The Gladiator (1938 film)
The Gladiator is a 1938 American comedy and fantasy film 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. Plot. A man returns to college and is talked into joining the football team. He is a real joke on the team, until he is given a drug that gives him super strength. After the formula from Professor Danner 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. Production. The movie reached theatres two months after the publication of the first appearance of Superman in a comic book.