The fact it was originally a "bowling" sign and they short the W out to make "bo ling" was subtle and funny. He just took out the W to make his name. 😂
@@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat This came from the writer of the film who actually mistook a Bowling Alley for a Chinese restaurant while looking for a place to eat when he drove past one with the W burnt out.
Daniel Mah is one of the singing waiters, he was the husband of my grade school principal Valerie Mah, a huge personality in the Toronto Chinese community.
YOU ARE STILL WATCHING!!! 😍😍 I FINALLY have some episodes on Canada and I've been thinking about you. Did Daniel Mah ever talk about filming the scene? It looks like a lot of it was improvised, I wonder if the Chinese actors participated.
@@AmericanChineseFoodShow unfortunately this was when I was in grade school, which we leave at like 10 or 11 in Canada, and he was in like an iron lung or something from what I recall, so I never got to meet him but Mrs Mah was always proud of his role.
Hello, my father is the loudest singer at the right in the scene. I’ve been trying to find more info on the other two singers, but they don’t have any other credits on IMDB. I would love to be able to connect with either of them if you have any additional info.
I was born In Hammond in 1962. Cam Lam dine-in and carry out was a family tradition that often occurred at my maternal grandmother’s home. Most often on Sunday night dinner. Stir fried snow peas among my favorites, along with shrimp egg foo young, and the best damn egg rolls anywhere!
I still live here in Hammond. Sadly, Cam Lan has been gone since before I was born in the 80’s. The building was an attorney’s office until it burned down a few years ago.
@@jamiedildine1785it was still there when my family moved to Hammond in the '90s. It was my mom's favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. I also remember working in a nearby law firm when I was a teen, and one of the old ladies who also worked there was making fun of the food at Cam Lan. She said something about food poisoning. I never thought anything was wrong with their food, and they were always very nice.
I grew up in a poor southern family and going to a Chinese restaurant was an event. Usually reserved for birthdays, anniversaries or graduation days/holidays. I still remember just about every time my family ate out at The Marseille (idk why it had a French name lol) and I'm pushing 60 years old now.
A 68 yo, with Identical experience, except I was from the North. Mother's day, every year, and takeout, for New Year's Eve, was our family tradition. Great times.
Probably the restaurant owner is Chinese living in Vietnam. The French colonized Vietnam. My Chinese Great Grandfather (one of the photo) was wearing a white chemise.
This scene is very nostalgic for me because the Chinese restaurants are usually the only restaurants open in smaller towns and cities on Christmas. i live in the South so we rarely have snow on Christmas but I've had many Sweet and Sour pork and egg rolls on Christmas night. I love old school places like this; even if it's just in a movie
My father, born in 1930, looked just like the character Ralphie when he was young. When he passed away, I inherited his Daisy "Red Rider". It is among my most prized possessions and it still shoots as straight as any BB gun I've ever seen.
Jean Shepard had a night time radio show on WOR in NYC and would tell this story with many variations through the years . I used to listen to the show with my portable nine volt radio tucked under my pillow. When this movie came out many years later, I knew the entire story. He had a terrific voice and a wonderful way with words. Many of his radio episodes are available here on UA-cam and as podcasts. I still listen.
One year my sister and I both had the flu at Christmas and I didn't want to cook. So since neither of us were having digestive symptoms, we decided to order a Chinese food delivery. Taking care not to be contagious, I carefully accepted our bags, and tipped the delivery man generously. That food was so good. Sadly, several years later, the restaurant closed due to cancer that the wife was battling. Fast forward to a few years ago, we have a Chinese restaurant that like the first has great food, and my favorite is Chicken with Broccoli, and their great egg rolls!❤️I now know what I will get for New Year's Eve!!!
What a wonderful video. The research was great and the narrator seems very kind. Your channel seems very interesting. I can't be the only one who is fascinated by the cultural import of Chinese restaurants and how the proprietors adapted their native cuisine and worked so hard to become part of the city's fabric.
Thanks for making this video. We really enjoyed the "Christmas Story" references, and the Chinese history lesson. We watched one of your earlier videos after this. Thanks for educating us about Chinese history. Most Americans know next to nothing about Chinese history. You're both informative and entertaining. You have a nice light-hearted approach as well. We'll be watching more of your videos. Merry Christmas!
Wouldn't it be funny if Cam Lan turned out to be a place that was once called Camp Land but the owners shorted out the P and D in the sign to make it work. 😅
I remember growing up in Detroit in the 1960s all the Chinese restaurants were Cantonese Family-run places. They were pretty good. Those big dinner rolls were my favorite.
I am in Chicago. We used to go to King Fong in Oak Park. It was on North Ave by Austin Blvd. Long gone now. Building it was on is not part of a bank. Anyway, the interior was very similar to Bo Ling. Booths along the right side aka west. Tables on the left. Even the door to the kitchen was on the left aka east just like in Bo Ling. Food was always good. I remember the egg rolls were huge and delicious. Almost looked like burritos. I believe they were made in house. Including the wrap which I think had peanut butter in them. My go to picks were always egg rolls, chop suey, and the egg rolls. Now the egg rolls were unique, I have never seen egg rolls like that anywhere outside of Chicagoland area. I have never eaten in a Chinese place in NYC, but I am thinking/ hoping they may have something similar. King Fong I believe moved to Roosevelt and Austin closed some time after. I think Peking Garden on Belmont had similar but smaller one. There was a place that the Chicago personality Bob Serot used to talk about farther north in the city but I am not sure. Closed I have come to those egg rolls is not Gilbert's in West Dundee. Gilbert's Chinese. I think Gilbert is the Americanized name the founder called himself. Anyway, the son retired, sold the place, new owners got new cooks and changed everything up, business dropped. They had to rehire the cook. I tried the egg rolls under the new cooks and it wasn't the same. With the original cook back, they are the same though I think they are not a long as I remember. Back then lots of length and girth. LOL. #quadstatecameras
I grew up in St John Indiana in the 1950s and early '60s. We would get dressed up and during the holidays he would take us for a Chinese meal! I remember it being dark, lots of wood and red lanterns... But of course I was in 1960 8 years old. What wonderful memories.
The Cam Lan restaurant was next door to Goldblatts Dept Store. It was interesting, they had some private booths which was nice. From the 1960s on most of the wait staff were Americans, many were Southerners. Dined there many times,the food was delicious and service excellent.
What a wonderful, well-researched feature! I do want to point out that Jean Shepherd, during his time at WOR radio in NYC, waxed almost poetic about a couple of his favorite Chinese restaurants in the city, and, unlike some other sponsors, I don't think he ever played any of *their* ads for laughs on air. A merry Christmas to all, and a happy new year! =^[.]^=
About a dozen doors down the street from that Chinese restaurant, at 716 Gerrard Street East Toronto, was the last residence of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the sister of Tsar Nicholas II, Russia's last Tsar
Thank you for this! I adore this movie so much. I landed on this movie as a fav, way before the crave was out on it!!! I love every bit of this movie! In fact this New Years eve or day, I want Chinese Food, this time!!!!
