- Little Giant
:"For the Little Giant Ladder System, see
Wing Enterprises ."Infobox Film
name = Little Giant
caption = "Little Giant" Theatrical Poster
director =William A. Seiter
producer =Joe Gershenson
writer =Walter DeLeon Paul Jarrico Richard Collins
starring =Bud Abbott Lou Costello Brenda Joyce Jacqueline de Wit Margaret Dumont
music =Edgar Fairchild
cinematography =
editing =Fred R. Feitshans, Jr.
distributor =Universal Pictures
released =February 22 , 1946
runtime = 91 min.
language = English
budget = $775,000
preceded_by =Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945)
followed_by =The Time of Their Lives (1946)
imdb_id = 0038694"Little Giant" is a 1946 film starring the comedy team of
Abbott and Costello released byUniversal Pictures .Plot
A naive country boy named Benny Miller (
Lou Costello ), from Cucamonga, California, has been taking correspondence phonograph lessons in salesmanship. Upon completion of the course, he leaves his mother (Mary Gordon ) and his girlfriend Martha (Elena Verdugo ) to pursue a career in Los Angeles. He arranges a meeting with his Uncle Clarence (George Cleveland), a bookkeeper with the Hercules Vacuum Cleaner Company. When he arrives to ask for a job, the sales manager, John Morrison (Bud Abbott ), mistakes him for one of the auditioning fashion models and has him remove his clothing. Morrison's secret wife, Hazel Temple (Jacqueline de Wit), discovers the mistake and suggests that Benny be hired to avoid an accounting scandal, as they have been "cooking the books". Unfortunately, Benny is fired from his salesman post after only one day. Clarence transfers Benny to the company's Stockton branch, which is run by Morrison's cousin, Tom Chandler (also played by Bud Abbott).Benny's misfortunes continue, including a prank played on him by his new coworkers when they convince him that he can read minds. However, the prank gives Benny sufficient confidence to become Hercules' 'Salesman of the Year'. He is sent back to the Los Angeles branch to receive his award, and while demonstrating his 'abilities' to Morrison, he alludes to the fact that Morrison has a secret bank account. Morrison sends his wife (Hazel) to obtain more information from Benny to determine what he actually knows. Hazel and Benny go to her apartment, where Benny becomes ill after smoking a cigar. Hazel then gives Benny a sedative, and inadvertently takes one herself. Morrison comes home to find the two asleep together, and fears that they had a tryst.
At the awards ceremony that evening, Benny learns of the mind-reading ruse, and overhears Morrison speaking ill of him. Benny returns to his mother and his girlfriend in Cucamonga, where he also encounters Chandler, his coworker Ruby (
Brenda Joyce ), and the Hercules company president, Mr. Van Loon (Pierre Watkins). They announce that Morrison has been fired, and has been replaced by Chandler. Benny is now sales manager of the Cucamonga district.Production
"Little Giant" was filmed from
November 1 throughDecember 17 , 1945.In this film, and the next Abbott and Costello film, "
The Time of Their Lives " (1946), both have the team playing separate roles as opposed to partners. This is because there was tension between the two men that actually led them to splitting up the team for a while in 1945. [Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood". New York: Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51605-0]
*Abbott played a third role in this film as well, that of Chandler's and Morrison's grandmother.
*The opening scene where Costello is trying to sellSid Fields more than just the gasoline that he came to buy was originally filmed with another actor, Eddie Waller.Rerelease
*It was re-released in
1951 along with "The Time of Their Lives ", and in1954 with "One Night in the Tropics ".Routines
Abbott and Costello perform the "7x13=28" routine, where Costello attempts to prove to Abbott that 7 times 13 equals 28, 28 divided by 7 equals 13, and seven 13's added together equals 28.
DVD Release
References
External links
*imdb title|id=0038694|name=Little Giant
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