When did A Christmas Story achieve classic status? Never seen it, but was at Christmas dinner at relatives’ house and it was on 24 hour rotation on WTBS. 24 hours of the same film over and over and over. I caught bits and pieces. It was that kid who played Messy Marvin on the Hershey’s syrup ads… no, not the cousin from the Brady Bunch… the one from the 80’s.
That kid’s a few years older than me, so I don’t think it’s a generation gap thing.
Happy Christmas, Walden.
A Christmas Story ~ man, that is one of the most hilarious movies! Watched it again last nite on tv, now that you bring it up. I guess it’s a new classic… I remember a few years back when we all saw it for the first time at my Mom’s house on one of our Really Rare Christmas’s that we made it back home for the holidays… Boy, did my sons laugh!!! We loved it… so I remember that Christmas back home every time I watch the movie, and it recalls so many nice memories for me.
I have another confession. I’m also a lover of It’s a Wonderful Life.
But I remember one year when we lived in Colorado, and it was an It’s A Wonderful Life 24 hour marathon… 
Y’all stay warm!
M
It is a pretty funny story/movie. I admit to watching it more than once a year. 
Jean Shepherd(co-writer and narrator of “A Christmas Story”) had to be one of the funniest men who ever lived. My dad remembers, as a kid, listening to him on the radio. So when the Christmas Story movie came out, we had to go see it. I must have been 10 years old . . . we missed the first ten minutes but the theater wasn’t full and they didn’t care that we sat through it for a second viewing. We laughed and laughed and laughed. I can’t remember eating Chinese food before that, it must have inspired us to try the local Chinese restaurants.
The movie did not inspire me to drink Ovaltine, however.
I think the perennial success of “A Christmas Story” comes from the fact that it’s not sappy and sentimental like other holiday movies. There’s a message somewhere in the movie . . . but it doesn’t hit you over the head.
That’s why I equally enjoy “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” And I don’t remember seeing that one on this year. Hmmm.
A Christmas Story has long been a favorite of mine though I have not watched it for some seasons now.
Jean Shepherd was also an amateur radio operator and the tape I used to learn the Morse code when I finally started studying for my ‘ham ticket’ was introduced by Jean… in voice, not code. 
the bits and pieces for “Christmas Story” comes from “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash”. It was out of print for a while, but I think it may have been re-issued. It is a hilarious book, especially if you’ve ever:
been fishing
shot off fire works
bought penny candy
Oh - and Noah got a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas this year. He’s 15, so hopefully he won’t shoot his eye out.
Just heard that someone bought the house that was filmed in and made a tribute-museum out of it. I think it’s actually in Indiana. Classic, classic stuff.
Does anyone know if Peter Billingsly is the son of Barbara, (of Leave it to Beaver fame)?
“Billingsley’s father, Alwin Michaelsen, is a financial consultant, and his mother, Gail Billingsley was once Alwin’s secretary. Gail is the niece of Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley. Gail’s cousin, Glenn Billingsley, was briefly married to actress Barbara Billingsley who continued to use his last name for her stage name. Gail was the one who initially took the children around to auditions.” --Wikipedia
Jean Shepherd was a genius. I was thinking about the I, Libertine scam the other day. It’s a riot if you know the story behind it.
I used to occasionally get Shepherd on the radio from Philadelphia. It was late at night and I would listen after I finished stocking shelves at a grocery store.
I saw A Christmas Story several years ago and was trying to remember yesterday if the story of the secret decoder ring was in it. My grandson got a spy kit for Christmas and it reminded me of the decoder ring.
A Christmas Story is the one with the kid and the “You’ll shoot your eye out” bit, right? I saw that “A Christmas Story” was to be on TV the other day but when I turned it on it was “A Christmas Carol” with Scrooge and Marley. I was really confused for a bit.
