''Take It Big'' is a 1944 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Frank McDonald and written by Howard J. Green and Joe Bigelow. The film stars

Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 1939 Metro-G ...

, Harriet Hilliard,

Mary Beth Hughes Mary Elizabeth Hughes (November 13, 1919 Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. . P. 586. – August 27, 1995) was an American film, television, a ...

, Richard Lane,

Arline Judge Margaret Arline Judge (February 21, 1912 – February 7, 1974) was an American actress singer who worked mostly in low-budget B movies, but gained some fame for habitually marrying. Early years Arline Judge was born in Bridgeport, Connect ...

and

Fritz Feld Fritz Feld (October 15, 1900 – November 18, 1993) was a German-American film character actor who appeared in over 140 films in 72 years, both silent and sound. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop" s ...

. Also featured is Hilliard's husband in real life, bandleader

Ozzie Nelson Oswald George Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975) was an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, musician, composer, conductor and bandleader. He originated and starred in '' The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'', a radio and te ...

. The film was released on June 9, 1944, by Paramount Pictures.

Plot

She is a singer in a nightclub, but Jerry Clinton has been rejecting other jobs and other suitors because of her romantic feelings toward Jack North, who does a comic act inside a horse's costume with his partner, Eddie Hampton. Jack inherits a dude ranch out west. When he, Jerry and Eddie arrive, they are pleased to find it a beautiful place, unaware that they have mistakenly gone to the wrong ranch. Jack acts as boss, implementing many peculiar ideas and attracting flirtation from gold digger Gaye Livingston, until real owner Harvey Phillips turns up. Jack's actual ranch is a rundown mess. Jerry and others persuade him that it can be improved into a prosperous place just like the other, and before long Jack's ranch is attracting tourists, also drawn by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra being booked to entertain there. Harvey resents the competition and intends to call in an overdue loan immediately, but Jack enters a rodeo, wins first prize in the bucking bronco competition and pays off the debt.

Cast

as Jack North * Harriet Hilliard as Jerry Clinton *

as Gaye Livingston * Richard Lane as Eddie Hampton *

as Pert Martin *

as Doctor Dittenhoffer * Lucile Gleason as Sophie *

Fuzzy Knight John Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight (May 9, 1901 – February 23, 1976) was an American film and television actor. He was also a singer, especially in his early career. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1928 and 1967, usually as a cowboy h ...

as Cowboy Joe * Frank Forest as Harvey Phillips *

George Meeker George Meeker (March 5, 1904 – August 19, 1984) was an American character film and Broadway actor. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Meeker made several films such as ''Crime, Inc.'' (1945) and ''A Thief in the Dark'' (1 ...

as John Hankinson *Nils T. Granlund as NTG *

as Ozzie Nelson *Ralph Peters as House Detective * Andy Mayo as Pansy the Dancing Horse *Florence Mayo as Pansy the Dancing Horse

Production

Pine-Thomas Productions Pine-Thomas Productions was a prolific B-picture unit of Paramount Pictures from 1940–1957, producing 81 films. Co-producers William H. Pine (February 15, 1896 – April 29, 1955) and William C. Thomas (August 11, 1903 – April 2, 1984) were kno ...

were a unit that operated out of Paramount pictures which specialised in low budget action films. They were keen to diversify into other genres. In June 1943 Pine-Thomas signed a new contract with Paramount which included three musicals, and two bigger budgeted pictures, plus three wartime movies which would co-star Chester Morris and Russell Hayden. Jack Haley was signed to appear in two of the musicals with Mary Beth Hughes. His fee was $20,000 a film. The films were to be ''Rhythm Range'', about an all girl rodeo, and ''The Duchess Rides High'', about vaudeville. ''Rhythm Ranch'' became ''Take it Big''. Pine Thomas filmed some scenes on

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

's ranch.SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD New York Times 15 Oct 1943: 15. Browse this issue

References

External links

*
Review of film
at ''Variety'' 1944 films 1940s English-language films Paramount Pictures films American comedy films 1944 comedy films Films directed by Frank McDonald American black-and-white films 1940s American films {{1940s-comedy-film-stub