Take Down (1979 film)
Encyclopedia
Take Down is a 1979 sports film released by Buena Vista Distribution Company about 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 (Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann
Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...

), 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
Kathleen Lloyd
Kathleen Lloyd is an American actress most noted as the leading lady in 1976's The Missouri Breaks opposite Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson...

), 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
Lorenzo Lamas
Lorenzo Lamas y de Santos is an American actor. Lamas is known for playing Lance Cumson on the popular 1980s soap opera Falcon Crest, Reno Raines on the 1990s crime drama Renegade, and Hector Ramirez on the daytime soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful...

), 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 (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. in turn Nick calls Ed a snob telling him that he is more interested in proving how smart he is instead of teaching. 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 Herrmann
    Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...

     - Ed Branish
  • Kathleen Lloyd
    Kathleen Lloyd
    Kathleen Lloyd is an American actress most noted as the leading lady in 1976's The Missouri Breaks opposite Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson...

     - Jill Branish
  • Lorenzo Lamas
    Lorenzo Lamas
    Lorenzo Lamas y de Santos is an American actor. Lamas is known for playing Lance Cumson on the popular 1980s soap opera Falcon Crest, Reno Raines on the 1990s crime drama Renegade, and Hector Ramirez on the daytime soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful...

     - Nick Kilvitus
  • Maureen McCormick
    Maureen McCormick
    Maureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, celebrity and recording artist. She is most widely known as a child actress who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.- Early life and career :...

     - Brooke Cooper
  • Maxx Payne
    Maxx Payne
    Darryl Peterson is an American musician, actor and professional wrestler who wrestled in World Championship Wrestling as Maxx Payne and in the World Wrestling Federation as Man Mountain Rock.-Career:...

     - Ted Yacabobich (credited as Peterson, Darryl)
  • Stephen Furst
    Stephen Furst
    Stephen Furst is an American actor and film and television director. He was a regular in the science fiction series Babylon 5 playing Centauri diplomatic attaché Vir Cotto and as Dr. Elliot Axelrod on St...

     - Randy Jensen
  • Toney Smith - Chauncey Washington
  • Salvador Feliciano - Tom Palumbo
  • Boyd Silversmith - Jack Gross
  • Nicolas Beauvy - Jimmy Kier (credited as Nicholas Beauvy)
  • Kevin Hooks
    Kevin Hooks
    Kevin Hooks is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable from his roles in Aaron Loves Angela and Sounder, but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's The White Shadow....

     - Jasper MacGrudder
  • Scott Burgi - Robert Stankovich
  • Lynn Baird - Doc Talada
  • Ron Bartholomew - Warren Overpeck
  • Vincent Roberts - Bobby Cooper

Location

Take Down was filmed primarily at the old American Fork High School prior to being torn down. Matches at other schools included a scene at Murray High School
Murray High School (Utah)
Murray High School is the only high school in the Murray City School District in Murray, Utah. Murray High School is one of the smallest high schools in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area with 1,585 students enrolled in the 2008-2009 school year, the school enrolls students in grades 10-12...

prior to the renovation of the building which was completed by August 2003.
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