Students in the documentary filmmaking course premiered their film about the Hillsdale alumnus who directed the movie “A Christmas Story.”
“We went all over the country to tell this story,” Buddy Moorehouse, lecturer in journalism, said.
Eight women wrote, filmed, and edited “Bob Clark: A Christmas Story,” which played at the Plaster Auditorium on April 14. This class is offered every semester and taught by Moorehouse. He said that the topic of the documentary is chosen by both him and the class.
“I’m usually the one who makes the final decision about what it’s gonna be, but we always have a lot of conversations,” Moorehouse said. “Usually what we do is we have a conversation with the previous class, saying, ‘What do you think next semester’s documentary should be?’ There’s a bunch of ideas floating around, and, in my head I’m thinking, OK, that would be a great one. Or that would be a great one. So, it’s just a matter of finding the right class to do it.”
The 30-minute documentary featured Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in the film; Jim Lucadam, Clark’s Hillsdale College roommate; Lyne Leavy, Clark’s former secretary; and Mary Sossong, his first wife.
“We broke news tonight, and until this documentary came out, nobody knew that Bob Clark had a wife from Hillsdale College,” Moorehouse said. “A girlfriend, Mary Sossong, who grew up here. And by the way, Mary is absolutely thrilled that we did this documentary.”
Bob Clark was the quarterback for the Chargers in 1960-1963. He did not end up graduating and released his first film “She-Man” in 1967. After making “Porky’s” in 1981, he had the financial opportunity to start making “A Christmas Story.” The film started to gain massive traction 10 years before Clark died in a car accident in 2007.
Each student played a different role in the creation of this film. Sophomore and Director of Videography Grace Novak said she loved the many things she learned about Clark while making this film.
“My job was to get the footage of the current campus that we saw: the football practice and some of the campus interviews,” she said. “It was so fun to watch other students also be so surprised upon learning that Bob Clark went to Hillsdale. When we started this film, we knew that Bob was a student at Hillsdale, but we had no idea that he had married his college girlfriend, so it was kind of like detective work combined with editing and filming, and it was really such a fun process altogether. I’m so proud of all of us for how it came together.”
Senior Quinn Delamater flew to Boise, Idaho, to interview Billingsley for the documentary.
“Mr. Moorehouse was really good about putting us in positions that would play to our strengths,” Delamater said. “So we all got to do things that maybe we would be extra excited about. I liked being able to do the narration since I also work at the radio station here, so I got to do a little bit of voice stuff. So it was definitely a very good, informative experience.”
Sophomore Savana Greb said she enjoyed the different experiences she was able to have while directing and editing the film.
“It’s just so weird where life takes you,” Greb said. “Like, one minute, you’re a kid watching ‘A Christmas Story,’ and the next minute, you’re shaking in your boots in front of the Christmas Story house at 2 a.m., and then the next minute, you’re flying to California to do an interview. It was a little crazy at times or hard to fit into my schedule, but I know that I’ll look back and be like, ‘OK, that was the prime of my life.’ So, I’m just really thankful to Mr. Moorehouse for the opportunity.”
Ian Petrella, who played Randy in the film, was excited for the premiere.
“He sent a video to the class wishing them well for the premiere and telling them to break a leg lamp,” Moorehouse said.
