‘A Christmas Story’: Melinda Dillon Shrieked for Real When She Saw the Roast Duck
Set in 1940, A Christmas Story is a beloved classic that premiered in 1983. You can always catch the 24-hour marathon that plays on TNT and TBS on Christmas day if you haven’t seen it.
It is the story of Ralphie Parker, who narrates the movie by reminiscing about a particular Christmas back when he was nine years old in Indiana.
Poor Ralphie only wants to see a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle under the tree on Christmas morning, and he will try anything to make his wish come true. But everyone he asks gives him the same answer, “You’ll shoot your eye out,” which has become a classic line.
The older Ralphie tells the story with little anecdotes of his life during the days leading up to that Christmas when he does get the rifle and almost “shoots his eye out.” There are many behind-the-scenes moments in this classic film. There was a particularly hilarious one that was unscripted.
When Melinda Dillon met the roast duck
Melinda Dillon played Ralphie’s mom in A Christmas Story. Mom was strict with Ralphie and his younger brother but also very loving.
In the movie’s final scene, the family is eating Christmas dinner in a Chinese restaurant because a dog ate their turkey. The restaurant staff sings carols, and then they reveal dinner of a roast duck with the head still on.
The mom shrieks loudly and then goes into uncontrollable laughter. A very funny moment. What is even funnier is that Melinda’s reaction was completely unscripted. She was purposely given a different script than the rest of the cast, so she was shocked to see the head on the duck. Her shriek and laughter were real, enhancing the movie’s end.
Melinda Dillon will not be in ‘A Christmas Story Christmas’
The sequel is finally here. A Christmas Story Christmas was released on November 17, 2022 and is streaming on HBO Max.
“The sequel follows an adult Ralphie in the 1970s, who returns to the house on Cleveland Street to deliver his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had growing up,” reads the synopsis.
Most of the original cast is returning, including Peter Billingsly, who plays Ralphie. Sadly, Darren McGavin, who played Ralphie’s dad, who he referred to as “the old man,” died in 2006. Dillon won’t be playing his mom this time around. She will not appear in the film because she retired from acting in 2007. She is replaced by Julie Hagerty, who starred in the Airplane! movies.
Other behind-the-scenes moments from ‘A Christmas Story’
The duck incident was not the only behind-the-scenes moment revealed in the original A Christmas Story.
Similar to Dillon and the duck, Billingsley was not shown the infamous “leg lamp” before filming the scene when his father opened the box. His reaction to the lamp was very genuine.
Then there was the pink bunny suit that Ralphie’s aunt made for him. When he comes down the stairs wearing it, his dad says the well-known line, “He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny.” It turns out that the line was unscripted. McGavin came up with it on the spot, and it is only one of the lines that made this film a classic.
