''Take Down'' is a 1979 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the s ...

directed by

Kieth Merrill Kieth W. Merrill (born May 22, 1940) is an American filmmaker who has worked as a writer, director, and producer in the film industry since 1967. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Directors Guild of America ...

and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The plot concerns an unqualified teacher who finds himself saddled with coaching duties after a small group of high school seniors form a wrestling team in a last-ditch effort to end a 9-year losing streak against a rival school.

Plot

Ed Branish, a snooty English teacher who finds his situation at Mingo Junction High School far beneath him and barely tolerable, flaunts his air of superiority over all, including his supportive wife, by frequently spouting platitudes from literary masters to validate his often contemptuous viewpoint. Even his wife is starting to show signs of getting fed up with his narcissism. His habit of having as little to do with his school as possible finally gets the better of him when his light schedule makes him the only staff member available to supervise the newly formed wrestling team. Cornered, he lashes out at the first student to cross his path – Nick Kilvitus, a reserved 185 lbs. senior who's embarrassed by his near-poverty social status and who's also missed a lot of classes lately. No one realizes Nick's been filling in for his alcoholic father at a steel mill hauling I-beams when his dad's too drunk or hung over to show up (which is all too often), and which also keeps Nick busy at night fishing his embittered father out of bars – to be carried home across town because they don't have a working car. Nick hopes he can make up the missed school work in Ed's class to graduate in Spring but instead gets a tongue-lashing on how he should be held back as an example of the consequences of laziness and irresponsibility. In turn, Nick calls Ed an "Egotistical snob" telling him that he is more interested in proving how book smart he is instead of teaching and as a result he is clueless when it comes to the real world and its everyday problems. Fortunately, because of the wrestling team, both will cross paths again and discover they each have much more to them than what they were previously aware.

Cast

Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was perhaps best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries ''Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film ...

as Ed Branish *

Kathleen Lloyd Kathleen Lloyd is an American actress known for her role as the female lead in ''The Missouri Breaks'' (1976), opposite Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. She also appeared in the horror films ''The Car'' (1977) and '' It Lives Again'' (1978). Earl ...

as Jill Branish *

Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–1990), for ...

as Nick Kilvitus *

Maureen McCormick Maureen Denise McCormick (born August 5, 1956) is an American actress. She portrayed Marcia Brady on the ABC television sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'', which ran from 1969 to 1974, and reprised the role in several of the numerous ''Brady Bunch'' ...

as Brooke Cooper *

Maxx Payne Darryl Peterson (born October 3, 1961) is an American musician, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling as Maxx Payne, and in the World Wrestling Federation as Man Mountain Rock. E ...

as Ted Yacabobich *

Stephen Furst Stephen Furst (born Stephen Nelson Feuerstein; May 8, 1954 – June 16, 2017) was an American actor, director and producer. After gaining attention with his featured role as Kent "Flounder" Dorfman in the comedy film ''National Lampoon's An ...

as Randy Jensen * Toney Smith as Chauncey Washington * Salvador Feliciano as Tom Palumbo * Boyd Silversmith as Jack Gross * Nicolas Beauvy as Jimmy Kier *

Kevin Hooks Kevin Hooks (born September 19, 1958) is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable for his roles in '' Aaron Loves Angela'' and '' Sounder'', but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's '' The White Shadow''. Ea ...

as Jasper MacGrudder * Scott Burgi as Robert Stankovich * Lynn Baird as "Doc" Talada * Ron Bartholomew as Warren Overpeck * Vincent Roberts as Bobby Cooper * David M. Thorne as Hood #2 * Ray Perry as The Masked Wrestler

Production

''Take Down'' was filmed primarily in Utah, at the old

American Fork High School American Fork High School is a public high school in American Fork, Utah, United States. Its mascot is the Caveman, chosen as a tribute to Timpanogos Cave. The school is perhaps best known for its award-winning marching band and cross country te ...

campus prior to its being demolished and rebuilt. Scenes at other schools include a wrestling match shot at Murray High School in

Murray, Utah Murray () is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Houston Murray, Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2020 census, M ...

. It was also filmed in

Orem Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah M ...

. The movie was the first film produced by the American Film Consortium and had a budget of $2 million. Buena Vista Distribution Company acquired it for distribution, their first non-Disney release since '' Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!'' in 1969. This was the first film with a PG rating released by Disney, five years before they launched

Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...

to expand into the "adult" market.

Release

''Take Down'' was initially released January 1979 in the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

area by American Film. Disney then bought the film rights and released it March 2, 1979 in Northern and Southern California, the

Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nor ...

and the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

and grossed $2 million, which was not in line with Disney's expectations. Taft International Pictures later acquired the film.

Home media

The film was released on VHS by Unicorn Video in the 1980s.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0078358, Take Down 1979 films 1979 independent films 1970s sports comedy-drama films Sport wrestling films Films directed by Kieth Merrill American sports comedy-drama films American independent films Films shot in Utah Films distributed by Disney 1970s English-language films 1970s American films