“It’s A Wonderful Life” isn’t shown here at Christmas, and Martin just saw it for the first time the other day (DVD). Instead everyone watches “White Christmas” as the quintessential American Christmas movie, apparently. I hadn’t ever heard of it till I moved here.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” isn’t shown here either so I got Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas DVD set as soon as I could.
I went to college in Cleveland in the mid 80s, and I always like the scenes of the parade and Santa. The parade was shot on Cleveland’s Public Square and the Santa shots were from Higbee’s department store. I always liked going into Higbee’s, because it was one of those old downtown department stores that had character–not like the bland mall boxes built these days.
“A Christmas Story” is my favorite Christmas movie, and yes, I did catch one showing on TNT yesterday! It’s got so many great lines. How many times were we all told as kids not to eat something because we’d get worms?!!!
I have never been able to sit through Christmas Story. It is so long, dull and boring, and I could never find anything funny in it. At what point does “funny” start?
djm
Pretty much right away… for those with a sense of humor. 
Seriously, though, I guess it depends on where and when you grew up, and what your childhood experiences were like.
We have A Christmas Story on DVD, and watch it every year. It hits especially close to home for me, 'cause my older brother received his Red Ryder BB gun in much the same fashion as Ralphie: hinted for it all year, but it wasn’t under the tree, then Dad “found” an unopened package hidden in the corner. (This was well before the movie was made, and before any of us had ever heard of Jean Shepherd.)
Boy is this thread one long culture shock to me. The only thing/character/person/show mentioned that I have even the slightest recognition of is Charlie Brown. Oh, I’ve heard of National Lampoon but have no idea what it is.
this movie (and the book I referenced) has been a part of our family for years.
We always make jokes about the kids being “Randy” when they are wrapped up to go out and play in the snow.
The whole thing about the dad fighting the furnace reminds me of many relatives. Or buying the super cheap retreads and having to change tires constantly.
Or comments about the “Bumpas’ dogs”.
And, in the book, there are many other stories that could have been taken from my family growing up, including “Harry Gertz and the 57 Crappies” (it’s been a while, so that may not be the correct number, but you get the idea).
It’s just chock full of goofiness that was a part of my growing up.
National Lampoon is a humor magazine… spun off of the much older Harvard Lampoon. There have been a number of feature films released under the National Lampoon name, perhaps the most famous of which have been Animal House, and the Chevy Chase/Beverly D’Angelo/Randy Quaid Vacation movies, including Christmas Vacation.
'Poon was the dirty magazine of the 70s, stuffed with what some might term sophomoric humour, strange stories (who could forget Dr. Chris Miller?) and cutting edge cartoons. Definitely something you grow out of … kinda … a bit … sorta … but definitely an icon from a wasted youth. 
djm
Is National Lampoon still publishing its funny rag? I stopped reading it in the mid-1980s when it became evident that the irritatingly tired and Dada-ish ineptitude that now passed for “humor”, having lost its edge, was likely the result of cocaine binges than any…um…“wit”, let’s call it. I can’t say that my disinterest was entirely due to a maturation on my part. Before then, NatLamp used to be wicked irreverent, and good at it. Now there was a magazine to make you plotz. I mean, a “Scratch ‘n’ Sniff” bicycle seat photo is pretty funny. And writer P. J. O’Rourke spared no one the blade. How the gore flew! I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Political Correctness Movement arose in part out of a backlash to his pen. Not so long ago I read some of his more recent stuff, and something or someone’s tamed him but good. I almost wept.
I can’t imagine NatLamp, if still being published, is anything like it was when it was really hilarious.
I didn’t see Christmas story this year. In fact I didn’t watch a single Christmas movie or TV show. I did catch about 10 minutes of a Carol Christmas with that blonde woman from 90210. I didn’t even watch “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” this year.
Sort of disappointed I missed Charlie Brown.
Well, yeah, unless you were reading Robert Crumb’s stuff. Fritz the Cat, Zap comix, etc… Politically VERY incorrect, but classic nonetheless. And the guy knew his music, too!