# 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:** 6
**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, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/101 "2009-12-10T18:12:07Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Seth Green (voice of son Chris on _FG_) plays the son of those arguing parents, the Woody Allen narrator character as a child. šŸ˜‰ You just blew my mind. ---
**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, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/102 "2009-12-10T18:43:17Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > You just blew my mind. Watch the last ten minutes of _My Stepmother is an Alien_ someday. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/103 "2009-12-10T19:06:25Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Iā€™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 itā€™s never specifically stated what year, so Iā€™m guessing).[/li][/ul] Huh. I thought it was set in nineteen-fifty-whatever. ETA: Youā€™re right. The author claims it was set in 1940. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/104 "2009-12-10T19:17:29Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Iā€™ve always loved that line. In part, because I like to do some dimestore math in my head when he says that. > > [list] > [li]I figure the movie takes place in 1939 (though itā€™s never specifically stated what year, so Iā€™m guessing).[/li] > [li]I figure the dad is 50 years of age.[/li]] Daisy was making BB guns as early as 1886. 50? Thatā€™s a bit old for the Dad of an 8 or 10 year old in the late 30s. Heck, even 40 would be on the late side of things. As an aside, there really isnā€™t supposed to be a specific year attached to the setting of the movie. More of a generic time period (late-30s, early-40s), from what Iā€™ve read. ---
**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, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/105 "2009-12-10T19:30:16Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > 50? Thatā€™s a bit old for the Dad of an 8 or 10 year old in the late 30s. Considering that Darren McGavin was 61 when the movie was made, I was being generous by estimating the dad to be 50. But yeah, I agree, that would make for an awfully old dad in that day and age. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/106 "2009-12-10T19:34:37Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Considering that Darren McGavin was 61 when the movie was made, I was being generous by estimating the dad to be 50. But yeah, I agree, that would make for an awfully old dad in that day and age. Wow. I knew he was a bot old for the part, but I didnā€™t realize he was that old. I chalked it up to the fact that parents are always older in the childā€™s mind, even if the child is grown. So, the narrator of the story makes his Dad an older guy. ETA: Upon review, I didnā€™t do a very good job of saying what I meant to say. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/107 "2009-12-10T19:34:43Z")
Until I went to the museum I always assumed that it was the early (or even late) 50s. Another piece of evidence for my hypothesis that the longest decade was the years 1946-1962 (even though ACS appears to even predate that era.) ---
**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, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/108 "2009-12-10T19:37:37Z")
When did shopping ā€œcentersā€ come about, when did they start commercializing Christmas, and when did they have Santaā€™s for the kids to visit? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/109 "2009-12-10T20:12:30Z")
Shopping centers came about in the 1920s and 1930s, though the modern enclosed shopping mall is a product of the 50s: > **[Shopping mall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_mall)** > > A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refer to the walkway itself which was merely bordered by such shops), but in the late 1960s, it began to be used as a generic term for the large enclosed shopping centers that were becoming commonplace at the time. In the U.K., such complexes are considered shopping centres (Commo Man... However, the scenes with Santa and the store windows in ACS were all at a department store, not a shopping center / mall. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/110 "2009-12-10T20:36:21Z")
Little Orphan Annie (the radio show) ran from 1930-1942, but Ovaltine stopped being a sponsor in 1940. So, itā€™s 1930-1940. > **[Little Orphan Annie | Radio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Orphan_Annie#Radio)** > > Little Orphan Annie was adapted to a 15-minute radio show that debuted on WGN Chicago in 1930 and went national on NBC's Blue Network beginning April 6, 1931. The show was one of the first comic strips adapted to radio, attracted about 6 million fans, and left the air in 1942. Radio historian Jim Harmon attributes the show's popularity in The Great Radio Heroes to the fact that it was the only radio show to deal with and appeal to young children. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/111 "2009-12-10T20:42:19Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Little Orphan Annie (the radio show) ran from 1930-1942, but Ovaltine stopped being a sponsor in 1940. So, itā€™s 1930-1940. > > [Little Orphan Annie - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Orphan_Annie#Radio) No it isnā€™t. There are several things in the movie that can be dated to the mid to late 40s, including cars, songs, and other details. ---
**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, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/112 "2009-12-10T21:07:23Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Shopping centers came about in the 1920s and 1930s, though the modern enclosed shopping mall is a product of the 50s: > > [Shopping mall - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_mall) > > However, the scenes with Santa and the store windows in ACS were all at a department store, not a shopping center / mall. Ok, I wasnā€™t sure about the shopping ā€œmallā€ (as in a place where several different buisnesses were clustered together). Mom drops off boys, wanders off to do some window shopping. I guess it could be one of them old (and huge) department stores. ---
**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, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/113 "2009-12-10T21:09:57Z")
I also see from wiki that the commercialised santa goes back to the 1880ā€™s. :eek: Edit: Sorry. 1890ā€™sā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/114 "2009-12-10T21:28:42Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Ok, I wasnā€™t sure about the shopping ā€œmallā€ (as in a place where several different buisnesses were clustered together). Mom drops off boys, wanders off to do some window shopping. I guess it could be one of them old (and huge) department stores. Yup, those scenes were filmed at the Higbeeā€™s department store in downtown Cleveland: [http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/higbees.shtml](http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/higbees.shtml) (Scroll down past the picture of the store to read details about the movie scenes.) ---
**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, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/115 "2009-12-10T21:56:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Yup, those scenes were filmed at the Higbeeā€™s department store in downtown Cleveland: > > [http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/higbees.shtml](http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/higbees.shtml) > > (Scroll down past the picture of the store to read details about the movie scenes.) Thanks! ---
**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 11, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/116 "2009-12-11T05:18:24Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Hey, Iā€™m the other one! Iā€™m still waiting for my Ronald Colman gravy boat. _Bond_! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/117 "2009-12-11T19:20:08Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Iā€™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 itā€™s never specifically stated what year, so Iā€™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]ā€¦Which would further mean that the dad was 8 years old in 1897.[/li] > [li]ā€¦Begging the question: Did they _make_ toy rifles for children in 1897?[/li][/ul] He might have had a **real** gun. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/118 "2009-12-11T19:26:45Z")
My leg lamp is on display in my front window right now, 3 years running. It is our only Christmas decoration. ---
**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 11, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/119 "2009-12-11T21:41:26Z")
There really was a ā€œlegā€ lamp according to Jean Shephard but it would have looked something [like this](http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/images/nehisign.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603/120 "2009-12-12T00:47:40Z")
[Band name!](http://www.myspace.com/daddysgonnakillralphie) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daddys-gonna-kill-ralphie/520603.md?page=5)