Being born in Hammond and having most of my family from there, I've heard sooo many stories about it being based off living in Hammond. My dad, who grew up there during the time this story takes place had always said he knew this is where the film took place. Even when he never knew anything about the author or the back story of it being semi-autobiographical taking place in Hammond.
I always thought the movie was set pre-WW2, since Little Orphan Annie was very popular in the !930s. Also, Ralphie’s father’s car was a 1937 Oldsmobile. Really great video!
As someone already said. L and R exist in the Chinese language. Keep on making a stereotype of it for laughs directed at a community is not well intended ,and stale to say the least. And especially not funny in light of all the anti-asian hate recently.
Wow...talk about deep dive research! Did anyone else notice that the restaurant's sign is actually "Bowling" and not "Bo Ling"? Two theories spring to mind; A) the place used to be a bowling alley and the new owners decided to just repurpose the sign to save money or B) the "w" piece is just a way to keep the neon light in one piece. Knowing the practicalities of that generation I would hew to the former. Haha Thanks and Happy Holidays!!!
Happy Holidays! I know the answer!! It was inspired by a real life experience of assistant director Ken Goch. When Goch was a child, his “mother had actually mistaken a bowling alley with a burnt out “W” for a Chinese restaurant when trying to find a place for the family to eat. (from www.metaflix.com/the-bo-ling-chinese-restaurant-in-a-christmas-story-movie-detail-monday/)
I'm from the area, and friends knew Shep, I went to school with Flick's kids.....anyway, CAM LAM is the restaurant in Hammond, just off Hohman ave in Hammond, next door to Goldblats department store, which was played by Higby's in Cleveland. ......That post card you put up....shows Goldblats the department store....cam lam was behind this.
This movie holds a special place in my mind because it's very similar to my childhood in the 1950's. And I first saw it on an airplane as a young worker traveling alone on the holidays. But the duck scene rang true for me too. Growing up in the Hudson Valley (north of New York City) I would often take the train into the city. And before I would catch the train home, I would always go down to Chinatown to get what I called a "murdered duck". The Chinese restaurants would all have the ducks hanging by their necks in the windows, you would point to the one you wanted, and the guy would "murder" it. (Chop it into bite sized pieces and stuff it into a big white takeout container with a wire handle.). I'm a west coaster now, but oh the memories this movie and Chinese ducks bring back to this old man.
My family would have chinese food on Christmas eve! Mom wouldn't want to cook because Christmas day was the of family's the holiday meal. Us kids loved the day-glow orange sweet and sour chicken with pineapple chuncks!
In December 2013 my helicopter was on standby at the air tanker base in Santa Maria. On Christmas Day my crew and I were wondering where we were to eat dinner. We were watching A Christmas Story when the restaurant scene came on. Problem solved. That night the place was packed!
I loved Cam Lan. It was still around when I was a kid in the '90s. I'll never forget the little wooden rooms, each with their own booth. It was such a fun and memorable experience to eat in them. ❤
Speaking of English L and R substitution.... I fondly remember an old Chinese woman who ran the "China Fan" eatery in a local mall. She was a sweet and kind old lady who made the best noodles and fried rice. We would go there often as kids _(a group of 3 or 4 kids, 12 or 13 years old on our first unsupervised excursions to eat)_ and we would order a huge pile of lo mein and fried rice and eat it at a nearby cafeteria/food court table. I distinctly remember her broken english, and as the author suggests, she substituted an "L" for "R" saying "fry lice".... but when our noodles were ready, she would yell out to us "kids! noood-errls are ready! Come now!" with sort of a blended "RL" sound, such as in the word "girls" ... We didn't care, we just liked the happy Chinese lady who was feeding us. But we did find it peculiar. ((and epically hilarious when she would turn and yell at her young cooks in Chinese, she went from beaming a smile to straight-up scary as she scolded her cooks, lord knows why or what she said to them)) Years later I would attempt to learn some basic Chinese, and now it's just a complete miracle to me that ANYONE from other side can learn to speak to the other. The languages (Mandarin and English) are so extremely different. I eventually just taught myself the one and only phrase I could reliably pronounce that would probably serve me best: "Dai bu tsi, wo bu hui shuo Zhongwen!" (Lit: "Im sorry, I cannot speak Chinese!") I have taught myself all manner of difficult language, I am fluent in most romance languages, I can even speak Ukrainian and Russian, but Chinese was just a bridge too far for me! I have great respect for people who are bi-lingual in both English and Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese/Fujianese).
My hometown had two very prominent Chinese Food restaurants. Lee's which was on a second floor of the downtown business strip, and Cathay Gardens which was along the river in the most remote part of town. I remember as a feral 10 year old, my friends and i wandered up the stairs to Lee's as unwelcome guests. The waiter, who i swear to God had a shaved head with the exception of a twenty inch long dred* that hung from the back of his head grabbed a hold of my right wrist and expertly delivered a sharp chop to my armpit. I could feel my radial nerve shout as he delivered the shocking blow. Cathay Gardens suffered a devastating loss when their restaurant burned to the ground one day in the late 1970's. Both places are worthy of distinction and memory. Now that i think about it, Lee's was located on Merrimack st. but in the backside of the place was Lee street. In them days, you pretty much had to watch an episode of Kung Fu to see anything Chinese in my home town. *Note: A queue or cue is a hairstyle worn by the Jurchen and Manchu peoples of Manchuria
My name contains all the letters that put Asian tongues in traction. This scene was accurate. This movie came out with one the greatest lines ever contained in a feature film. Father reading the newspaper: "Some clodhopper from Indiana swallowed a yo-yo." Step aside Shakespeare, you have been beaten.
@@mayyoung8375 One of my small joys in life is when I met an Asian and names come up, watching them try to say mine. What the movie shows does happen. On the other hand, they get even when I try to say their name. No one gets insulted. I used to live (by the Statute Of Liberty) where there was a fairly heavy concentration of immigrants. Language mangling was to be expected and it was practiced often.
@@mayyoung8375yeah, i agree, an off color joke about Ls and Rs is way worse than all the blacks beating the shit out of asians on the subways in major cities. Please, continue.
Sign said restaurant served Chinese and American food thought you might smile about a restaurant in the very small town in Kingsburg California. Kingsburg is known as the home of Rafer Johnson because the town was founded by Swedes there a a few Swedish celebration through the year. Now for the the reason for the reason for this story. There is a restaurant owned by a migrant who got his start as a dish washer then he became a cook in a Chinese restaurant. When the family decided to retire they helped the cook to own his own restaurant. The name of the place is Las Tes Casuelas. He serves Mexican food, Chinese food and American food. I adore his steak sandwiches. Anything on the Chinese is excellent and the Mexican food is delicious .
They must have scouted Toronto and Cleveland very thoroughly, since the movie looked like it was filmed in one of the parts of Hammond built for industrial workers. They even included the train horn, which was part of the background noise.
What's really funny about this is that "la" and "ra" are clear syllables in both Mandarin and Cantonese, so I always thought that they intentionally sung it wrong to tweak the owner and have a sense of humor.
