Behind the Scenes

Deleted Scene #1

A deleted scene from the movie shows Ralphie rescuing Flash Gordon from Ming the Merciless on Planet Mongo. You can find both Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless listed in the movie's credits.

Peter Billingsley was the first kid to audition for the role of Ralphie.

Although he was the first kid to audition, director Bob Clark insisted on seeing other actors — actually thousands. As we all know, Peter ultimately got the job, and he claims Bob pushed him to act out of his comfort zone.

Deleted Scene #2

Many scenes in A Christmas Story are fondly remembered, but among these scenes is the fantasy sequence. In the scene, Ralphie is saving his family from the outlaw, Black Bart, and his bandits. He uses his trusty gun “Old Blue” to defeat the bandits, but Bart gets away and says he’ll be back.

Apparently, Bart really did come back, only, it didn’t make it into the final cut of the movie. There was supposed to be a second fantasy sequence revolving around Black Bart, but much like that deleted scene with Flash Gordon, fans never got to see it.

The Film Was Mainly Filmed In Cleveland and Toronto

Most movies film in several different cities to get the desired scenery for shots, and A Christmas Story was no exception. The film is supposed to take place in Northern Indiana in a town called Holman, but the film was mainly filmed in Cleveland, Ohio and Toronto, Ontario.

The Parker residence was filmed at 3159 W. 11th St., Cleveland, OH 44109 near downtown Cleveland. That being said, many of the interior shots of the house and the Christmas tree shopping scene were filmed in Canada.

The snow was totally fake.

Although the movie was shot in two snowy destinations (Cleveland and Toronto), most of the snow and frost was the result of frozen water and massive snow blowers. It took roughly 24 hours to create the winter wonderland we see on the screen.

The flagpole scene was actually painless to film.

We've all seen it (and some may have even tried it themselves), but the flagpole scene proves not everything is as it appears. Scott Schwartz, the actor who played Flick, revealed that a suction tube (basically a mini vacuum cleaner) helped suction his tongue to the pole for the entirety of the scene. Thankfully, no harm was done

Wil Wheaton And Sean Astin Auditioned For The Role Of Ralphie.

While Peter Billingsley will forever be known as Ralphie from A Christmas Story, there were several other actors who auditioned for the role. Director Bob Clark is said to have auditioned over 1,000 kids for the character, including Wil Wheaton and Sean Astin.

Wheaton is known for his role in the movie Stand By Me, as well as the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation. Astin on the other hand, is known for his role in Richard Donner’s The Goonies, as well as his role of Sam in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. While both would have likely been good in the role, nobody can replace Billingsley as Ralphie.

Sean Astin in The Goonies (1985)

Ralphie didn't actually have a soapy mouth

The soap scene, while believable, was all thanks to Peter Billingsley's sharp acting skills. The iconic red Lifebuoy soap we saw in the movie was actually made of wax. Because of the movie's small budget, real soap was out of the question. Bob Clark chose this soap brand, because it was known for tasting the worst (he knew from a childhood experience!).

They Gave Billingsley Stuff They Really Shouldn't Have

While many child actors are forced to grow up too fast, Billingsley had to do something on the set of A Christmas Story that no actor should ever have to do. During the scene where Ralphie is firing at the bandits in his backyard, Billingsley was actually chewing on the real tobacco.

Most actors chew on black licorice to make it seem like they are chewing the same stuff Cowboys did, but the prop department on A Christmas Story gave the child actor something they legitimately shouldn't have. Billingsley explained that he got really dizzy, started sweating, and his lips started burning on set.

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