The Gladiator is a 1938 American fantasy comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Joe E. Brown, Dickie Moore and June Travis. The movie is an adaptation of Philip Gordon Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator, which is often credited with having influenced the creation of Superman.
Contents
Plot
Hugo Kipp, a man, upon returning to college is invited into playing for the football team. He is considered a loser on the team, until an professor Danner send him a drug that gives him super strength.
After the formula turns him into a campus hero, Hugo Kipp enters a wrestling ring against Man Mountain Dean to raise money for an orphanage. He finds out too late that the serum is only temporary, losing his strength with the match in progress. Only a few lucky moves enable Hugo to win the match.
Cast
Main cast
Joe E. Brown as Hugo Kipp
Dickie Moore as Bobby
Man Mountain Dean as Himself
June Travis as Iris Bennett
Lucien Littlefield as Professor Danner
Ethel Wales as Mrs. Danner
Robert Kent as Tom Dixon
Donald Douglas as Coach Robbins
Uncredited appearances
Richard Alexander as Tough Guy
William Gould as Professor
Harrison Greene as Trophy Giver / Jokester
Sam Hayes as Announcer
Eddie Kane as "Speed" Burns
Marjorie Kane as Miss Taylor, Student
Milton Kibbee as Assistant Coach
Wright Kramer as Dr. DeRay
Edward LeSaint as Committee Member
Frank Mills as Man In Movie Audience
Jack Mulhall as Spectator At Wrestling Match
Lee Phelps as Coach Stetson
Harry Semels as Hamburger Man
John Shelton as Student
Charles Sullivan as Football Fan
Charles C. Wilson as Theatre Manager
Robert Winkler
Production
The film reached theatres two months after the publication of the first appearance of Superman in a comic book.
There is a famous publicity picture of Brown lifting Man Mountain Dean over his head with only one hand. By bracing himself, Brown did it effortlessly on the first try. But when the director called for a retake shot, Brown suffered a hernia and was rushed to the hospital.