“A Christmas Story,” one of the most popular Christmas movies, has an Alabama connection.

Melinda Dillon, who played Ralphie’s mother in the film, was raised in Cullman.

The movie is about one young boy named Ralphie who wants the “Holy Grail” of Christmas gifts, an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle, with a compass in the stock and “this thing which tells time” (a sundial).”

His mother refuses to get him the gun early on in the film.

“You’ll shoot your eye out.”

As a result, Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher, and Santa Claus that he should be given the gun for Christmas.

One of the more notable quotes from the movie occurs when Ralphie’s mother dresses his brother in so many layers that his arms stuck straight up and couldn’t be brought down.

Dillon’s character tells the younger brother, “You can put your arms down when you get to school.”

Dillon has been nominated for multiple awards throughout her career. In 1963, she received a Tony Award nomination for her role “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” She was nominated by the Academy for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” in 1977 and “Absence of Malice” in 1981. She also was cast in “Slapshot” with Paul Newman.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer at Yellowhammer News.