I always interpreted it as not that they couldn't make the sound, but that they were unfamiliar with English enough to know when it make which sound. Learn a language is hard.
Not funny really if you are taunted especially for Asians as the joke butt. As part of the ongoing reinforcements of racist stereotype that mislead those who are ignorant of how asian-americans are.
@jaysherman2615they are acting. Asian American actors said they resent the fact that they are always casted in these stereotypical roles and forced to speak in strange accents that perpetuate stereotypic narratives even though they're born and raised here and speak perfect English. Look up the great Anna May Wong, born and raised in Los Angeles, said she hated it when she had to take all the stereotypic roles which she was forced to speak funny accents to fit Hollywood racist narratives, as joke butts and some exotic perpetuate foreigner even though she's 100% American born and raised in the US. And those were the only roles available to Asian-Americans.
I remember watching this movie in the theater, I was about 12. I had a little brother and my poor mom had to deal w/us 3 boys. Yes, my Dad too. I relate very well to the tire changing scene. I used the evil "F" word in front of my Mom... She hated that word... Of course I heard it from my Dad. You didn't "rat out" Dad. Yes I blamed it on a neighbor kid... In proper context, this incident happened the summer before this movie came out... I put this movie in my Christmas movies: Die Hard, Leathal Weapon, Scrooged etc...
I’m so Thankful for all the memories everyone is sharing. Christmas Story is our family’s favorite holiday story….never had the wonderful chance of Chinese food growing up. Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Of course now things have changed. Blessings from Pennsylvania Grandma. John 3:16. 🎄🎚🙏❄️☃️🎅🏻🤶🏻🇺🇸🇮🇱
Some of best Peking duck I ever had as a kid was at a little place called Wong’s Paradise in Alhambra, CA, just outside Los Angeles. The duck did make it out to the suburbs at times.
Hey, this channel's taking off! Finally. You deserve it. I knew the name of the restaurant because I'm fascinated by the story of Chpp Suey. It's got a sort of limited history in in China, but it really blew up in the United States in the 1910's and 20's.. Not a lot of people eat it anymore. That's my understanding, at least. Have you done an episode on Chop Suey?
Sorry Hammond was the largest city city in Indiana for decades. Population over 100,00+ due new by steel mills, train manufacturing, oil, and other industries
The documentary, "Road Trip For Ralphie", visits filming locations for "A Christmas Story", including the restaurant scene, and the Cherry St. bridge (just south of what used to be a Knob Hill Farms, and then a T&T Asian Supermarket), where Ralphie said THE word.
Your comment brings back major memories. I went to Knob Hill near Dufferin(?) a couple of times when I first moved to TO. Much later on, I went to that T&T supermarket via bike from my place at Dundas and Sherbourne. When not going by bike they used to have a shuttle service from near the Eaton Center. I wonder if there is enough material to do a video on major Asian supermarket chains...haha
Didn’t know the movie was filmed in Canada. I tease my wife as she loves Hallmark Xmas movies… and those are all products of Canada. Well, great movie. Thanks, Canada. Thanks, Bo Ling Chop Suey. Correction: Ohio and Canada
Exteriors of Ralphie's house, and the Parade and Higbee's scenes were shot in Cleveland. All the rest were shot in the Toronto, Canada area. Interiors of Ralphie's house were shot in the same studio complex as "SCTV" (Magder Studios, now Showline Studios), on Pharmacy Avenue.
Of course the house is in Cleveland. It's a tourist trap in terms of the gift shop (can't believe what the leg lamp goes for) but a decent tour of the house itself, and worth seeing if you are in the area. Right in the middle of a residential neighborhood; imagine it must thrill these folks. My own Chinese food experience was strictly 'Hamburger Oriental' which I think was a La Choy recipe - until I met and dated someone from China for several years. Besides home cooked Chinese we only ever ate (well, after I was initiated anyway) in Chinatown or at least in places where you could order off the walls or off the menu. Eventually my kitchen changed and grocery shopping generally included a stop at the Asian market. While we didn't end up together forever, I still have friends from both Mainland China and Taiwan and it's much easier to find authentic Chinese today than it was 35 years ago.
I'm white, but I grew up around a fair number of Chinese people and I agree that the "fa-ra-ra" thing never struck me as natural based on how Chinese people actually talk
Another OMG moment! I might actually turn religious. Just checking in on how this video was doing and satisfying my curiousity when it came to Canadian Chinese restaurants. A few mins of mindless Googling and I have found matchbooks from my family's old Chinese restaurant from the early 1970s on eBay!!! The restaurant was sold well over a decade ago and we only have a delivery menu. But, I remember these old matchbooks from when I was a child and now I may be able to buy a couple!!! Thanks Kristie!!! Edit: What am I saying! I hit the buy it now button and I am going to frame these once they get here.
They may have had the department store in Canada in MIND when they filmed the movie, but the scene was filmed in Cleveland. As were all the house scenes, the parade/window scene, etc. Love this vid, but give Cleveland her due.
I was in Coastal Georgia for work and went to old school Chinese restaurant for Xmas dinner after I asked a local for Chinese restaurant and he said this place had best steak and fries. 😂
I thought it was Chop Suey because when I watched the movie I noticed that most Chinese Restaurants are not called Chop Suey anymore when it use to be common before the 1970s.
I think it may represent a child's confusion over the name... the kind of thing that you don't understand as a kid, but is obvious to adults. A child would think of a bowling alley, whenever the parents said the name Bo Ling restaurant. The entire movie is memories, from being 9 years old.
Chinese eat them, especially as regional snacks in Hunan and Hubei provinces. In fact, duck necks and heads became such popular national snacks, the two biggest CPG companies are publicly traded in China.
I "love" the way sad little people try to say this movie is racist towards Chinese people when it LITERALLY presents them as the people who save Christmas for this one family.
It's not about pc or not. It's stale stereotype at the expense of a community constantly being put as joke butts and harassment especially recently with the anti Asian hate. Google if you don't see it where you live. It's about common respect, and actually self-respect for these perpetuators.
Bo Ling Chop Suey was my educated guess as the of name of restaurant in the movie. Because gwai-los at that time knew sht nothing about Chinese food but chop suey and childish word play of “bowling” 🎳 into Bo Ling.
For the time period when this movie takes place, this is my criticism. Always felt tt Darren McGavin, and the actress playing his wife, were too old 4 their roles. Bcz their kids R so young. The parents looked more like the grandparents. It is still a fun movie 2 watch.
It's because the movies internal logic is that ralphie is recalling this as an adult hence the deliberate anachronisms , and generally larger than life scenes (ralphie vs the imaginary bad guys, and Santa) . He probably pictured the old man as he looked when he was older.
