# Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603 "2009-12-09T16:50:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/81 "2009-12-10T02:46:50Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > That’s incredible. Thank you. And I knew ArchiveGuy wouldn’t let me down. > > As a bonus trivia, ArchiveGuy, I will have you know that I _know_ that the woman in that scene is Patty and Selma. > > ETA: And Marge too, I reckon. So what’s the _Family Guy_ connection, smartypants? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/82 "2009-12-10T02:48:08Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > I loved finally learning how they did that, and yet, it was like learning how a magician saws a woman in half. All the joy was gone. ☹ So how was it done? ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/83 "2009-12-10T02:52:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve _never_ seen the entire movie, although I’ve seen a few scenes now and then. > But then, I didn’t have to. as soon as I saw the poster, before the film even opened, I recognized the story elements from Jean Shepherd’s **in God We Trust, All Other Pay Cash** that my friend had introduced me to many years before\*. Sure enough, there on the poster it gave Shepherd’s name as co-scripter and inspiration. Co-scripter, inspiration, and _narrator_, right? > [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I guess this would be as good a place as any to ask if there are any fans of Jean Shepherd’s other works out there? Oh, and… > > “It’s a clinker!” Oh, my, yes. _Love_ Jean Shepard. No one has ever come up with better book and chapter titles than that man. _Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters_. _Duel in the Snow, or Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland Street Kid_. _Ludlow Kissel and the Dago Bomb that Struck Back_. _“Nevermore,” Quoth the Assessor, “Nevermore”_. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/84 "2009-12-10T02:56:30Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > So what’s the _Family Guy_ connection, smartypants? I give up. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/85 "2009-12-10T03:53:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So how was it done? They drilled a dime-sized hole into the flagpole, and rigged up an air suction device of some kind inside of it. Flick put his tongue on the pole, and it made a seal, the vacuum sealing it to the pole but not actually injuring the actor. I learned this from the DVD commentary. Peter Billingsley said “those screams were real,” or something to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/86 "2009-12-10T05:21:28Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I give up. Seth Green (voice of son Chris on _FG_) plays the son of those arguing parents, the Woody Allen narrator character as a child. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/87 "2009-12-10T05:22:28Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > They drilled a dime-sized hole into the flagpole, and rigged up an air suction device of some kind inside of it. Flick put his tongue on the pole, and it made a seal, the vacuum sealing it to the pole but not actually injuring the actor. > > I learned this from the DVD commentary. Peter Billingsley said “those screams were real,” or something to that effect. That’s pretty cool. I didn’t know that. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/88 "2009-12-10T05:37:51Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Co-scripter, inspiration, and _narrator_, right? And with an on-screen cameo role, too. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/89 "2009-12-10T05:48:35Z")
> [@light\_strand](#): > > “My Mother had not had a hot meal, for herself, in 15 years.” I love my kid, but lately every time I sit and pick up my fork, she asks for something so I have to get up. And Every. Single. Time. I think that line to myself. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/90 "2009-12-10T05:58:53Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Wrong Woody film–it’s from _Radio Days_. Yay, thanks! I love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/91 "2009-12-10T13:42:42Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Ooops, edit to add, I love this movie! (and I’m one of the 2 people in the universe who saw and also loved, but not as much, the sequel, It Runs In The Family, aka A Summer Story). Hey, I’m the other one! I’m still waiting for my Ronald Colman gravy boat. ---
**Author:** ![mufatango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@mufatango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mufatango)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/92 "2009-12-10T14:54:35Z")
- Uncle! UNCLE!! - All right… who’s… NEXT? RAAAAAHHHHHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/93 "2009-12-10T15:07:45Z")
This is one of the movies where I can read the Memorable Quotes, and remember the whole movie. “The heavenly aroma still hung in the house. But it was gone, all gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/94 "2009-12-10T15:20:32Z")
“It’s smiling at me.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/95 "2009-12-10T15:50:52Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > And with an on-screen cameo role, too. The line _ends_ here. It starts back _there_! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/96 "2009-12-10T16:08:44Z")
“I hate the smell of tapioca.” “Football? What’s a football?” ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/97 "2009-12-10T17:19:11Z")
On Santa: " Let’s face it, most of us are scoffers. But moments before zero hour, it did not pay to take chances. " ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/98 "2009-12-10T18:03:16Z")
The best part is that the dad seemed oblivious to everything, yet he ‘got it’. He came through with the gift. “I had one when I was eight years old”, he said to his concerned wife. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/99 "2009-12-10T18:09:21Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > The line _ends_ here. It starts back _there_! Yep, although I’d seen the movie a few times before I recognized him. It’s the line before that (“Little boy. Little boy. Hey, kid!”) that did it for me. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/100 "2009-12-10T18:11:50Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > “I had one when I was eight years old”, he said to his concerned wife. I’ve always loved that line. In part, because I like to do some dimestore math in my head when he says that. [ul] [li]I figure the movie takes place in 1939 (though it’s never specifically stated what year, so I’m guessing).[/li] [li]I figure the dad is 50 years of age.[/li] [li]That would mean that the dad was born in 1889.[/li] [li]…Which would further mean that the dad was 8 years old in 1897.[/li] [li]…Begging the question: Did they _make_ toy rifles for children in 1897?[/li][/ul] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603.md?page=6)