From Jean Shepherd’s original radio broadcasts to Bob Clark’s 1983 sleeper hit film and beyond, "A Christmas Story" has become a beloved Yuletide tradition over the last three decades.
In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of its theatrical release, this is the untold story of the making of the film and what happened afterwards. Ralphie Parker’s quest for a Red Ryder air rifle didn’t end with the movie’s release; the tale inspired massive VHS sales, a Broadway production and a mountain of merchandise. Complete with rare and previously unreleased photographs, now fans of the movie and film buffs alike can learn all they didn’t know about the timeless classic.
"A Christmas Story: Behind the Scenes of a Holiday Classic" is about the making, legacy and impact of the 1983 film "A Christmas Story". The book explores the origins of the film, which was based on the semi-autobiographical stories of Jean Shepherd found in his book, "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash". Gaines provides behind-the-scenes stories such as challenges during production (waiting/hoping for snow for the school yard scenes) and reveals little-known facts about the cast and crew (like hiding the fact that the actress playing the teacher was eight months pregnant in real life but they had to hide this because a pregnant teacher wasn't a thing in the time the movie takes place).
The book also discusses how the film, which had modest success at the box office, gradually gained cult status through repeated television broadcasts, especially its 24-hour Christmas marathon. The book looks at fan devotion, memorabilia and even the restoration of the house used in the film, which has become a museum (the museum was recently sold and the website isn't working).
We usually watch "A Christmas Story" around Christmastime every year so it was interesting to find out more about it. The book was published in 2013 and had insights from most of the actors (though nothing from the actors who played Ralphie, the mom and the dad, who had passed away by then). For the younger actors, this seems to be their peak of success and they are still riding it (the actor who played Randy quit his job at Starbucks to live in the museum for a while as a tour guide). I found the book got a bit uninteresting when the focus shifted to musicals that were made about it. There were lots of pictures, which was fun. Surprisingly there was some swearing when some of the actors were quoted.
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