Max, tks 4 ur reply. I respectfully disagree with ur opinion. If he is thinking back 2 his childhood, he would remember what his parents looked like in tt time. Remember, he was in elementary school, he was old enough 2 remember hw they looked. Hv a great day. Merry XMAS, and a Happy New Year. God bless U and yours.😊
@@PhilipDarragh Everyone certainly has their own interpretation, that's what makes discussing these things fun. I really ought to reread the novel as well, to see how the old man is described, as I always pictured him as in the movie, but I saw the movie years before reading the book. It could be an American working-class cultural thing as well. My own Father and Grandfather worked long hours in industrial jobs , and were rarely home when I was young, and needed ample rest when they were home. What actually inspired my interpretation , was when setting out Christmas photos a few days ago, I was struck by how much younger they looked in the pictures than in my memories, like I remembered their features, but as I was a young boy, they were old to me at the time. Sorry to ramble so long, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours as well!
Max, again tks 4 ur nes reply. I hv never read the book, but now I am going 2 read it. I hv always enjoyed watching this movie during XMAS. It seems 2B taking place in the late 1930s, or post WW2. If I was the director, or producer, I would hv chosen an actor who was abt 30 yrs old 2 play the husband, and a woman abt 28 or 29 yrs old 2 play the mother. Bcz parents in tt era would hv been abt those ages with 2 kids. One kid looks abt 8 or 9 yrs old, and the other kid was younger. In tt era, not many men in their 60s would hv kids tt young. Same with a mother, who looks like she is in her late 40s. We hv seen parents in those ages bc more socially acceptable starting in the 1990s. Whether tt is good or bad I will not give my opinion. As I said, still a fun movie 2 watch. So this time I want 2 wish U and yours a Happy, and a safe New Year, and a better time in 2025.❤😊
@@maxmccullough8548 You're exactly right... the entire movie is memories of a 9 year old boy. Which is what makes the movie special. The distorted memories must be interpreted through that lens, to be understood. It's far easier to remember your parents older, than as they were when you were 9. It's just how time works.
I always remembered watching the movie and being like the mom is in hysterics half the movie. I'll also say I guess setting the movie in 1940 is braver than immediately in December 1945 or 6.
What about setting the movie in 1945? I guess maybe you're unaware that Chinese were the Allies of America, during World War Two? China still would be an ally of America, if not for the overthrow of Chiang Kai-shek.
Despite the US directly entering the war in less than a year from when the movie is set most pieces set in the 40s' would usually choose to be after the war. It's not a 1:1 comparison but there are similar things with even movies of the time where most studios had to bow for the demands of war production. Nearly ceasing output from supply and labor constraints. Hence why just about every noir movie or one paying homage to them take place in 1946. As for alliances between the KMT USA vs CPC what a can of worms. Something I've always found interesting is the reason for Mao Zedong's meteoric rise in CPC came from in the midst of the first civil war the main faction in control of the party's organs were called the "returned students" who were educated in Russia. There was a massive problem at this point, this was after the KMT and CPC relations broke down obviously and the USSR was still giving more support for the KMT as the main force of centralizing power in China at the time.
IMO the unlit W represents Ralphie's confusion over the name Bo Ling, as kid. He would have pictured a bowling alley, whenever his parents said the name Bo Ling restaurant... only in adulthood could he look back and know the difference.
The fact it was originally a "bowling" sign and they short the W out to make "bo ling" was subtle and funny. He just took out the W to make his name. 😂
If you get into much of Jean Shepard's stuff you'll realize that is very fitting for the world he presents.
i always thought the bowling sign was a separate business, like the upstairs of the restaurant was a bowling alley lol
@@pinballanon8531 I grew up in next to a Bowling shop that sold bowling equipment and trophies, across the street was the Bowling alley.
@@pinballanon8531 me, too! but you can see in her still, the front door says Bo Ling
@@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat This came from the writer of the film who actually mistook a Bowling Alley for a Chinese restaurant while looking for a place to eat when he drove past one with the W burnt out.
Daniel Mah is one of the singing waiters, he was the husband of my grade school principal Valerie Mah, a huge personality in the Toronto Chinese community.
YOU ARE STILL WATCHING!!! 😍😍 I FINALLY have some episodes on Canada and I've been thinking about you.
Did Daniel Mah ever talk about filming the scene? It looks like a lot of it was improvised, I wonder if the Chinese actors participated.
Whoa, Daniel Mah has a great story too: www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star-daniel-mah-in-toronto/161335997/
@@AmericanChineseFoodShow unfortunately this was when I was in grade school, which we leave at like 10 or 11 in Canada, and he was in like an iron lung or something from what I recall, so I never got to meet him but Mrs Mah was always proud of his role.
Hello, my father is the loudest singer at the right in the scene. I’ve been trying to find more info on the other two singers, but they don’t have any other credits on IMDB. I would love to be able to connect with either of them if you have any additional info.
We used to eat at Cam Lam. My dad was one of the first Chinese doctor in Hammond in the 1950’s and we actually knew Steve Quon who owned Cam Lam
I was born In Hammond in 1962. Cam Lam dine-in and carry out was a family tradition that often occurred at my maternal grandmother’s home. Most often on Sunday night dinner. Stir fried snow peas among my favorites, along with shrimp egg foo young, and the best damn egg rolls anywhere!
I still live here in Hammond. Sadly, Cam Lan has been gone since before I was born in the 80’s. The building was an attorney’s office until it burned down a few years ago.
@@jamiedildine1785it was still there when my family moved to Hammond in the '90s. It was my mom's favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. I also remember working in a nearby law firm when I was a teen, and one of the old ladies who also worked there was making fun of the food at Cam Lan. She said something about food poisoning. I never thought anything was wrong with their food, and they were always very nice.
I grew up in a poor southern family and going to a Chinese restaurant was an event. Usually reserved for birthdays, anniversaries or graduation days/holidays. I still remember just about every time my family ate out at The Marseille (idk why it had a French name lol) and I'm pushing 60 years old now.
A 68 yo, with Identical experience, except I was from the North. Mother's day, every year, and takeout, for New Year's Eve, was our family tradition. Great times.
Probably the restaurant owner is Chinese living in Vietnam. The French colonized Vietnam. My Chinese Great Grandfather (one of the photo) was wearing a white chemise.
My dad grew up next to Hammond (Highland) and let me say you are one of the few videos I’ve seen that actually gives it its proper credit! Bravo
This scene is very nostalgic for me because the Chinese restaurants are usually the only restaurants open in smaller towns and cities on Christmas. i live in the South so we rarely have snow on Christmas but I've had many Sweet and Sour pork and egg rolls on Christmas night. I love old school places like this; even if it's just in a movie
I only went to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas one time in my life (and it's in the South!) and it was pretty magical.
My father, born in 1930, looked just like the character Ralphie when he was young. When he passed away, I inherited his Daisy "Red Rider". It is among my most prized possessions and it still shoots as straight as any BB gun I've ever seen.
Just don't shoot your eye out kid.😂
I would say that singing scene is more iconic/nostalgic rather than infamous. Thanks for making this video.
Bo Ling food knocks you over with a lucky strike 😂.
Jean Shepard had a night time radio show on WOR in NYC and would tell this story with many variations through the years . I used to listen to the show with my portable nine volt radio tucked under my pillow. When this movie came out many years later, I knew the entire story. He had a terrific voice and a wonderful way with words. Many of his radio episodes are available here on UA-cam and as podcasts. I still listen.
