As you have probably heard, Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest will present A Christmas Story at the Lake Theatre on Saturday, December 5. The movie begins at 10 a.m., and free tickets can be picked up at both Community Bank locations.
In anticipation of the big event, here are some fun and surprising facts about the movie.
1. The famous scene of Flick sticking his tongue to the pole was simulated. In order to get the tongue to stick they inserted a suction cup within the pole, and filmed with a camera angle so that the hole couldn’t be seen. Recently, Mythbusters proved that you can indeed freeze your tongue to a pole. They found that “cold metal can draw heat out of your tongue’s saliva and freeze its water content, basically transforming your spit into a kind of superglue.”
2. Several Ralphie fantasy sequences were filmed but later cut. The movie has several famous fantasy sequences, the Lone Ranger one being the most popular, but other fantasy sequences were filmed and later cut from the movie. One such sequence included Ralphie teaming up with Flash Gordon to battle an alien.
3. Jack Nicholson was almost Ralphie’s dad! Nicholson was interested in playing the role of Ralphie’s father after reading the script, but the studio chose not to pay Nicholson’s fee, which would have doubled the movie’s budget.
4. The department store kid with the goggles wasn’t an actor, just a local kid. On the DVD commentary, Peter Billingsley (Ralphie) says that Bob Clark, who directed A Christmas Story, saw the kid and thought he would be a good addition to the scene. “He was weird and we used him just as he was,” said Billingsley.
5. No one can figure out exactly when the movie takes place. There has been a lot of debate about whether the movie takes place in 1939, 1940, or 1941. The reference about an upcoming football game between the Bears and the Packers leads people to believe 1941 because the two teams met in a playoff game on December 14, 1941. However, other movie fanatics claim it takes place in 1940 because of Ralphie’s Orphan Annie radio decoder pin which was the 1940 “Speedomatic” model. Finally, the wall calendar hanging in the kitchen shows December 1 falling on a Friday, which occurred in 1939.
6. Peter Billingsley kept famous memorabilia from filming. Peter Billingsley still owns the iconic pink bunny suit and BB gun, and the glasses that get broken after he “shoots his eye out” were his own.
7. Billingsley has done more than you think since A Christmas Store. Although he doesn’t act very often, Billingsley has done quite well for himself. He was the Executive Producer of Iron Man in 2008. As a good friend of Vince Vaughn’s , Billingsley also executive produced Four Christmases (which he had a cameo in), The Break-Up, and the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son.
8. The house from the film is located at 3159 W. 11th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. The home was bought on eBay in 2005 for $150,000 by superfan of the movie, Brian Jones. Jones spent $350,000 to restore both the exterior and interior of the house so that it was an exact replica of the home in the film. In 2006, the house was opened to the public as a museum and gift shop.
9. A Christmas Story is a series of vignettes based on stories by author and radio personality, Jean Shepherd. Born on the Southside of Chicago, Shepherd grew up in Hammond, Indiana, and was an avid White Sox fan. Director Bob Clark took some stories from Shepherd’s book, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and used those stories for A Christmas Story. However, the quest for the BB gun at Christmas was its own separate story. Surprisingly, the tongue sticking to the light pole incident was not written by Shepherd, and was only created for the movie.
10. Writer Jean Shepherd and Director Bob Clark have cameos in the film. Jean Shepherd is the voice of the narrator in the film, and makes a brief cameo in the department store scene as Ralphie and Randy wait to see Santa. BobClark appears as the dimwitted neighbor, Swede, who admires the glowing leg lamp in the window from the sidewalk.
Again, we hope you can join us for our presentation of A Christmas Story at the Lake Theatre on December 5. Free tickets are available for pick up at Community Bank. Prior to the movie, Community Bank will be accepting donated gifts on behalf of Bethel New Life’s Christmas Child program. We ask attendees to donate new and unopened baby and toddler gifts including toys, diapersand clothing. The gifts will then go to families in need on the Westside of Chicago. Bethel New Life is a nonprofit organization located at 4950 W. Thomas, Chicago.Â
This is the seventh consecutive year Community Bank is presenting a holiday film classic at the Lake Theatre. Last year over 500 guests attended the event, which is quickly becoming a community favorite. For more information and details about our presentation of A Christmas Story, visit us online at www.cboprf.com.