Australian watches 'A Christmas Story' for the first time (this movie wasn't big here?!?) 

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What I love about Ralphie getting the gun at the end is that it’s his dad that gave it to him. Throughout the movie he tells his mom, his teacher and Santa but never tells his dad because in a way Ralphie was scared of his dad. I had a similar relationship with my dad where I was scared of him as a kid but I was always wanting to do things with him and help him with things, similar to Ralphie in this movie, and when Christmas came around he always got me the things that my mom wouldn’t approve of because he trusted me and he knew it would make me happy. So shout out to the fathers that were stern but fair with their kids.

The look on the fathers face when he watched his kid open the gift he wanted brought tears to my eyes.

The ending hits so much harder when you realize that his dad was the one person that Ralphie didn’t think to ask.

To make a kid cry uncle was akin to making them cry mercy. It was a way of making them give in

I love the moment when Ralphie finds the hidden gift and his dad is so happy

I've literally seen this movie a hundred times and I still cry when the old man tells Ralphie about that last present behind the desk. ✌️

Jean Sheppard was a radio personality out of New York City in the 1960’s. A Christmas Story is made up of some of the stories he used to regale his radio listeners with each week. He also is the narrator and has a brief cameo in the department store who tells Ralphie “the end of the line is back there.” I was a big fan.

This is just another amazing Christmas classic. And it has the three most quotable lines: “Fra-gi-lé. Must be Italian.” “I triple dog dare ya!” “Ohhhh fuuuuuudge…”

This flick is actually a string of unrelated short stories strung together and loosely connected by the ongoing BB gun plot implying it all these events happened over a single Christmas season. That explains the somewhat disjointed pacing of the story - which gets criticism at times. But I've always found that disjointed nature works. It fits with this kids-eye-view of a season; the over-serious and poetic narrative of relatively minor, inconsequential events. Yet events that become embedded in our own life narrative and nostalgia. And it also hints at the nature of a good story - sometimes less about the events and more about how they're presented. Side note: I also grew up in Australia and saw these echoes of US culture. My Mom is a US citizen and would relate all these stories about snow and Christmas customs (some of which we adopted) from when she grew up. But it wasn't until we moved to the US that I got to fully embrace and understand where these echoes came from. Culture is a fascinating thing (and yes, Virginia, the US has culture).

My parents did something similar with a gift for me around that age. When I was 10 or so I *needed* a Casio keyboard and begged my parents for one. On Christmas morning, I looked through all the gifts, looking for something keyboard-sized. I was disappointed when I didn't find one, but still had a good Christmas morning. When we were all finished opening gifts, my mom said "Hmm, I'm sure there's one more gift, Adam. Look through all the wrapping paper..." So I dug through all the unwrapped gifts and found a little jewelry box that was wrapped for me. I opened it and there was a note saying "Go look out in the garage." When I went out to the garage, on the washing machine there was a large gift for me! I quickly unwrapped the keyboard and was overjoyed to have gotten what I really wanted that year. No, I don't play the keyboard/piano now lol

24 hours of AA Christmas Story is as much a part of Christmas in the US as anything else you can think of. I’m 41 now but it goes all the way back to when I was a tween that TBS started the 24 hours of A Christmas Story on repeat. There are years that I will watch the whole movie at different parts throughout the day, just walk away and come back later and it’s on again 😂

Some of the best jokes come from the narrator. "Randy lay there like a slug. It was his only defense."

Everyone always comments on how mean the adults are in this movie, including Santa. But they forget that this movie is from the perspective of a child.

This movie would play on TBS back to back for hours for two or three days. It would also play on AFN for hours when I was deployed in a combat zone, three Christmas seasons in a row. So this movie holds a lot of nostalgia.

During that period, most homes and businesses were heated with coal. If the damper was turned off, there was insufficient "draw" (airflow) to keep the coal burning and clinkers (unburned pieces of coal) would form, clogging the grate and further restricting air flow. At one point in the movie when Ralphie's father is in the basement battling the furnace, he shouts, "It's a clinker."

