'' is a
1983 film based on the
Short Stories and semi-fictional
Anecdote s of author and
Raconteur Jean Shepherd , including material from his books ''
In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash '' and ''
Wanda Hickey's Night Of Golden Memories ''. It was directed by
Bob Clark .
The film relates the tale of Ralphie Parker (played by
Peter Billingsley ), who wants a
Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas (specifically, "an official
Red Ryder , carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and '
This Thing ' which tells time") and will go to any lengths to get it despite the numerous adult admonitions of "you'll shoot your eye out." Over the course of the film, Ralphie hides a Red Ryder advertisement in his mother's magazine, fibs about the spotting of a dangerous animal in the neighborhood, blurts his desire outright, writes a
Theme on the subject, and asks an impatient Santa just as the department store closes. Ultimately, Ralphie's "Old Man" gives Ralphie his BB gun for Christmas, stating that he had one himself at an earlier age. Ralphie eagerly runs outside in his boots and pajamas to "try it out", but the BB ricochets off his glasses, injuring him slightly and briefly convincing him that he did indeed shoot his eye out.
Subplots include the Old Man (, much to his wife's displeasure (the leg was the logo of the contest's sponsor, the
Nehi bottling company; this was not made clear in the movie); Ralphie getting his ''
Little Orphan Annie ''
Secret Decoder Pin ; and Ralphie dealing with the neighborhood bully,
Scut Farkus , played by
Zack Ward . There are also numerous vignettes, including the Old Man's battle with the furnace, Ralphie not saying
"fudge" in a moment of stress, and disaster with the Christmas dinner, courtesy of the Bumpuses' dogs. One memorable scene involves a dispute over whether or not a person's tongue immediately sticks to a frozen metal object, in this case a flag pole. When Flick responds to the "triple dog dare" and touches his tongue to the flag pole, he is proven wrong, and begins to scream in terror. Several fantasy sequences depict Ralphie's daydreams of glory and vindication, including the vanquishing of prison-striped
Villain s, an extremely good grade for his written theme about the BB gun, and parental remorse over a case of "soap poisoning".
The movie was written by
Jean Shepherd ,
Leigh Brown and
Bob Clark . Shepherd provides the movie's narration from the perspective of an adult Ralphie, a narrative style later used in the
Dramedy ''
The Wonder Years ''. Shepherd also has a cameo appearance in the department store scene, as the man who directs Ralphie and Randy to the end of the line. Director Clark has a cameo as Swede, the neighbor who questions the Old Man about the Leg Lamp.
- Melinda Dillon as Mrs. Parker - Ralphie's mom is the primary dispenser of the oft-repeated phrase, "You'll shoot your eye out"
- Darren McGavin as The Old Man (Mr. Parker) - Ralphie's dad is at the center of the Major Award vignette, and is depicted using colorful nonsensical invective
- Peter Billingsley as Ralphie Parker - the film's protagonist, an imaginative dreamer
- Ian Petrella as Randy Parker - Ralphie's little brother, who won't eat his Meatloaf
- Scott Schwartz as Flick - Ralphie's friend, who learns about tongues and cold metal the hard way
- R.D. Robb as Schwartz - Ralphie's other friend, on whom Ralphie pins the blame for him knowing "the f-dash-dash-dash word"
- Tedde Moore as Miss Shields - Ralphie's fourth grade teacher, who appears in two fantasy sequences, calls the Fire Department to help Flick, and is the only on-screen character played by the same actor in the sequel, '' My Summer Story ''
- Zack Ward as Scut Farkus - the neighborhood bully, who torments Ralphie and his friends en route to and from school
- Yano Anaya as Grover Dill - Scut's Crony , who is promoted to main bully in ''My Summer Story''
- Jeff Gillen as Santa Claus - the rather frightening department store incarnation of "the Head Honcho", who delivers the last blow to Ralphie's hope for a BB gun
- Jean Shepherd as adult Ralphie - the narrator. (Also has an on-screen cameo; see above.)
- Drew Hocevar: As Christmas Elf, he pushes Ralphie down the slide at Higbees.
