A Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on Jean Shepherd's semi-fictional anecdotes in his 1966 book "", with some elements from his 1971 book "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters". It stars Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, and Peter Billingsley and is a seasonal classic in North America. It is shown numerous times on television, usually on the networks owned by WarnerMedia, and a marathon of the film has aired annually on TNT or TBS since 1997 titled "24 Hours of "A Christmas Story"", consisting of 12 consecutive airings of the film from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day. It is often ranked as one of the best Christmas films.