This is a uniquely "American Culture" study, I grew up during the 60s-70s, my parents grew up during the depression/WWII era; every aspect of this film mirrored what life was like for me - yep I even experienced "soap poisoning" for lying and dad actually threatened to get the "plumber's helper" to make me eat and mom told me that "people in China" line. A Christmas Story lives rent free in my head.

Oh no! It is a little thing, but I hope you did not miss it. The Dad's WTF?!? face When Randy climb/crawls out of the closet under the sink. That part always makes me smile

Firearms have always been a part of America. I grew up around them and I was taught to safely handle them. Safety was alway the #1 my dad stressed to me and instilled in me and this movie was a great reminder of what could happen if you dont respect even something as seemingly insignificant as a BB or airsoft and paintball.

This movie is a tradition here in America to watch at least once during it’s 24 hour run on 2 tv stations. I can remember watching this movie year round. I just recently met the remaining cast at a local Comic Con, and it was a surreal moment to get to meet the actors who I grew up with watching every Christmas.

The actress that plays the mom did not know that head was left on duck , so that was a genuine reaction to seeing it and then cutting the head off.

1) Darren McGavin plays the father. He was on a very interesting TV series: Kolchak-The Night Stalker, which ended up creating The X-Files. 2) The reason why the furnace was a pain in the butt was because it was coal fired. Those were messy and difficult to deal with. 3) The reason why there's so few electrical outlets in the house is because the house was retrofitted for electricity. 4) Speaking of electricity, old electrical systems had fuses, not circuit breakers. Fuses screwed in like light bulbs and there was a metal strip that let you know if the fuse was good or not.

Apparently during the daydream sequence of Ralphie defending his home from burglars, the actor playing Ralphie, Peter Billingsley, was accidentally given real chewing tobacco from the prop department. They didn't realize until 15 minutes after they started filming when Peter started feeling dizzy and his stomach starting hurting. They had to shut down production for about 40 minutes so that Peter could get it out of his system.

This is my personal favorite Christmas movie of all time. #1 for me. Yes, in America they do a 24 hour marathon of showing this movie back to back to back ect starting on Christmas Eve and ending on Christmas day. I usually watch it fully at least 3 times during that 24 hours.

One of those great movies you can put on "repeat" Christmas Day, and have it play in the background during the festivities.

This movie came out when I was a teen. I didn't see it in the theater, but I saw it later on the VCR. Fell in love with it right away. As kids, we all remember that "one gift" we wanted for Christmas. This movie really does hit the nostalgia feels.

As a cleveland ohioan I can tell you people here absolutely love this film. And that lamp is a very common Christmas decoration here aswell

Chinese restaurants are always opened on Christmas Eve/Day in the USA. It's one of their biggest business days. The reason for this is that for many Jews (at least in the USA) it is practically a tradition to meet up with family, eat and socialize at a Chinese restaurant during the Christmas holidays, which obviously they don't celebrate. It's an annual favorite activity for many Jews. This tradition can be traced back to the 19th century in the USA

As a native Chicagoan, this Midwest Christmas movie is cinematic nostalgia.

Great reaction Mary. Kudos for doing a REALLY old school movie. Keep up the great work and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Also marry the reason why he shot his eye is because he shot at metal. Never do that unless your extremely far away because the bullet will bounce back

The classroom map of the US is age appropriate for geography. World geography would be taught at a later age.

Marry when the dad is shouting nonsense when fixing the furnace it’s like cuss words but no in real life

A lot of dads get their kids, mostly their boys, BB guns for Christmas, especially in that time but even within the past few years it’s still pretty common. I’m a girl and my grandpa got me a pink 22 rifle for Christmas when I was I think 11, I don’t know why he got me one considering I wasn’t an outdoorsy kid and considering it’s been over a decade and I’ve only shot it a few times 😅but I still adore the rifle and have it in a safe place. Also, it wasn’t just a bit of kick back, the bb bounced off the metal sheet Ralph had the practice on, usually unless you’re rlly far you should only shoot at things that can take the impact harder like sand bags so they don’t bounce back like that.