In the late 60s we never had Christmas dinner we always went to the Chinese buffet.... a place called Moon Temple and it's still open today
who says u have to eat turkey for Christmas?
One year my sister and I both had the flu at Christmas and I didn't want to cook. So since neither of us were having digestive symptoms, we decided to order a Chinese food delivery. Taking care not to be contagious, I carefully accepted our bags, and tipped the delivery man generously. That food was so good. Sadly, several years later, the restaurant closed due to cancer that the wife was battling. Fast forward to a few years ago, we have a Chinese restaurant that like the first has great food, and my favorite is Chicken with Broccoli, and their great egg rolls!❤️I now know what I will get for New Year's Eve!!!
What a wonderful video. The research was great and the narrator seems very kind. Your channel seems very interesting. I can't be the only one who is fascinated by the cultural import of Chinese restaurants and how the proprietors adapted their native cuisine and worked so hard to become part of the city's fabric.
Thanks for making this video. We really enjoyed the "Christmas Story" references, and the Chinese history lesson. We watched one of your earlier videos after this. Thanks for educating us about Chinese history. Most Americans know next to nothing about Chinese history. You're both informative and entertaining. You have a nice light-hearted approach as well. We'll be watching more of your videos. Merry Christmas!
A Christmas Story is a classic holiday movie.
I actually never saw it before working on this episode. 🙃
@@AmericanChineseFoodShow I'm an atheist but I just had that "OMG" response to your comment.
Correction: A Christmas Story is the BEST holiday movie
Wouldn't it be funny if Cam Lan turned out to be a place that was once called Camp Land but the owners shorted out the P and D in the sign to make it work. 😅
I remember growing up in Detroit in the 1960s all the Chinese restaurants were Cantonese Family-run places. They were pretty good. Those big dinner rolls were my favorite.
I am in Chicago. We used to go to King Fong in Oak Park. It was on North Ave by Austin Blvd. Long gone now. Building it was on is not part of a bank. Anyway, the interior was very similar to Bo Ling. Booths along the right side aka west. Tables on the left. Even the door to the kitchen was on the left aka east just like in Bo Ling. Food was always good. I remember the egg rolls were huge and delicious. Almost looked like burritos. I believe they were made in house. Including the wrap which I think had peanut butter in them. My go to picks were always egg rolls, chop suey, and the egg rolls.
Now the egg rolls were unique, I have never seen egg rolls like that anywhere outside of Chicagoland area. I have never eaten in a Chinese place in NYC, but I am thinking/ hoping they may have something similar. King Fong I believe moved to Roosevelt and Austin closed some time after. I think Peking Garden on Belmont had similar but smaller one. There was a place that the Chicago personality Bob Serot used to talk about farther north in the city but I am not sure. Closed I have come to those egg rolls is not Gilbert's in West Dundee. Gilbert's Chinese. I think Gilbert is the Americanized name the founder called himself. Anyway, the son retired, sold the place, new owners got new cooks and changed everything up, business dropped. They had to rehire the cook. I tried the egg rolls under the new cooks and it wasn't the same. With the original cook back, they are the same though I think they are not a long as I remember. Back then lots of length and girth. LOL.
#quadstatecameras
We've actually made a family tradition of going 'out for Chinese" on Christmas because of this movie. But we don't get the duck.
you should, beijing duck is better than any turkey youll ever have
@@mccallosone4903 _Peking_ is a far more nostalgic name, than Beijing. Peking Duck!
The Mom did not get the script during this seen. So all her laughing is genuine..lol
I grew up in St John Indiana in the 1950s and early '60s. We would get dressed up and during the holidays he would take us for a Chinese meal! I remember it being dark, lots of wood and red lanterns... But of course I was in 1960 8 years old. What wonderful memories.
Bo ling actually Bowling with a busted w light 😂.
I spent the last 40 years thinking to myself, how the hell could they fit a bowling alley in that tiny little building? Lol.😂
The Cam Lan restaurant was next door to Goldblatts Dept Store. It was interesting, they had some private booths which was nice. From the 1960s on most of the wait staff were Americans, many were Southerners. Dined there many times,the food was delicious and service excellent.
I was thinking about those booths. Good times
This was a super fun watch! Thank you for making this. I love your voiceover as well, relaxing and informative :D
What a wonderful, well-researched feature! I do want to point out that Jean Shepherd, during his time at WOR radio in NYC, waxed almost poetic about a couple of his favorite Chinese restaurants in the city, and, unlike some other sponsors, I don't think he ever played any of *their* ads for laughs on air. A merry Christmas to all, and a happy new year! =^[.]^=
Shepard is even IN the movie. He's the guy at the Santa line who says "Hey kid, the line starts over there!"
Such a Classic Movie - Jean Shepard Makes it ALL Come Together...Thanks...Merry Christmas...
About a dozen doors down the street from that Chinese restaurant, at 716 Gerrard Street East Toronto, was the last residence of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the sister of Tsar Nicholas II, Russia's last Tsar
Did she love Chinese food?
Thank you for this! I adore this movie so much. I landed on this movie as a fav, way before the crave was out on it!!! I love every bit of this movie! In fact this New Years eve or day, I want Chinese Food, this time!!!!
In recent TV and stage productions they sing Deck The Halls without the Chinese accents.
Being born in Hammond and having most of my family from there, I've heard sooo many stories about it being based off living in Hammond. My dad, who grew up there during the time this story takes place had always said he knew this is where the film took place. Even when he never knew anything about the author or the back story of it being semi-autobiographical taking place in Hammond.
I always thought the movie was set pre-WW2, since Little Orphan Annie was very popular in the !930s. Also, Ralphie’s father’s car was a 1937 Oldsmobile. Really great video!
Set on Dec, 1939.
Because there are ads and references to The Wizard of Oz, shown in 1939.
It's kind of confusing because The Wizard of Oz premiered Aug of 1939, but the Look magazine he put the ad in is from December 21, 1937.
Yes, the 1930s. In the book, he mentions his mom being a flapper girl when she was younger.
Classic movie. Great video,merry christmas.
Wonderful video. Immediately subscribed!
I appreciate how you explain the L and R pronunciation. Very interesting!
As someone already said. L and R exist in the Chinese language. Keep on making a stereotype of it for laughs directed at a community is not well intended ,and stale to say the least. And especially not funny in light of all the anti-asian hate recently.
are we sure it's not a Chop Suey Palace with a Bowling alley in the back??
A very enjoyable post. Your research is commendable!! Love this movie.
Wow...talk about deep dive research! Did anyone else notice that the restaurant's sign is actually "Bowling" and not "Bo Ling"? Two theories spring to mind; A) the place used to be a bowling alley and the new owners decided to just repurpose the sign to save money or B) the "w" piece is just a way to keep the neon light in one piece. Knowing the practicalities of that generation I would hew to the former. Haha
Thanks and Happy Holidays!!!
