Little Giant 1946

A naïve country boy named Benny Miller, Lou Costello from Cucamonga, California, has been taking correspondence phonograph lessons in salesmanship. After completing the course, he leaves his mother Ma Miller, Mary Gordon, and his girlfriend Martha Hill, Elena Verdugo, to pursue a career in Los Angeles. He arranges a meeting with his Uncle Clarence, a bookkeeper with the Hercules Vacuum Cleaner Company, whom George Cleveland plays, hoping for guidance and a break.

When he arrives to ask for a job, the sales manager, Eddie Morrison, Bud Abbott mistakes him for one of the auditioning fashion models and has him strip down. Morrison’s secret wife, Hazel Temple, Margaret Dumont, discovers the mix‑up and suggests Benny be hired to avoid an accounting scandal, since they have been cooking the books. Benny is fired from his salesman post after only one day. Clarence steps in and transfers Benny to the company’s Stockton branch, which is run by Morrison’s cousin, a change that sets Benny on a wilder path.

Benny’s misfortunes continue with a practical joke by his new coworkers, who convince him that he can read minds. The prank unexpectedly boosts Benny’s confidence, and he caps it by becoming the Hercules’ Salesman of the Year, a title that earns him a return trip to Los Angeles to receive the award. While there, he demonstrates his so‑called abilities to Morrison and even drops a hint about a secret bank account Morrison hides, a detail that raises suspicions.

Hazel and Benny later go to her apartment, where Benny grows pale after smoking a cigar. Hazel administers a sedative to Benny, but accidentally takes it herself while he drifts to sleep. Morrison returns home and finds the two asleep together, fearing the worst and weighing the possible consequences of the mounting deception.

At the evening awards ceremony, Benny discovers the true nature of the mind‑reading ruse and overhears Morrison speaking unkindly about him. He decides to return to Cucamonga, where his mother and his girlfriend await, and where he also runs into a familiar cast of characters, including Chandler, Ruby, and the Hercules company president, Mr. Van Loon, Pierre Watkin. The revelation of Morrison’s downfall spreads, and Benny ends up stepping into a leadership role for the Cucamonga district as the firm’s new sales manager, signaling a fresh start fueled by a blend of luck, talent, and hard‑won integrity.