a Christmas Story ?

[johnnystorm]

Are you talking about My summer Story about the fishing trip?

While not as good as A Christmas story it is just as funny if you ever took a fishing trip with your dad. But Charles Grodin can't hold a candle to Darrn Mcgavin as the father

jean Smart was basically retelling his own childhood experinces it just happens that the child hood of kids born from 1940-1975 really weren't all that different so it touched a chord with multiple generations at once.

if you ever have the chance read the original book these films are based on In god we trust and all others pay cash there is even more stuff that is a riot that never saw celluloid

You mean Jean SHEPERD...Jean SMART was a Designing Woman.

[johnnystorm]

There's an anachronism in the Christmas Parade scene that always bugs me- the modern Mickey Mouse costume & head when it should be the old-fashioned MM with black eyes & the red shorts.

I'm sure there are other time errors as well?

[Adam West]

That's a good catch...

If the movie is supposed to take place in 1940, I think some of those Tonka toys under the Christmas tree are from the 1950's not 1940 and I always thought the bowling ball appeared a little too modern but maybe I'm wrong.

[toys2cool]

There's an anachronism in the Christmas Parade scene that always bugs me- the modern Mickey Mouse costume & head when it should be the old-fashioned MM with black eyes & the red shorts.

I'm sure there are other time errors as well?

actually wasn't Fantasia from 1940? That Mickey didn't have the black eyes right?

[johnnystorm]

Yes, you're right...by 1940 Disney had updated Mickey to regular eyes (white with black pupils). He was still wearing the red pants in his short movies though. The character in the Christmas Story parade though is totally modern though, as if they brought him right over from Disneyland for the filming then he went back to greeting kids at the park. In 1940 I would have expected to see a more "home-made" look, particularly at some small-town department store parade.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Yeah, I don't think Mickey wore the tux jacket and long red pants until Disney Land opened.

Shepard also misrememberd his treasured B-B gun. If you watch the special features on the DVD it explains that Daisy never actually made a model like the one Ralphie covets. Something about the Red Ryder not having a compass in the stock, that was another Daisy model. But Daisy made just one for the movie, and Billingsly now has it. Bob Clark gave it to him after the movie wrapped.

My family always debates when the movie took place. I always say right before we entered WWII, and I'm pretty much right. It's too "modern" to be the early thirties (also, no real hard references to the Depression) and if it was the fifties, TV would get some mention.

Chris

[knight errant00]

Don't know what the writer/director had in mind, I always felt the movie was set post-WWII, but immediately after the war, like 1947 or 1948.

[nvmbrsdoom5]

I live within walking distance of Hammond, Indiana so "A Christmas Story" is pretty popular around these parts. Many people I talk to know that the bulk of the film was done in Cleveland, and in the film they lived on "Cleveland St.", so many of them have argued with me that the story was actually written about a Cleveland family. Even though numerous times throughout the film they mention Indiana, but oh well what're ya gonna do? haha There is an actual Cleveland st. in Hammond. Also, in the story I believe they refer to the town as "Hohman", not Hammond. He got the name from Hohman ave., which is a main street that runs through downtown Hammond, and is the street that the Xmas parade would be on, as well as the street that the big department store Goldblatts was near as well. There was no Higbees in Hammond, so I'm presuming that the actual store the author recalls from his childhood would've been Goldblatts. When I was a kid in the late 70s, early 80s, the Goldblatts building had been turned into a giant indoor flea market. It's long gone now unfortunately.

Anyhow, just a bit of trivia notes for you guys

[johnnystorm]

In the actual book, Shepherd writes about Hohman, Indiana and states that it is 200 miles away from Cleveland. The references in the story to specific things such as the Christmas window display in Goldblatt's (the actual store named in the book where Ralphie meets Santa) include Walt Disney's Snow White & Dionne Quintuplets dolls. This would seem to set it during 1938 (Snow White was released in late December 1937, so a window display featuring the movie would not have appeared until the following year).

[toys2cool]

In the actual book, Shepherd writes about Hohman, Indiana and states that it is 200 miles away from Cleveland. The references in the story to specific things such as the Christmas window display in Goldblatt's (the actual store named in the book where Ralphie meets Santa) include Walt Disney's Snow White & Dionne Quintuplets dolls. This would seem to set it during 1938 (Snow White was released in late December 1937, so a window display featuring the movie would not have appeared until the following year).

Yeah i noticed the Snow White display in the movie,and it did have all the Wizard of Oz stuff and that was released in 1940

man I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought about these things

[huedell]

With all respect to you guys----because it's a "movie" and not "real life"
---I have no concern towards historical inaccuracies.

That movie was obviously a pastiche of many different years around 1940---
and that's probably the reason why an exact year was never mentioned in
the first place.

(It's simply one of my all-time favorite movies BTW)

[Adam West]

It is also one of my favorite movies.

There are a lot of inconsistencies so I'm sure it was just a hodge podge of memories.

Little Orphan Annie ran from 1930-1942

http://www.radiohof.org/adventuredrama/littleannie.html

Jean Shepherd graduated from Hammond High School in 1939 which would have placed the move in the early 30's which would have been inconsistent with the Snow White and Wizard of Oz references.

Either way...one of the best all time Christmas movies. For those of you that have Blu-Ray, there is a limited edition 25th Anniversary edition from Walmart...online only. I bought it; watched it and there is a noticeable quality difference to watching the regular dvd in upconverted format.

[Goblin19]

We used to go to that Higbee's store every year. They were certainly real. They had a great Christmas display in the store. IThe movie was filmed about 15 minutes from my house. There was a Higbee's and a Halley's downtown. Halley's is where Halle Berry got her name. She's also from Cleveland.

[kryptosmaster]

and it did have all the Wizard of Oz stuff and that was released in 1940

If I'm not mistaken, Wizard of Oz was 1939. Not that it makes a big difference; I just don't want anyone misinformed.
Rich

[toys2cool]

If I'm not mistaken, Wizard of Oz was 1939. Not that it makes a big difference; I just don't want anyone misinformed.
Rich

you're right,my bad