Take Down (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Take Down


director = Kieth Merrill
writer = Eric Hendershot
Kieth Merrill
starring = Edward Herrmann
Lorenzo Lamas
Maureen McCormick
Kathleen Lloyd
Maxx Payne
Stephen Furst
music = Merrill B. Jenson
cinematography = Reed Smoot
editing = Peter Teschner
producer = Kieth Merrill
David B. Johnson
distributor= Buena Vista Pictures
budget =
released= January 1979
runtime = 107 minutes
language = English
imdb_id = 0078358|

Take Down is a 1979 sports movie about an unqualified teacher 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 (Edward Herrmann), 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 (Kathleen Lloyd)) by frequently spouting platitudes from literary masters to validate his often contemptuous viewpoint. 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 (Lorenzo Lamas), 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 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 (Fireman's Carry style) 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. 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......Ed Branish
*Kathleen Lloyd......Jill Branish
*Lorenzo Lamas.......Nick Kilvitus
*Maureen McCormick......Brooke Cooper
*Maxx Payne......Ted Yacabobich (as Peterson, Darryl)
*Stephen Furst......Randy Jensen
*Toney Smith......Chauncey Washington
*Salvador Feliciano......Tom Palumbo
*Boyd Silversmith......Jack Gross
*Nicolas Beauvy......Jimmy Kier (as Nicholas Beauvy)
*Kevin Hooks......Jasper MacGrudder
*Scott Burgi...... obert Stankovich
*Lynn Baird......Doc Talada
*Ron Bartholomew......Warren Overpeck
*Vincent Roberts......Bobby Cooper

Location

"Take Down" was filmed at Murray High School prior to the renovation of the building which was completed by August 2003. Murray High School was also the set of: "Read It and Weep" (2006), the auditorium scene of "High School Musical" (2006), "Minutemen" (2008) [ [http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695206864,00.html Deseret Morning News | Disney moment for Murray, Highland ] ] and "" (2008) [ [http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=3657268 ksl.com - ‘High School Musical' reality show wraps up filming ] ] . Filming also took place in American Fork, Utah and Tooele, Utah.

References