Movies - TV
A Christmas Story Had A Flash Gordon-Style Fantasy Sequence That Didn't Make The Cut
By CAMERON ROY HALL
Almost 40 years after its initial release, watching “A Christmas Story” has become a holiday tradition for many, and HBO Max’s recent sequel has only put the movie in the zeitgeist even more. In the first episode of the podcast “A Cinematic Journey,” Ralphie actor Peter Billingsley spoke about the original movie, including his take on the famously deleted “Flash Gordon” dream sequence.
Billingsley described the scene: “We were in Toronto ... they built this space rock set and Flash Gordon was pinned down by his nemesis ... and along comes Ralphie in a spacesuit that I was very self conscious to wear ... and I’m there with all blue, my Red Ryder Rifle and, of course, I save this big super hero from the villain ... but [Bob Clark] said this one crossed the line.”
The actor revealed that the test audiences were a big reason for removing the scene, and while the film is filled with Ralphie’s childish fantasies, the “Flash Gordon” sequence may not have fit well with the aesthetics of the rest of the movie. Billingsley added, “The sadness is that [the scene] is gone forever because this was before DVDs ... they just threw out the negatives.”