The week before Thanksgiving 1983 saw the release of a modest little film about a boy, Ralphie Parker (played by Peter Billingsly), and his quest to get adults in his life to understand that the “official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time” would be the best Christmas gift he could receive.
“A Christmas Story” was an unexpected hit in a limited release on less than 900 screens nationwide for MGM, which never really capitalized on the potential. It has become a modern holiday icon through 24-hour, marathon, Christmas Day showings on TBS.
The comedy also starred Darren McGavin as “the old man” father of Ralphie and his constant battles with the aggravations of daily life, including the smoke-belching, clinker-prone furnace in the basement of the house, and Melinda Dillon as Ralphie’s mother and her attempts to make a happy household while raising two boys, one of which (Ralphie’s brother, Randy, played by Ian Petrella) is prone to hiding under the kitchen sink in times of consternation.
The house – from its overloaded and sparking extension cords to the landings, where Ralphie models a giant, pink bunny suit sent to him by a distant aunt for Christmas – became as much as character in the movie as the human actors.
Drawn from the book, “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash,” based on writer Jean Shepherd’s recollections of growing up in Hammond, Indiana, in the late 1930s and early 1940s
To find an American city resembling an Indiana town of the 1940s, director Bob Clark sent his location scouts to 20 cities before selecting Cleveland, Ohio, as the site for filming. Swaying the decision in favor of Cleveland was the willingness of downtown department store Higbee’s to allow the movie to be filmed inside the store, which today is the Jack Cleveland Casino.
The movie was filmed in Cleveland, Ohio; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
The house at 3159 W. 11th St. in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood provided the exterior shots of the Parker’s home, such as the scene with “the old man” gazing lovingly at the “major award” leg lamp that he has won in a newspaper puzzle contest and placed in the front window.
(Here’s a video slideshow tour of the house, its exterior and interior made over into their appearances in the movie.)
Brian Jones, a San Diego entrepreneur and fan of the film since childhood, bought the house on eBay for $150,000 in December 2004.
Watching the movie frame by frame, he drew detailed plans of the interiors, which had been filmed on a Toronto sound stage, and spent $240,000 to gut the structure, reconfigure it to a single-family dwelling, transform it into a near-replica of the movie set, and restore the exterior to its appearance in the film.
He bought the house across the street and converted it into A Christmas Story House Museum, which contains props from the movie, including Randy’s snow suit, the Higbee’s window toys and hundreds of behind the scenes photos. The house to the left of the museum features a gift shop with movie memorabilia.
The house and museum opened to the public on Nov. 25, 2006, with original cast members attending the grand opening, and the site drew 4,300 visitors during its opening weekend.
A Christmas Story House takes more than 50,000 visitors per year on an interactive, please-touch tour of the home of the Parker family, now restored to the original movie appearance. It’s open year round, seven days a week, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday, with extended holiday hours between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tours of the house run every 30 minutes. Regular admission tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for children ages 7-12) and free for children ages 6 and under.
Learn more at www.AChristmasStoryHouse.com, or call 216-298-4919.