Happy Holidays! I know the answer!! It was inspired by a real life experience of assistant director Ken Goch. When Goch was a child, his “mother had actually mistaken a bowling alley with a burnt out “W” for a Chinese restaurant when trying to find a place for the family to eat. (from www.metaflix.com/the-bo-ling-chinese-restaurant-in-a-christmas-story-movie-detail-monday/)
I think it's also super sweet that people working on the movie chipped in a little bit of what they remember from when they were a kid.
@@AmericanChineseFoodShow Wow! That's amazing detail!
The amount of research is truly impressive, such an iconic scene from the movie!
I'm from the area, and friends knew Shep, I went to school with Flick's kids.....anyway, CAM LAM is the restaurant in Hammond, just off Hohman ave in Hammond, next door to Goldblats department store, which was played by Higby's in Cleveland. ......That post card you put up....shows Goldblats the department store....cam lam was behind this.
This movie holds a special place in my mind because it's very similar to my childhood in the 1950's. And I first saw it on an airplane as a young worker traveling alone on the holidays. But the duck scene rang true for me too. Growing up in the Hudson Valley (north of New York City) I would often take the train into the city. And before I would catch the train home, I would always go down to Chinatown to get what I called a "murdered duck". The Chinese restaurants would all have the ducks hanging by their necks in the windows, you would point to the one you wanted, and the guy would "murder" it. (Chop it into bite sized pieces and stuff it into a big white takeout container with a wire handle.). I'm a west coaster now, but oh the memories this movie and Chinese ducks bring back to this old man.
One of my favorite Christmas movies.
This was such an enjoyable video. Love this movie and I have actually eaten at Batifole a few times. I always try to picture the Peking Duck scene
My family would have chinese food on Christmas eve! Mom wouldn't want to cook because Christmas day was the of family's the holiday meal. Us kids loved the day-glow orange sweet and sour chicken with pineapple chuncks!
this is some excellent research - thanks!
Very delightful! Thank you
A duck dinner, beats a turkey one, any day of the year!
No! I'll have most other stuff at a Chinese restaurant, but no duck!
Oh yes I WILL subscribe. Merry Christmas.
In December 2013 my helicopter was on standby at the air tanker base in Santa Maria. On Christmas Day my crew and I were wondering where we were to eat dinner. We were watching A Christmas Story when the restaurant scene came on. Problem solved. That night the place was packed!
I loved Cam Lan. It was still around when I was a kid in the '90s. I'll never forget the little wooden rooms, each with their own booth. It was such a fun and memorable experience to eat in them. ❤
Speaking of English L and R substitution.... I fondly remember an old Chinese woman who ran the "China Fan" eatery in a local mall. She was a sweet and kind old lady who made the best noodles and fried rice. We would go there often as kids _(a group of 3 or 4 kids, 12 or 13 years old on our first unsupervised excursions to eat)_ and we would order a huge pile of lo mein and fried rice and eat it at a nearby cafeteria/food court table. I distinctly remember her broken english, and as the author suggests, she substituted an "L" for "R" saying "fry lice".... but when our noodles were ready, she would yell out to us "kids! noood-errls are ready! Come now!" with sort of a blended "RL" sound, such as in the word "girls" ... We didn't care, we just liked the happy Chinese lady who was feeding us. But we did find it peculiar. ((and epically hilarious when she would turn and yell at her young cooks in Chinese, she went from beaming a smile to straight-up scary as she scolded her cooks, lord knows why or what she said to them))
Years later I would attempt to learn some basic Chinese, and now it's just a complete miracle to me that ANYONE from other side can learn to speak to the other. The languages (Mandarin and English) are so extremely different. I eventually just taught myself the one and only phrase I could reliably pronounce that would probably serve me best: "Dai bu tsi, wo bu hui shuo Zhongwen!" (Lit: "Im sorry, I cannot speak Chinese!") I have taught myself all manner of difficult language, I am fluent in most romance languages, I can even speak Ukrainian and Russian, but Chinese was just a bridge too far for me! I have great respect for people who are bi-lingual in both English and Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese/Fujianese).
It's not funny when is a joke butt, stale stereotype to say the least.
Great comment, ignore the ruh-tarded woke troll.
My hometown had two very prominent Chinese Food restaurants. Lee's which was on a second floor of the downtown business strip, and Cathay Gardens which was along the river in the most remote part of town. I remember as a feral 10 year old, my friends and i wandered up the stairs to Lee's as unwelcome guests. The waiter, who i swear to God had a shaved head with the exception of a twenty inch long dred* that hung from the back of his head grabbed a hold of my right wrist and expertly delivered a sharp chop to my armpit. I could feel my radial nerve shout as he delivered the shocking blow. Cathay Gardens suffered a devastating loss when their restaurant burned to the ground one day in the late 1970's. Both places are worthy of distinction and memory. Now that i think about it, Lee's was located on Merrimack st. but in the backside of the place was Lee street. In them days, you pretty much had to watch an episode of Kung Fu to see anything Chinese in my home town.
*Note: A queue or cue is a hairstyle worn by the Jurchen and Manchu peoples of Manchuria
My name contains all the letters that put Asian tongues in traction. This scene was accurate.
This movie came out with one the greatest lines ever contained in a feature film.
Father reading the newspaper:
"Some clodhopper from Indiana swallowed a yo-yo."
Step aside Shakespeare, you have been beaten.
L and R exist in the Chinese language. Making it a joke butt is stale and especially not funny in light of all the recent anti-asian hate.
@@mayyoung8375 One of my small joys in life is when I met an Asian and names come up, watching them try to say mine. What the movie shows does happen.
On the other hand, they get even when I try to say their name.
No one gets insulted.
I used to live (by the Statute Of Liberty) where there was a fairly heavy concentration of immigrants. Language mangling was to be expected and it was practiced often.
@@mayyoung8375yeah, i agree, an off color joke about Ls and Rs is way worse than all the blacks beating the shit out of asians on the subways in major cities. Please, continue.
Sign said restaurant served Chinese and American food thought you might smile about a restaurant in the very small town in Kingsburg California. Kingsburg is known as the home of Rafer Johnson because the town was founded by Swedes there a a few Swedish celebration through the year. Now for the the reason for the reason for this story. There is a restaurant owned by a migrant who got his start as a dish washer then he became a cook in a Chinese restaurant. When the family decided to retire they helped the cook to own his own restaurant. The name of the place is Las Tes Casuelas. He serves Mexican food, Chinese food and American food. I adore his steak sandwiches. Anything on the Chinese is excellent and the Mexican food is delicious .
They must have scouted Toronto and Cleveland very thoroughly, since the movie looked like it was filmed in one of the parts of Hammond built for industrial workers. They even included the train horn, which was part of the background noise.
Great video on the restaurant. I love this movie. Thank you!
Just found your channel and amazing job of researching this one!! I love the duck part 😀
What's really funny about this is that "la" and "ra" are clear syllables in both Mandarin and Cantonese, so I always thought that they intentionally sung it wrong to tweak the owner and have a sense of humor.