"Adult Ralphie" was voiced by the author of the novel!

The subtle thing going on is that ultimately both of his parents have Ralphie's back at different times. The Mother in protecting Ralphie from the consequences of his fight, and the Dad in understanding how important it actually was for Ralphie to get a fun gift (the movie acknowledges the gift is dangerous, but also rolls with it being permissible, because... America).

Speaking of horror, Black Christmas is a holiday horror film that came out nine years prior, and it's directed by the same man behind this one. Another must-watch for the channel, even after the new year.

In 'A Christmas Story,' there's this subtle, beautiful dance between fathers and sons that weaves through the entire film. You start noticing how much of what happens to Ralphie and his dad kind of mirrors each other. It's like this unspoken connection that builds up, and then, out of the blue, Ralphie's dad becomes the unexpected hero. You see, Ralphie has this dream gift - a Red Ryder lever-action BB gun - and the last person he'd even think of asking for it is his dad, the guy he probably fears a bit. But in this heartwarming twist, it's his dad who comes through in the end. The joy on his face when he reveals that secret gift, the rifle he managed to get without his wife finding out, adds this whole layer of complexity to their relationship. It's a moment that hits home for a lot of us guys. You know, that realization that your dad, the one you might not see as an immediate hero, is quietly pulling strings behind the scenes. 'A Christmas Story' captures that universal sentiment, making you appreciate the unsung heroes in our own lives, especially during the holidays. In the midst of all the laughs and nostalgia, the film beautifully unfolds this touching tale of a dad's love and a son's unexpected Christmas miracle.

This is multiple levels of nostalgia. Number one, it reminds me of watching this movie with my family every Christmas season. Then there is the nostalgia for all Christmas traditions from childhood and remembering how big a deal Christmas was as a kid. Lastly, there's nostalgia for things I didn't even have but were echoed or already remembered with nostalgia by the time I was a kid. I watch this movie and remember both how big a deal Christmas was when I was a kid and all the things that used to be part of Christmas but have fallen off over the years.

This is definitely an American tradition to watch during the holidays. I am American (hispanic) and I didn't hear about this movie at all until I was 25 years old. Mary, it's a great movie as you know now and we watch it at home every year now. The new one is good too.

I was able to see this movie when it was newly released on a theater screen, have loved it ever since. Many aspects of it are independent of the time in which this movie is portraying. The innocence of childhood, the closeness of family, the spirit of Christmas, etc. Just an enjoyable movie. This is well known and perhaps mentioned by others prior to me, but when the boys get in line to see Santa and the bearded gentleman directs them to the true end of line, that person is Jean Shepard, the author of the stories used in this movie. He is the narrator as well, that is he is adult Ralphie. Last year there was a sequel to this movie. "A Christmas Story Christmas". Ralphie is now an adult with kids of his own. It does put some finishes on some of the events of this movie. Including Scut the bully. Most of the original cast were involved. Many were fearful this sequel would not or could not live up to the original. I found it it did well. Not as great a movie as the original movie, but good. My opinion :)

This is our family's go-to Christmas movie. I waited until I was 30 year old for Santa to bring me my Red Ryder. Decided to just buy my own. I also bought eye protection to play with it!

This is a close representation of life in middle America in the 1940s. It was a different time and different place. Mothers stayed home and took care of the kids and home and father went off to work. Each had a role to play. Little Orphan Annie on the radio was real and even the decoder ring is real. As far as a BB gun, in a few years he would most likely get a real 22 rifle. Look at toys in the 1940s and 1950s military toys for boys and doll for girls.

Bob Clarke also made the 1974 horror movie Black Christmas. Which is a profoundly different movie than this one. Same guy. Same lifetime. He was an interesting person.

I read something the other day about this movie that made me come to a realization, Ralphie got the one gift he wanted from the one person he didn't ask for it or directly bring it up to. Mom, no, teacher, no, even Santa, no. But his Old Man, he still came through.

Seeing classic movies and movies on various themes again from the style, natural magnetism and reactions of Mary Cherry is seeing the movie as a premiere with magic in a unique experience. Thanks to Mary Cherry for the videos and may the special Christmas time with the arrival of a new year be an impulse of new life in blessing.

