A Christmas story To you it may just be a funny Christmas movie, but to my family it almost feels like a true story. Although the film was filmed in Cleveland, the author sets the story in the fictional town of Holman, which is based on Hammond, Indiana. My father grew up in the same town, just a few streets away from author Jean Shepherd.
There’s even a nod to my hometown in the film – some idiot down in Griffith, Indiana swallowed a yo-yo!
Here are some fun facts about it A Christmas story:
- The story the film is based on is called “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash.”
- Three leg lamps of the same design were designed for the film, but they all broke during filming.
- Ralphie’s mother’s reaction to the duck head in the restaurant scene is real.
- Jack Nicholson almost played the Old Man.
- Peter Billingsley took three items from the set: the Red Ryder BB gun, the embarrassing pink bunny suit and Ralphie’s broken glasses. The broken glasses weren’t actually a prop, but rather his own glasses that were broken on set.
- Apparently the film inspired The Wonder Years.
A Christmas story Filming locations
Parts of the film were shot in Canada, but the house is in Cleveland. Here are the other filming locations in Ohio:
- Ralphie’s house is located at 3159 W. 11th Street
- The Bumpus House is located across the street at 3166 W. 11th Street
- Higbee’s became Dillard’s in 1992 before closing in 2002. The building now houses the Jack Cleveland Casino. There is a tribute to the original company on the building’s exterior facade.
Interested in more filming locations? Look at all of this!