I always interpreted it as not that they couldn't make the sound, but that they were unfamiliar with English enough to know when it make which sound. Learn a language is hard.
Not funny really if you are taunted especially for Asians as the joke butt. As part of the ongoing reinforcements of racist stereotype that mislead those who are ignorant of how asian-americans are.
making it funny intentionally is the problem. Stale insulting stereotype! Especially not funny in light of the recent anti-asian Hate
You look at their faces when they are singing, they are so close to just bursting out laughing at it.
@jaysherman2615they are acting. Asian American actors said they resent the fact that they are always casted in these stereotypical roles and forced to speak in strange accents that perpetuate stereotypic narratives even though they're born and raised here and speak perfect English. Look up the great Anna May Wong, born and raised in Los Angeles, said she hated it when she had to take all the stereotypic roles which she was forced to speak funny accents to fit Hollywood racist narratives, as joke butts and some exotic perpetuate foreigner even though she's 100% American born and raised in the US. And those were the only roles available to Asian-Americans.
I remember watching this movie in the theater, I was about 12. I had a little brother and my poor mom had to deal w/us 3 boys. Yes, my Dad too.
I relate very well to the tire changing scene. I used the evil "F" word in front of my Mom... She hated that word... Of course I heard it from my Dad. You didn't "rat out" Dad. Yes I blamed it on a neighbor kid...
In proper context, this incident happened the summer before this movie came out...
I put this movie in my Christmas movies: Die Hard, Leathal Weapon, Scrooged etc...
I’m so Thankful for all the memories everyone is sharing. Christmas Story is our family’s favorite holiday story….never had the wonderful chance of Chinese food growing up. Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Of course now things have changed. Blessings from Pennsylvania Grandma. John 3:16. 🎄🎚🙏❄️☃️🎅🏻🤶🏻🇺🇸🇮🇱
At my workplace the company had Chinese food catered to us employees for Christmas dinner.
Thanks for the information on one of my favorite Christmas movies.
Some of best Peking duck I ever had as a kid was at a little place called Wong’s Paradise in Alhambra, CA, just outside Los Angeles. The duck did make it out to the suburbs at times.
Hey, this channel's taking off! Finally. You deserve it.
I knew the name of the restaurant because I'm fascinated by the story of Chpp Suey. It's got a sort of limited history in in China, but it really blew up in the United States in the 1910's and 20's.. Not a lot of people eat it anymore. That's my understanding, at least. Have you done an episode on Chop Suey?
Good idea on the chop suey. Polk Flied Lice would be another good one.
Sorry Hammond was the largest city city in Indiana for decades. Population over 100,00+ due new by steel mills, train manufacturing, oil, and other industries
The documentary, "Road Trip For Ralphie", visits filming locations for "A Christmas Story", including the restaurant scene, and the Cherry St. bridge (just south of what used to be a Knob Hill Farms, and then a T&T Asian Supermarket), where Ralphie said THE word.
Your comment brings back major memories. I went to Knob Hill near Dufferin(?) a couple of times when I first moved to TO. Much later on, I went to that T&T supermarket via bike from my place at Dundas and Sherbourne. When not going by bike they used to have a shuttle service from near the Eaton Center.
I wonder if there is enough material to do a video on major Asian supermarket chains...haha
I never noticed Ralphie was left handed before. 😂
Didn’t know the movie was filmed in Canada. I tease my wife as she loves Hallmark Xmas movies… and those are all products of Canada. Well, great movie. Thanks, Canada. Thanks, Bo Ling Chop Suey.
Correction: Ohio and Canada
I have an aunt and uncle that live in Hammond. He owns (or at least used to own) a bar there called Uncle Joe's Tavern.
I heard your Cantonese then I click like
She said Chop Suey correctly. I'm at 0:22 and I already love this! But also the movie.
😅 But I definitely can't pronounce L and R.
@@AmericanChineseFoodShow ROR
@@AmericanChineseFoodShowpetition be a joke butt that will enforce all the negative stereotypes
@@AmericanChineseFoodShoware you a real Chinese? L&r exist in the Chinese language. Please don't make fun of yourself like that.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894you are bent on your racist troll. Did you not get a nice Christmas dinner? I had one better than the one in the movie.
"Deliberately designed to be funny"?! OMG! 😱
I know right. Not funny stale to say the least. And at the expense of of a community that has been facing much ha te. Lately.
A lot of the movie was filmed here in Cleveland. Theres even a museum/gift shop in the family home
Exteriors of Ralphie's house, and the Parade and Higbee's scenes were shot in Cleveland. All the rest were shot in the Toronto, Canada area. Interiors of Ralphie's house were shot in the same studio complex as "SCTV" (Magder Studios, now Showline Studios), on Pharmacy Avenue.
Of course the house is in Cleveland. It's a tourist trap in terms of the gift shop (can't believe what the leg lamp goes for) but a decent tour of the house itself, and worth seeing if you are in the area. Right in the middle of a residential neighborhood; imagine it must thrill these folks. My own Chinese food experience was strictly 'Hamburger Oriental' which I think was a La Choy recipe - until I met and dated someone from China for several years. Besides home cooked Chinese we only ever ate (well, after I was initiated anyway) in Chinatown or at least in places where you could order off the walls or off the menu. Eventually my kitchen changed and grocery shopping generally included a stop at the Asian market. While we didn't end up together forever, I still have friends from both Mainland China and Taiwan and it's much easier to find authentic Chinese today than it was 35 years ago.
I'm white, but I grew up around a fair number of Chinese people and I agree that the "fa-ra-ra" thing never struck me as natural based on how Chinese people actually talk
Another OMG moment! I might actually turn religious. Just checking in on how this video was doing and satisfying my curiousity when it came to Canadian Chinese restaurants. A few mins of mindless Googling and I have found matchbooks from my family's old Chinese restaurant from the early 1970s on eBay!!! The restaurant was sold well over a decade ago and we only have a delivery menu. But, I remember these old matchbooks from when I was a child and now I may be able to buy a couple!!! Thanks Kristie!!!
Edit: What am I saying! I hit the buy it now button and I am going to frame these once they get here.
Congrats on finding a family treasure, missing for 50 years.
@hxhdfjifzirstc894 Thanks! These are printed in English and post 1977 all commercial materials such as this had to be in French or bilingual.
They may have had the department store in Canada in MIND when they filmed the movie, but the scene was filmed in Cleveland. As were all the house scenes, the parade/window scene, etc. Love this vid, but give Cleveland her due.
i love chinese food on Christmas
Chinese food and pizza on Christmas are two of my favorites. As long as the pizza is from a good place.
I was in Coastal Georgia for work and went to old school Chinese restaurant for Xmas dinner after I asked a local for Chinese restaurant and he said this place had best steak and fries. 😂
Chinese for Christmas dinner is a great tradition. Seeing as otherwise is practically no different from Thanksgiving
I thought it was Chop Suey because when I watched the movie I noticed that most Chinese Restaurants are not called Chop Suey anymore when it use to be common before the 1970s.
In Kansas city, we have a Bo Ling.