In my family, we watch this film together every Christmas...at least once. Sometimes it plays on repeat in the background as we're making food, hanging out, playing video games, etc. Some American tv stations will play it for 24 hours straight on Christmas. It is very Americana.

The only one he didn't ask specifically had his ears to the ground the whole time, his Old Man! I love this movie so much! Few movies manage to bring out that Christmas kid warmth like this one. When the Old Man is cursing they deliberately make it into gibberish to make it kid friendly, but we all know what words he is really using!!

I have a leg lamp. Amazon sells 'em.

Btw their house was from an era that was JUST too old for the amount of electric items everyone actually had. Hence the bazillion connections. Our apartment (I am Swedish) is built 1945, and the landlord put in more wall outlets somewhere in the 70s (we moved in long after that) but what is originally built into the walls is only one outlet per room.

They repeated this movie in channels such as TNT and my dad could watch that movie over and over and not get tired of it, seemingly. Lord rest his soul and this is the time of year I miss him the most 🙏

A lot of the exteriors, including the house were filmed in Cleveland, Ohio. I actually live about 4 miles from the Christmas Story House. Across the street from the house are The Christmas Story Museum and the Christmas Story Gift Shop which sells about 20 different kinds of "major awards" including christmas tree light version. Also, "Ralphie" is the same guy who got yelled at in Ironman by Obadiah Stane, and later in Spider-man Far from Home he reprised his role.

A few years ago I read an article that said the kid who played the bully used his yearly royalty check to buy something nice for his mother.

This has such a good place in my heart. The movie always played for 24 hours before Christmas when we were children, so we always watched a piece of it at some point, especially when our parents were preparing Christmas dinner. Edit: Also, the reason they went to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas is because in Asia Christmas is not a holiday. Same reason why as an adult, I've been able to find certain places to get my booze on Christmas morning.

Having grown up in the 1950's, so many of the little things in this movie really did evoke memories of childhood. It's definitely a Christmas favorite of many in my generation. We did love our bb-guns back then. 😋

Since you've watched Elf you've seen the actor who plays Ralphie, Peter Billingsley. He played the elf that asked buddy how many Etch A Sketches he made, Ming Ming.

Hey Mary. A little bonus to this movie is the the actor that played Raphie was also in Elf. He played the main elf character, Ming Ming (uncredited)!

From what I hear from the older generations, this movie wasn't that big when it first came out in '83. But then at some point it became super popular.

I first saw this movie when it released. It was always enjoyable to watch, and on Christmas Day one of the cable channels in the US plays it non stop for 24 hours! This movie represents my parents generation, but allot of this was familiar in a number of ways, too. And FYI, Santa's gifts for mom and dad were basically mom's gift to dad, and dad's gift to mom. But the lion's share of the gifts were for the kids. This movie is a must see for me around Christmas time! And cripe is a soft expletive, like saying heck, darn or shoot.

This movie is so iconic. So wholesome and fun. There are some TV station here in the US that do 24 hour marathons of this movie during the Christmas season

The Adult Ralphie's name is Jean Sheppard, and he wrote several books full of stories about these same characters- Several of his other stories were also made into movies, but this one is far and away the most successful.

I just recently learned that all of Flick's lines once he stuck his tongue to the pole were ad libbed. There is an interview with the entire kid cast from A Christmas Story out where the man that plays Flick says it. The punch in the arm was also real, just not meant to be as hard.

I laugh so hard at the scene with the other kids mother on the phone freaking out like a maniac 😂

We have those toys still! I just saw a Daisy Red Ryder at Walmart last time i went.

A couple of things that struck me as a child of the '60s. First, I definitely had a bb gun when I was 10. Shot at cans in my back yard. Second, the map of the US. These maps were like pull down blinds in the classroom where you could pull down different maps. Last, it is amazing when I think of it how mean or rude adults would be to kids in stores or amusement parks when I was a kid. There were really adults who yell at kids: "Get off my lawn" and such.

