christmas Story" is definitive my favorite Christmas movie, and I'm from Germany, but it is really unknow over here either. So Merry Christmas to you
The year that a good friend from Germany spent a year here in the United States, when we went to an "urban tribe" Thanksgiving dinner, I made him watch this during dinner! During another visit back, I also made him watch the original Willy wonka and the chocolate factory and he was excited to recognize Munchen
A Christmas Story and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles are 2 of the MUST watch movies every holiday season. Typically we watch P,T,& A every Thanksgiving evening.
You probably didn't know this, but there actually is another movie that is a real sequel to this. It shows Ralphies teenage years and has pretty much all the same characters, and is narrated once again by Jean Shepard. Its called The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters. It was actually released in 1982, one year before a Christmas story. So is Christmas story a sequel to it, only more of a prequel as it takes place in Ralphy's younger years? Anyway it's worth mentioning because this is also pulled from the same book, and shows Ralph's older teen years.
My parents loved A Christmas story. They found the fourth of July movie a few years later, and didn't care for it. As a kid I didn't realize they were supposed to be about the same character. I just thought it was a similar format movie.
There is another with Jerry O'Connell as Ralphie and it's called "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven A Bliss" it was probably a made for tv movie in the late 80s but we loved it!
I first saw this movie in a theater in El Paso, TX in summertime! That's when it was first released, and did NOT do well. The entire theater was loving it and the "warm" feelings continued, despite the 100 degree heat. When it showed up on TBS, it was like total validation. Thank you Mr Turner.
A Christmas Story is one of my favorite movies for the season, along with A Christmas Carol (with Alastair Sim, 1951) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). I am amazed to hear that 8000 boys auditioned for the role of Ralphy!
Those are some of my favs too! Much prefer the Alistair Sim version over the Reginald Owen one. And actually Disney put out an animated one recently that was really good.
It's been a classic in the US for decades. A Christmas staple. RIght up there with It's a Wonderful Life, The Grinch, A Christmas Carol, and so on. Fun fact: Scott Schwartz, the kid who licks the pole, went on to work in the adult film industry!
The Wizard of Oz characters are shown in the visit to Santa at Higbee's scene. That movie was released in 1939, so that's the earliest year that the story could have taken place. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, so the downtown Christmas parade would have been drastically different in 1941 during wartime. So I figure the story is set in 1939 or 1940.
@@larrymcclain8874 It had to be set in the 50's. Look at the attire of some of the characters, especially Little Randy's "spaceman" snowsuit and the extra in line that talks to Ralphie while waiting to see Santa. Could you imagine someone in the 30's or 40's wearing what that kid had on in that scene?
Every Christmas for the past I don’t know how many years, we’ve turned on TBS at the beginning of the marathon and let go all 24 hours. Of course we weren’t glued to the TV the entire time. It served as background for our Christmas Eve/Day preparations as well as festivities. Because of this, I never felt the need to buy the movie until we included a Christmas in July (we have a friend who is obsessed with Christmas) and that served as background to set the “vibe” (as the young kids say).
Same! The 24 hours of "A Christmas Story" started in 1997. I was 14 that Christmas. My family had it on the TV the entire day. Every Christmas we had it on. My mom passed away in 2017, but if she was alive, I believe she would still play it every year. I do put it on every year still. It's part of Christmas to have that in the background for the full day. It's not like most people who celebrate Christmas actually leave their house or their relatives' house on Christmas Day. It's the perfect day to have the TV on in the background.
Okay. I was just a kid when this movie came out. I have watched it ever since. It has become a family tradition that when it is aired on TV for 24 hours, the channel does not get changed. I am such a fan of the movie that myself and my family have visited the Christmas Story House twice. My son and I went to the Christmas Story Convention that was actually held in Cleveland. We met the cast, got photos and autographs and even made the evening news there. I also own an original pink nightmare bunny suit, actual film strips from the movie and two leg lamps. (They are out every Christmas) Across the street from the house is the Christmas Story museum. There, you can see the clothes that were worn, pictures from the set, actual props from the movie. So to say it's my favorite Christmas movie is an understatement.
Near where I live there is a house that has just about every inflatable Christmas character you can imagine. The other day I noticed that this year's edition was an inflatable Ralphie in a pink Bunny suit. It looks like it's about 6' tall
Love the singsong cackling of “You’ll shoot your eye out” by mom and teacher. Makes me laugh out loud. Been watching for years and finally bought the cd. Husband from Cleveland always comments on the war memorial and Higbees dept store. Never tire of this enjoyable tradition in our home.
"Those ice cycles have been known to kill people." I'm from Georgia and just moved to the upper peninsula of Michigan and just caught my first big ice cycle to the forehead. It didn't kill me (obviously), but I certainly know where the myth came from now😳🤣.
Every little boy has had fantasies like Ralphie. I think thats where a lot of the love comes from. People can relate to it looking back to their own childhood.
My dad always gets emotional during this movie. That's the era he grew up in, and I think it makes him sad now, since both of his parents passed away years ago. The only reason he watched it was because of me. It was like his way of relating to me, when I was a child...he was showing me his childhood. I always saw tears rolling down his face when Ralphie got the BB gun. It was like he was remembering those special Christmas day moments with his parents. He ended up doing the same thing for me one year, and hid a new guitar behind the couch where I couldn't see it. 🥺
In an age where we shower our kids with more stuff than they know what to do with year round, it is hard for today's youth to really appreciate how important Christmas was for kids in terms of getting presents. Example: my grandson wants an RC that 'goes really fast'. HIs mom just got rid of one that fit that description.
" In a breach of etiquette, he skipped the double dog dare, and triple doged dare him, going straight for the throat !! " That was the quote from the movie Minty, a " Triple Dog Dare " Merry Christmas all, Peace
This movie was released when I was like 3 weeks old, and even though it's set in the 40s/50s, this was so 80s and brings me back to my childhood everytime I watch it! And for the last 20 years or so, it plays on every one of my family members TVs when I visit on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. This movie is the #1 Christmas movie of all time imo.
It's the ONLY one my grandmother could tolerate. She just had no stomach for the mushy nonsense in MOST Christmas movies. Truthfully, it and Christmas Vacation are the only ones that my family like too. I don't relate to the "perfect Christmas" genre of holiday movies. It wasn't even close to my holiday experiences...same for my husband.
One of my favorite Christmas movies. Last year HBO had shown the newest movie made with most of the original actors from that movie (characters as adults) with a few new actors to play the role of Ralphie's wife and kids. Ralphie takes his family and goes home for Christmas. That's a real sequel in my opinion.
Growin' up my brothers and I called it Ralph's Christmas. It got to the point the whole family called it that and I only learned it was A Christmas Story when I was in my early 20's. It has this insane nostalgia/feel-good factor that just can't be explained.