It’s not Bo-Ling it’s “Bowling Chop Suey Palace” the W on the light was broken/not lit correctly
I think it may represent a child's confusion over the name... the kind of thing that you don't understand as a kid, but is obvious to adults. A child would think of a bowling alley, whenever the parents said the name Bo Ling restaurant. The entire movie is memories, from being 9 years old.
I never really cared for those restaurants that force their staff to sing to the customers, even if it's Happy Birthday.
I don't like it either, but caroling would have been far more common, in the 1940s.
I worked at a bar where we had to sing happy birthdays, it definitely gave us even more work.
Only when I told them it's my birthday that I get a FREE chocolate mouse cake.
Is this restaurant in Toronto or Chicago?
Toronto, very near to the city's "East Chinatown".
Whatever happened to the neck and head of the duck that was chopped at the table?
Chinese eat them, especially as regional snacks in Hunan and Hubei provinces. In fact, duck necks and heads became such popular national snacks, the two biggest CPG companies are publicly traded in China.
He puts it in his pocket, with the neck sticking out, as shown in the scene.
Its clearly Bowling, the W light is out.
I "love" the way sad little people try to say this movie is racist towards Chinese people when it LITERALLY presents them as the people who save Christmas for this one family.
Is the sad little people who don't have empathy for people constantly being stereotype and put an end of joke butts, in recent anti-asianhate. Based.
I love how you threw that out there and a sad woke troll could not resist piping up with a sad woke nonsense comment, LOLOLOL. Sad!
They wouldn't get away with making this scene today. 😅 It's not PC by today's standards. I tried duck once. It was muddy. Never had duck again.
It's not about pc or not. It's stale stereotype at the expense of a community constantly being put as joke butts and harassment especially recently with the anti Asian hate. Google if you don't see it where you live. It's about common respect, and actually self-respect for these perpetuators.
@mayyoung8375 The best comedy picked on everybody. Check out Cheech & Chong. And Eddie Murphy.
@@mayyoung8375 Jesus, calm down.
Caucasian wait staff at a Chinese restaurant. Gosh, it has been a while since I've seen that.
Honestly, I wouldn't eat at any Chinese restaurant that doesn't have Chinese people serving the food.
I'd say that L as R is more Japanese. Like how in One Piece some characters will call Luffy Roofy.
Cheap stale jokes to please the racist Hollywood, that don't do it much anymore because it's so old and people complained.
Stale stereotype
@@mayyoung8375 Its just how the Japanese language works. Their language doesn't have an L sound.
It’s Bo Ling and Sons chop Suey Palace. Says so on the door.
I have had the experience of enjoying Peking duck..
Aiya lol
Bo Ling Chop Suey was my educated guess as the of name of restaurant in the movie. Because gwai-los at that time knew sht nothing about Chinese food but chop suey and childish word play of “bowling” 🎳 into Bo Ling.
For the time period when this movie takes place, this is my criticism.
Always felt tt Darren McGavin, and the actress playing his wife, were too old 4 their roles. Bcz their kids R so young.
The parents looked more like the grandparents.
It is still a fun movie 2 watch.
It's because the movies internal logic is that ralphie is recalling this as an adult hence the deliberate anachronisms , and generally larger than life scenes (ralphie vs the imaginary bad guys, and Santa) . He probably pictured the old man as he looked when he was older.
Max, tks 4 ur reply. I respectfully disagree with ur opinion. If he is thinking back 2 his childhood, he would remember what his parents looked like in tt time.
Remember, he was in elementary school, he was old enough 2 remember hw they looked.
Hv a great day. Merry XMAS, and a Happy New Year. God bless U and yours.😊
@@PhilipDarragh Everyone certainly has their own interpretation, that's what makes discussing these things fun. I really ought to reread the novel as well, to see how the old man is described, as I always pictured him as in the movie, but I saw the movie years before reading the book. It could be an American working-class cultural thing as well. My own Father and Grandfather worked long hours in industrial jobs , and were rarely home when I was young, and needed ample rest when they were home. What actually inspired my interpretation , was when setting out Christmas photos a few days ago, I was struck by how much younger they looked in the pictures than in my memories, like I remembered their features, but as I was a young boy, they were old to me at the time. Sorry to ramble so long, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours as well!
Max, again tks 4 ur nes reply. I hv never read the book, but now I am going 2 read it.
I hv always enjoyed watching this movie during XMAS. It seems 2B taking place in the late 1930s, or post WW2.
If I was the director, or producer, I would hv chosen an actor who was abt 30 yrs old 2 play the husband, and a woman abt 28 or 29 yrs old 2 play the mother.
Bcz parents in tt era would hv been abt those ages with 2 kids. One kid looks abt 8 or 9 yrs old, and the other kid was younger.
In tt era, not many men in their 60s would hv kids tt young. Same with a mother, who looks like she is in her late 40s.
We hv seen parents in those ages bc more socially acceptable starting in the 1990s. Whether tt is good or bad I will not give my opinion.
As I said, still a fun movie 2 watch. So this time I want 2 wish U and yours a Happy, and a safe New Year, and a better time in 2025.❤😊
@@maxmccullough8548 You're exactly right... the entire movie is memories of a 9 year old boy. Which is what makes the movie special.
The distorted memories must be interpreted through that lens, to be understood. It's far easier to remember your parents older, than as they were when you were 9. It's just how time works.
I always remembered watching the movie and being like the mom is in hysterics half the movie. I'll also say I guess setting the movie in 1940 is braver than immediately in December 1945 or 6.
What about setting the movie in 1945? I guess maybe you're unaware that Chinese were the Allies of America, during World War Two?
China still would be an ally of America, if not for the overthrow of Chiang Kai-shek.
Despite the US directly entering the war in less than a year from when the movie is set most pieces set in the 40s' would usually choose to be after the war.
It's not a 1:1 comparison but there are similar things with even movies of the time where most studios had to bow for the demands of war production. Nearly ceasing output from supply and labor constraints. Hence why just about every noir movie or one paying homage to them take place in 1946.
As for alliances between the KMT USA vs CPC what a can of worms. Something I've always found interesting is the reason for Mao Zedong's meteoric rise in CPC came from in the midst of the first civil war the main faction in control of the party's organs were called the "returned students" who were educated in Russia. There was a massive problem at this point, this was after the KMT and CPC relations broke down obviously and the USSR was still giving more support for the KMT as the main force of centralizing power in China at the time.
It's set in the 1930s. In the book, he talks about the Depression and how his mom was a flapper girl the decade before.
Doe Ted know your using scenes from his movie…lol
Sum Ting Wong at Bo Ling restaurant
Sum ting wrong wit u
Huh neat
This is hilarious
Maybe the w fell off.
Look closer.
IMO the unlit W represents Ralphie's confusion over the name Bo Ling, as kid. He would have pictured a bowling alley, whenever his parents said the name Bo Ling restaurant... only in adulthood could he look back and know the difference.
Not racist -- note the precise pronunciation of the Chinese owner.
Making fun of the rest of the staff is racist.