On this day in movie history - A Christmas Story (1983):

A Christmas Story

directed by Bob Clark,

written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark,

based on the book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, by Jean Shepherd,

was released in the United States on November 18, 1983.
Narrated by Jean Shepherd.
Music by Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer.

Cast:

Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz, Jean Shepherd, Ian Petrella, Tedde Moore, R.D. Robb, Zack Ward, Yano Anaya, Jeff Gillen, Peter Billingsley, Colin Fox, Paul Hubbard, Leslie Carlson, Jim Hunter, Patty Johnson, Drew Hocevar, David Svoboda, Dwayne McLean, Helen E. Kaider, John Wong, Johan Sebastian Wong, Fred Lee, Dan Ma, Rocco Bellusci, Tommy Wallace, Court Benson, Leigh Brown, Bob Clark, Giada Dobrzenska, Dave Duff, Don Geyer, Kathryn Hayzer, Gary Jones, John Kennedy, Bill Kravitz, Jordan-Patrick Marcantonio, Julie Matthews, Christine Powrie, Quinn Smith, Kristephan Warren-Stevens.

Recommended reading - In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash (1966):

In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash

By Jean Shepherd.

Filmed as A Christmas Story (1983), directed by Bob Clark.

Published by Broadway Books.

Published 1966.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0385021747

ISBN-13: 978-0385021746

Description:

A collection of humorous and nostalgic Americana stories – the beloved, bestselling classic that inspired the movie A Christmas Story.

Before Garrison Keillor and Spalding Gray there was Jean a master monologist and writer who spun the materials of his all-American childhood into immensely resonant – and utterly hilarious – works of comic art. In God We All Others Pay Cash represents one of the peaks of his achievement, a compound of irony, affection, and perfect detail that speaks across generations.

In God We Trust, Shepherd's wildly witty reunion with his Indiana hometown, disproves the adage “You can never go back.” Bending the ear of Flick, his childhood-buddy-turned-bartender, Shepherd recalls passionately his genuine Red Ryder BB gun, confesses adolescent failure in the arms of Junie Jo Prewitt, and relives a story of man against fish that not even Hemingway could rival. From pop art to the World's Fair, Shepherd's subjects speak with a universal irony and are deeply and unabashedly grounded in American Midwestern life, together rendering a wonderfully nostalgic impression of a more innocent era when life was good, fun was clean, and station wagons roamed the earth.

A comic genius who bridged the gap between James Thurber and David Sedaris, Shepherd may have accomplished for Holden, Indiana, what Mark Twain did for Hannibal, Missouri.

“Shepherd has a fine eye for absurdity, for the madness and idiocy in all of us.” – Best Sellers.

Born on this day – Jean Shepherd:

Jean Shepherd

Writer

Actor

Humorist

Radio and TV personality

July 26, 1921 – October 16, 1999

Credits:

Books:

A Christmas Story (2003); A Fistful of Fig Newtons (1981); In God We Trust / aka In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash (1966); The America of George Ade (1960); The Ferrari in the Bedroom (1972); The Phantom of the Open Hearth (1978); Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories (1970).

Albums:

Jean Shepherd – Into the Unknown With Jazz Music (1955); Jean Shepherd and Other Foibles (1959); Jean Shepherd Reads Poems of Robert Service (1975); “Live” At The Limelight (1965); The Declassified Jean Shepherd (1971); Will Failure Spoil Jean Shepherd? (1960).

Movies and television:

A Christmas Story / Voice-over narration (1983); A Christmas Story 2 (2012); A Christmas Story Christmas (2022); A Christmas Story Live! (2017); A Fine Madness (1966); A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas! (2011); America (1971); American Playhouse (1982–1985); Babe Ruth (1998); Chicago White Sox a Visual History (1987); Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas (1997); Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius (1982); Flickers (1980); Jean Shepherd on Route 1... and Other Major Thoroughfares (1984); Late Night with David Letterman (1982); Lenny Bruce: Without Tears (1972); Light Fantastic (1964); My Summer Story (1994); NET Playhouse (1970); New Faces (1954); No Whistles, Bells, or Bedlam (1973); Norman Rockwell: An American Portrait (1987); Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss (1988); Sesame Street (1976–2000); Shadows (1958); Shepherd's Pie (1978); Summer Incident (1960); The David Frost Show (1972); The Dennis Wholey Show (1969); The Driving Scene (1969); The Great American Road Racing Festival (1985); The Joe Franklin Show (1972); The Merv Griffin Show (1966–1969); The Phantom of the Open Hearth (1976 / 1978); The Radio Broadcast Vault (2019); The Tonight Show (1962); The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1961–1962); Tiki Tiki (1971); Village Sunday (1960); Visions (1976).