''Take This Job and Shove It'' is a 1981 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 o ...

directed by Gus Trikonis and starring

Robert Hays Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom '' Angie'', and playing the central role of ...

Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the si ...

, David Keith, and Dale Cross in his big screen debut. The film was named after a popular

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

song, " Take This Job and Shove It", which was written by

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

and sung by

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song " Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greate ...

; both men had minor roles in the film.

Plot

A corporate conglomerate called "The Ellison Group" acquires four breweries, all of them experiencing financial trouble. Enter Frank Macklin (Robert Hays), a young manager hired by Ellison to help reorganize one of the ailing breweries, a major employer in his home town. Initially his old friends, who work at the brewery, give him a cold welcome as they think he'll be unable to revitalize the brewery. But when Frank informs them that the brewery is drowning in red ink, and that they may be losing their jobs soon, they welcome him with open arms, and ramp up the brewery's sales and production. The brewery improves so much that the Ellison Group decides to sell it to a Texas oil millionaire, who doesn't know the first thing about running a brewery or — apparently — running a business.

Cast

as Frank Macklin *

as Charlie Pickett *

as J.M. Halsted * David Keith as Harry Meade * Tim Thomerson as Ray Binkowski * Martin Mull as Dick Ebersol *

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

as Samuel Ellison *

Penelope Milford Penelope Dale Milford (born March 23, 1948) is an American stage and screen actress. She is best known for her role as Vi Munson in '' Coming Home'' (1978) for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also or ...

as Lenore Meade *

as Mooney *

Lacy J. Dalton Lacy J. Dalton (born Jill Lynne Byrem; October 13, 1946) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her gritty, powerful vocals, which ''People Magazine'' likened to a country equivalent of Bonnie Raitt. Dalton had a n ...

as Mrs. Mooney *

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic L ...

as Beeber *

Virgil Frye Virgil Charles Frye (August 21, 1930 – May 7, 2012) was an American actor and former Golden Gloves boxing champion. He grew up in Estherville, Iowa. He had two children, Sean Frye ('' E.T. The Extra Terrestrial'') and Soleil Moon Frye (''Punky ...

as Cleach *

James Karen James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky; November 28, 1923 – October 23, 2018) was an American character actor of Broadway, film and television. Karen is known for his roles in ''Poltergeist'', ''The China Syndrome'', ''Wall Street'', ''The Return ...

as Loomis *

Len Lesser Leonard King Lesser (December 3, 1922 – February 16, 2011) was an American character actor. He was known for his recurring role as Uncle Leo in a total of 15 episodes of ''Seinfeld'', starting during the show's second season in the episode "Th ...

as Roach * Suzanne Kent as Charmaine * Joan Prather as Madelyn *

George Lindsey George Smith Lindsey (December 17, 1928 – May 6, 2012) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Goober Pyle on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' and his subsequent tenure on '' Hee-Haw''. Life a ...

as semitruck driver *

as Man with hamburger *

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, soul, and gospel g ...

as Hooker *

Fran Ryan Fran Mary Ryan (November 29, 1916 January 15, 2000) was an American character actress featured in television and films. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Career Ryan began performing at the age of six at Oakland's Henry Duffy Theatre. ...

as Mrs. Hinkle * Stephan Meyers as Harry Meade, Jr. * Bob Chandler as the race flagman

Production

Most of the film was shot in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, and the

Dubuque Star Brewery The Dubuque Star Brewery, located in Dubuque, Iowa, is a building that for many years made Dubuque Star beers. The brewery is located just north of the Ice Harbor in Dubuque. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. wit ...

; some minor scenes were shot in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

. The

still stands today in the same location. It has been renovated and is now a private bar and grill.

Bigfoot

''Take This Job and Shove It'' was the first film to feature

monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...

s. Bob Chandler's Bigfoot #1 is seen throughout the movie as Ray's pick-up truck. Everett Jasmer's USA-1, credited as "Thunderin' Lightning", is the blue truck at the starting line that (in the script) breaks down when the race starts. Jasmer's daily delivery truck was used as the rival truck to Bigfoot, known as Silver Bullet. Both trucks are shown with 48-inch tires that were the then-standard monster truck tire (as opposed to the 66-inch tires that became standard later). Bob Chandler is seen as the flagman at the beginning of the race, and his family can be seen throughout the picnic sequences.

Release

The film was released by

Avco Embassy Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution studio responsible for such films as ''The Graduate'', '' The Produc ...

in the United States on May 15, 1981, and became somewhat of a sleeper hit. The film's final box office total was $17,569,027.

References

External links

* * * {{Gus Trikonis 1981 films 1980s English-language films 1981 comedy films American business films American comedy films 1980s business films Culture of Dubuque, Iowa Embassy Pictures films Films about beer Films shot in Iowa Films shot in Minnesota Films based on songs 1981 independent films Films directed by Gus Trikonis 1980s American films