A Technical Error Forced A Christmas Story's Famous Flagpole Tongue Scene To Be Reshot
If you grew up anywhere around cold weather and snow, you might already know this, but if you're new to icy conditions, here is a public service announcement: Do not touch your tongue to a flagpole when it drops below freezing. Even if someone triple-dog dares you. Of course, if you've seen the 1983 film "A Christmas Story," you probably already know this. You likely have, as TNT and TBS do a marathon of the film every holiday.
This was one of those moments that fills me with remembered dread, as I almost attempted this before I saw "A Christmas Story" for the first time. I wondered how they did this and if poor Scott Schwartz, who played the unfortunate Flick, was okay. (Hey, Flick didn't have a choice. A triple-dog dare is a powerful thing.)
Wild West Picture Show Productions partners Peter Billingsley (who starred as Ralphie in the film) and Vince Vaughn, have started a new podcast called "A Cinematic Christmas Journey," which focuses on Christmas movies (they'll do other genres like Halloween, summer blockbusters, and Valentine's Day rom-coms in the future). You can check it out on Spotify. The first episode, of course, focuses on "A Christmas Story" with Billingsley co-hosting alongside Nick Schenk (who wrote the sequel "A Christmas Story Christmas," out now on HBO Max), and guest stars Ian Petrella, who played Randy, R.D. Robb who played Schwartz (the darer), and Scott Schwartz who played Flick. They talked not only about how they pulled off the flagpole scene, but also the incident that forced them to re-shoot it.
'I triple dog dare ya!'
In the video podcast, the group breaks down "A Christmas Story" with clips, including this one. The movie did use a real flagpole, but it was covered in plastic up to the rope, preventing any actual sticking. So how did they get a child actor to fake a stuck tongue? They didn't have to. There was a hole the size of a pinkie nail that wasn't seen in the shot. Schwartz had to put his tongue on it, and they turned on some suction — as if you were to put your hand over a vacuum hose.
Robb mentions that they cut one time, and Schwartz (the actor, not the character) genuinely got stuck there. Schwartz says that it didn't hurt; often, he explains, "there were takes where I popped off the pole, just trying to extend my tongue too far, and it just popped off." The scene we see in the film wasn't the first time they tried it, though:
"This is the second time we shot it because the first time we shot it, they underdeveloped the film, and we had to go back and do it again if you remember ... we were there a couple days longer because we had to go back and do it again ... the new lab in Toronto underdeveloped the film, and Bob [Clark -- director] came to me. He said, 'Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're here an extra three days. The bad news is we gotta go back and do it again.'"
Oh, fudge
As Peter Billingsley explains, "this is back when you used film, you had to develop it, and if there was an error, you lost it." Spending another day stuck to the flagpole might have been rough, but it's certainly a memorable scene. Honestly, though, knowing how they did it now, the bandage around the tongue looks way worse than actually filming the incident. Is anyone else gagging a bit while looking at the above picture? Friends, this is what comes from a triple dog dare. I implore you to avoid them at all costs.
Other episodes of the "A Cinematic Christmas Journey" podcast will take on "Home Alone," "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," "Four Christmases," "It's a Wonderful Life," and "The Grinch," and will feature interviews with the stars and filmmakers. In the meantime, I wish you a holiday season minus mean bullies, dogs who eat your dinner, malfunctioning furnaces, and embarrassing major awards. Also, be careful with that BB gun, so you don't accidentally ... well, you know.
"A Christmas Story" and "A Christmas Story Christmas" are currently streaming on HBO Max.