A Christmas Story might just be a fun Christmas movie to you, but it almost feels like a true story to my family. Though it was shot in Cleveland, the author set the story in the fictional town of Holman which is based on Hammond, Indiana. My father grew up in that same town just a few streets over from author Jean Shepherd.
There’s even a reference to my hometown in the film – some clodhopper down in Griffith, Indiana swallowed a yo-yo!
Here are some fun facts about A Christmas Story:
- The story on which the movie is based is called “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash.”
- Three leg lamps of the same design were created for the movie but were all broken 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 really a prop, they were his own glasses that broke on set.
- Apparently, the movie inspired The Wonder Years.
A Christmas Story Filming Locations
Parts of the film were shot in Canada, but the house is located in Cleveland. Here are the other Ohio filming locations:
- Ralphie’s House is located at 3159 W. 11th Street
- The Bumpus House is across the street at 3166 W. 11th Street
- Higbee’s became a Dillard’s in 1992 before closing in 2002. The building is now home to Jack Cleveland Casino. There’s an homage to the original business on the side of the building’s exterior.
Want more filming locations? Check out all of these!