The narrator is Jean Shepherd, who is the author of the story from which this is based (this movie is essentially one chapter from Shepherd's semi-autobiographical book about growing up in NW Indiana called "In God We Trust; All Others Pay Cash"). Shepherd was a radio announcer, so he definitely had the voice for it. Very entertaining reaction, as always (and super-cool outfit as well 😃).

I first saw it as an adult and it so captures the time period and a youngster's point of view. It's in my top 5 Christmas movies. And yeah, we have a channel here that shows it for 24 hours nonstop and we'd turn it on and even go out to do chores and such and catch whatever scene was playing.

Fun fact - when they filmed the scene at the Chinese restaurant, the crew didn't tell Melinda Dillon (the mom) that the duck would still have its head and neck attached. Her reaction to seeing it is 100% genuine.

There's nothing more magical than waking up Christmas Day, looking out the window and seeing the whole world covered in snow. It really makes it feel like Christmas, and they captured it beautifully in A Christmas Story. Great reaction!

Yes, Mary! This is my favorite Christmas Movie! It's a tradition for my family to watch it every year on Christmas Day here in America. I'm so happy to see you finally watching it, Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁

This movie was only a modest hit when it came out, but it gained popularity in the '90's with TV-airings. Around the early-2000's was when they first started airing the 24-hour marathons (usually on TNT and TBS on Christmas Eve, and sometimes on Thanksgiving as well). I think the reason so many people have nostalgia for it is because it so often would be playing in the background at family gatherings, and you can easily follow the plot from only half paying attention.

Fun fact: In A Christmas Story, the bully's last name Farkus sounds like the Hungarian word Farkas, which means "Wolf" This is why whenever that character appears "The Wolf's Theme" music from 'Peter and The Wolf" plays

In my high school, we had a mandatory English class called the American Dream. And we read books that focus on that (for good or bad) - Grapes of Wrath, Great Gatsby, Native Son, etc. For those of us in the fall semester, the teacher always showed A Christmas Story for the last class before the holidays because he said it sums up the American Dream perfectly. Maybe why it's so popular here and wasn't elsewhere. I do watch the marathon of it for Christmas eve every year while eating Chinese food and wrapping presents.

Not many people are aware of the sequel before the sequel. There is a film called “My Summer story”, it was based on the writings of the original author of this story.

So many quotable lines...and no matter what decade you grew up in, you can find elements of your childhood that relate to this movie.

I saw this in grade school the year it came out or after, I guess? Back then a VHS, would be released about six months to a year later. But yes, this is my favorite Christmas movie and it encapsulates every damn thing both good and bad with that holiday. I make it a private tradition to watch it every year. Even in America most people aren't aware of this movie or don't care for it. Including my own family, which sucks!

Welcome to a new Christmas tradition watching this movie with all of us. Thanks, Mary - great reaction!

I have seen this movie countless times on home video and on TV over the past “Fudge(To fit the movie), I’m old!” years. I have been able to recite the dialogue along with the movie. A couple of weeks ago was the FIRST time I ever saw it in the theater. I found out about it after Zack Ward(Scut Farkus) tweeted about it being in the theaters again for a couple of days.

For real up until the 80s an 8-10 year old getting a BB gun was not at all unusual. I got my first pellet gun at 10. They were more powerful than a BB gun but were only one shot at a time where a BB gun could be loaded up with 200 BBs.

If you want some answers to what happened, some can be found in the new sequel that came out in 2022 called "A Christmas Story Christmas". Has most of the original cast all grown up. There are a lot of mixed reviews about it but I really enjoyed it, although the subject matter hit way too close to home for me.

There's actually a pretty good sequel to this that alot of people missed. Its worth checking out

This movie is such a huge pop culture holiday movie. So much that many people display their own leg lamps in their windows you can see from the street!

When I was a kid, we bought a tree every year

The sequel they did recently called "A Christmas Story Christmas" is very good they got almost the entire same cast back and released it last year

I love the analogy of the blue ball, and the look of the old man’s face. 😂

Peacemaker was an old US/Western term that Cowboys used to describe their guns

I thought for sure you had done this film already!? I'm so glad you finally watch it!

