Jean Shepherd was an excellent writer and did a great job in writing this movie. He was also the Narrator, and the Man in the department store in Line for Santa. He asks Ralphie " Hey kid, just where do you think your going? RIP Jean Shepherd.
When the father offers Ralphie the red ryder bb I always get tears in my eyes. I am 51 but when I watch this movie I always feel like a kid again. Great movie one of my all time favorites. Merry Christmas to everyone.
The Santa and the elves just hate their jobs, and want the store to close so they can get the hell out of there. But Ralphie (and the movie's point of view) interprets their attitudes as scary and creepy. That's brilliant film making.
this was the best part of the movie! I was in a band back in the esrly 80s and our Lead Guitarist Tom Jordan took our band to see this movie at the theater in December 83. I nearly passed out from laughing at this part of the movie!
I think if they worked in today's climate they would have been much more passive aggressive & more subtle with their behavior. Unless they really didn't give a shit who knew how they felt.
It's also possible that they were grumpy from working all day (with plenty of the kids being total crybabies, presumably) and wanted to wrap things up and go home.
My dad and I were walking around the mall yesterday and seriously considered going up to the Santa Clause just to tell him we wanted a football and then correct ourselves and say we wanted a Red Rider BB gun.
I love this! From the moment the kids get up to Santa neither the elves or Santa want them there. Then they finish it by shooting your ass down a slide. LMFAO! Awesome! The ulitmate visit to Santa.
it was missed by me until this year and one of the 6 or 7 times i watched it, but they gave a perfect hint as to how the movie will end by the old man saying, "he knows, he always knows." he was actually planting the idea that HE will be the one who gives ralphie the gun, that he knows he wants it. you can see the joy on the old man's face when he tells it to ralphie. it makes the scene of ralphie opening the gun that much sweeter
"How about a nice football?" " Football? Football? What's a football? With unconscious will my voice squeaked out 'football'." "Okay, get him out of here." "A football? Oh no, what was I doing? Wake up, Stupid! Wake up!" " No! No! I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!" "You'll shoot your eye out, kid."
It's been scientifically proven that fake white beards have been known to frighten young children, whereas men who naturally look like Santa Claus don't scare them at all.
