A Christmas Story (movie)

This movie has overtaken 'Its A Wonderful Life' as the favorite
classic Christmas movie. Its set in America from about 1940
to about 1947. Its supposedly musings from Jean Sheperd's
childhood, but thats impossible considering he was born in
1921, and he would have been 10 in 1931, which is the age of
Ralphie in the movie. Nevertheless, its a wonderful Christmas
story. I remember in the 50's, seeing Santa in a big department
store was exactly like what was depicted in the movie. The slide
and the whole thing. I love this movie, and appreciate TBS shows
it all Xmas eve and Xmas day. It depicts an innocent time thats
long gone, but still lives on in our memory..

Love the movie. If you ever lived in the midwest it is a *must see*

I rented more than one house that had furnaces converted from coal use. If you kicked a heating vent a puff of black smoke would come out. And I actually stayed briefly in a house that burned coal for real! Not sure if in the movie they are burning coal but the 'furnace fighting' is funny as hell. I love the moment when the wife tries to fiddle with the dampers and there are two mysterious controls she adjusts, unsure what to do. I remember that too!

I also smile when the back screen door is shown and it is hanging by a thread. It always makes me feel better about all that stuff I put off getting done around the house.

Quote: odiousgambit

And I actually stayed briefly in a house that burned coal for real!

We had a coal furnace when I was growing up and we
got rid of it in 1970. It kept the house really warm,
a lot warmer than a gas furnace. It was a pain though,
constant trips to the basement to 'fix the fire', getting home
from school to have it almost out. Hauling the ashes.
Shoveling the coal. Was warm, though..

Quote: EvenBob

We had a coal furnace when I was growing up and we
got rid of it in 1970. It kept the house really warm

Notorious for getting the house too warm sometimes, you'd have to open the windows.

Watched this movie again, and there is no doubt the "old man" is dealing with a coal furnace. BTW another favorite moment is seeing the big wad of plugs and plug extensions at the electrical outlet that the Christmas tree lights are hooked up to all shooting sparks and blowing the fuse.

Man, I love that movie. We saw it four times over the last few days.

Trivia:

The year is intentionally vague. The idea is to set it in a real AND imaginary past. I read that or heard it somewhere, but I couldn't find where... maybe in the "extras" on an old VHS copy. I always put it pre-war, based on details: biplanes in the window, the zeppelin. But The Wizard of Oz puts it after 1939, and it doesn't look like there's a depression going on. Most people figure 39/40. In the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash Ralphie is mid teens.

Zack Ward, who played Scut Farkus, gets recognized on the street all the time, even now in his 40s. People of all ages want to get their pictures taken with him twisting their arm. He seems really cool about it.

Scott Schwartz, who played Flick, became a porn star.

Quote: odiousgambit

Love the movie. If you ever lived in the midwest it is a *must see*

I rented more than one house that had furnaces converted from coal use. If you kicked a heating vent a puff of black smoke would come out. And I actually stayed briefly in a house that burned coal for real! Not sure if in the movie they are burning coal but the 'furnace fighting' is funny as hell. I love the moment when the wife tries to fiddle with the dampers and there are two mysterious controls she adjusts, unsure what to do. I remember that too!

I also smile when the back screen door is shown and it is hanging by a thread. It always makes me feel better about all that stuff I put off getting done around the house.

Here in NE PA many people use coal furnaces.

Quote: Mosca

Scott Schwartz, who played Flick, became a porn star.

Please refrain from any "tongue stuck to a pole" jokes...

Quote: Mosca

The year is intentionally vague.

Yes and no. The cars are all pre war. The reference to
Wiz of Oz dates it around 1939 or 1940. The Little
Orphan Annie ring dates it to late 30's. The Red
Ryder BB gun was introduced in 1938. With all of
these facts, its safe to date the movie to around
1940.

Quote: EvenBob

Yes and no. The cars are all pre war. The reference to
Wiz of Oz dates it around 1939 or 1940. The Little
Orphan Annie ring dates it to late 30's. The Red
Ryder BB gun was introduced in 1938. With all of
these facts, its safe to date the movie to around
1940.

Yep. What I meant by that was that the movie is supposed to take place in memory, and as such there really is no "date". So exactly. Yes, and no.

Quote: EvenBob

With all of these facts, its safe to date the movie to around 1940.

The author graduated from high school in 1939, but I am assuming that he advanced the years a little for the purpose of the movie. The years 1938 is safely between the worst of the great depression, and the seriousness of WWII, and no doubt he wanted to go back to that time, but avoid anything world shaking.

The movie grabbed the #1 spot for only one weekend, November 25-27, 1983.

1) A Christmas Story
2) Terms of Endearment
3) The Big Chill

Quote: odiousgambit

I love the moment when the wife tries to fiddle with the dampers and there are two mysterious controls she adjusts,

The only control our coal furnace had was a motor that
opened the cast iron flap on the door at the bottom, that
was where you hauled the ashes from. The flap was below
the fire, so opening it let it fresh air, which made the coal
burn faster and hotter. As somebody said, we indeed had
to open the kitchen door at times because it got too hot in
the house. Burning coal put out an enormous amount of
heat, most people have no idea. Dealing with a coal furnace
is an art, they can be very fickle. It was much like stoking
the fire on a steam locomotive, and if you shoveled too much
coal dust into the fire, the flames would shoot back out at
you, just like the engines in the movies.

Quote: Mosca

Here in NE PA many people use coal furnaces.

There was an article in the paper that said the equivalent amount of oil to get the same energy as a ton of coal cost 4 times as much in today's prices. But there is a shortage of coal for the remaining houses in NE Pennsylvania as the mines struggle to meet the international demand.

While very few people are anxious to go back to using coal as their primary heat source, it is making a comeback over pellet stoves and wood burning fireplaces as a secondary local heat source.


I would still like to hear from someone who has a geothermal heat pump. But there seem to be very few of them installed.

Quote: pacomartin

I would still like to hear from someone who has a geothermal heat pump. But there seem to be very few of them installed.

I have an uncle had one of them installed. He was an early adopter, getting it put in back in the 1980s. IIRC they are fine as long as you do not get extremes of heat or cold. In that regard they would be not much different than other heat pumps.

On the coal furnace thing, I was in a house had one once. You could barely walk near the thing, and you get the privelege of shoveling coal into it. For a small house I think you would almost have windows open with it on in one room and the upper floor just comfortable. Coal went out of use in ships in favor of oil because the heat could not be controlled nearly as good.

Go with gas if you can--clean, comfortable, and keeps AZD employed...............