That starving people didn't work on me. I' d just tell my parents to send them what was on my plate.

It took a while to get popular in the US, but now, it's considered a Christmas classic, along with It's a Wonderful Life, Elf, and probably Miracle on 34th Street. This one is the funniest of the lot. So cute. And having grown up in Northern Indiana, where this is set, during the time frame this was set, I can tell you, it's pretty spot on in most details.

Thank you for sharing "A Christmas Story". I haven't seen that movie in a few years, and it still makes me laugh.

You should check out Harry and the Hendersons if you haven't already, the actress who plays Ralph's mom also plays the mom in that movie and it's a treasured childhood favorite.

This is my family Christmas staple. I absolutely adore this film. It never disappoints.

Our mom turned us onto the humorist writer Jean Sheperd years before this movie came out. In fact, there’s a PBS short film about Ralphie as a teenager during the 4th of July. It stars a very young Matt Dillon, and is wonderful.

Our School Pulldown Maps have more than one map. It usually goes State, USA, Continent, Known World.

So glad to see your reaction to this, Mary! This is one of my all-time favorites. Just FYI, an air rifle, like the one Ralphie wanted, isn't exactly dangerous. It's about as dangerous as a slingshot. It just looks the part, and you have to pump it several times between shots for it to even fire. Just a classic, kitschy piece of americana.

Great vid, Mary. There are actually a lot of restaurants that are open on Christmas specifically because there are many people who don't celebrate Christmas but still want to go out to eat. I have a Jewish friend whose family's tradition actually is eating at a Chinese restaurant.

This is a fascinating movie for me. As a kid, I didn’t really like it but as an adult, I can’t get enough of it. Now I can see why tv channels air it 24 hours a day for Christmas. Thank you for reacting to it and I can’t wait to see your reaction to Muppet Christmas Carol.

"No, no! I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!" "You'll shoot your eye out, kid. Merry Christmas. Ho! Ho! Ho!" Merry Christmas! ✝️ 🙏 🎄 🎁 Fun Fact : Theatrical movie debut of Zack Ward. Historical Fact: Red Ryder was a character from comic books and radio in the 1930s/40s, akin to popular western heroes like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and the Lone Ranger. Gun Enthusiast Fact: Due to this film's popularity, the Daisy Rifle Company has started producing Red Ryder BB Guns for sale during the Christmas season. It has become one of Daisy's best selling rifles. Movie Magic Fact: For the scene in which Flick's (Scott Schwartz) tongue sticks to the flagpole, a hidden suction tube was used to safely create the illusion that his tongue had frozen to the metal pole. Author Cameo Fact: Jean Shepherd (author of In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash (1966) which forms the basis of this movie) is not only the voice of a narrator, but is also the irate man waiting in the Santa line at the department store. The woman standing behind him is his wife, Leigh Brown. Automobile Enthusiast Fact: 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. 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. Fixer Upper Fact: In 2005 the original home used for the exterior shots of the family home was put up for auction on eBay, and avid fan of the movie Brian Jones purchased it directly from the seller for $150K. Jones then spent the following year restoring the home to the way it looked on screen. The exterior was completely restored and the interior was renovated to match the interior of the home shown in the movie (parts of the interior were actually filmed in a Toronto studio). On November 25, 2006, the home finally opened its doors as a tourist attraction. Jones spent close to $500K in preparation for this grand opening. In addition, he also purchased a house across the street and converted it to a gift shop and museum dedicated to the film and the house.

Just in case you didn’t know, black & white stripes used to be used as prison uniforms, so they were used cartoonishly to indicate criminals. They weren’t just matching outfits 😉😂

Whenever you get the chance, check out A Christmas Story Christmas. Most of the original actors reprised their roles. Out of all the sequels A Christmas Story had, A Christmas Story Christmas is the best one so far. A Christmas Story is about Christmas from the point of view of a child, A Christmas Story Christmas is about Christmas from a point of view of an adult trying to reclaim the lost magic.