Mister Universe

On a New York City Street corner, the seemingly prosperous Jeff Clayton bumps into his old Army buddy, the naïve and muscle-bound Tommy Tomkins. Tommy, a Mister Universe contest finalist, is warned by Jeff that the city is a "sucker" town. When the two part, Jeff, who is actually a soap street peddler, is chased by the police after his product claims prove false. Jeff ducks into the Mister Universe contest just as Tommy wins the Mister Universe title and a $1,000 check. Jeff, spying a chance to slip the police, escorts Tommy to the theater's backdoor, where a throng of screaming young female fans rip off Tommy's pants containing the check. On the street the policeman spots Jeff and jails him and his almost naked companion, "The Worldest Most Perfect Man." Later at a local wrestling gym, TV wrestling host Dennis James gives seedy wrestling racketeer Joe Pulaski the hot tip on Tommy's undiscovered wrestling talents. Joe sends his thug Big Ears to bail Tommy out and Big Ears reluctantly gets Jeff out as well. Jeff's fiancée Lorraine then arrives and frustrated by Jeff's jail record, storms off in a huff. At Joe's office, James, convinced Tommy will be a sensation in the ring, gets him to sign a contract to fight the next evening. Joe pays wrestling regular The Hoboken Turk to win the match, but Tommy proves to be too good for the ring and downs his opponent in seconds. Back at the gym, gambler Fingers Maroni, flanked by his knife-wielding thug and moll, suggests that he and Joe become partners but Joe refuses. Now acting as Tommy's manager under the rubric of Jeff Clayton Enterprises, Jeff sells Joe on Tommy and makes a fifty-fifty contract with Joe on the condition that Tommy never be told that wrestling is not "on the level." During a televised tour, Tommy beats a cast of characters including Delightful Dave and Chief Flying Mare with monkey flips and rapid pins, but the crowds are dissatisfied with the short matches and Joe orders Jeff to coach Tommy to stretch the bouts out. Tommy continues to beat his opponents too quickly and Joe is forced to cut the tour short. Jeff and Joe decide to wear Tommy down so he will lose matches, and Jeff borrows Tommy's $20,000 tour profit and becomes Joe's business partner. Joe then places a $10,000 bet on Gorilla Hogan, the next match for Mister Universe. Jeff and Big Ears attempt to wear Tommy down with running but Tommy only gets stronger. On the night before the match, Joe, now desperate for Tommy to lose, tells Tommy that Jeff took an entire bottle of sleeping pills. Convinced by Joe that the only cure is to keep Jeff awake, Tommy walks the stumbling Jeff up and down city streets all day long. When they return to the apartment, Tommy is still strong and Joe finally tells Jeff about the $10,000 bet. Now both Joe and Jeff are committed to Tommy losing the next day's match and try to keep Tommy up with more of Jeff's "illnesses" and a poker game. The next morning Joe and Jeff awaken to find Tommy has overcome the long night through meditation and finally decide to tell Tommy the truth about the rigged matches. They beg him to lose the match but Tommy refuses. Soon after Lorraine arrives and Tommy becomes noticeably sleepy because of an allergic reaction to her perfume, Sleepy Valley. Joe and Jeff decide to use the perfume to sedate the wrestler for the match but their hopes are dashed when Big Ears accidentally breaks the only bottle. Having searched in vain for the perfume, Jeff and Joe, unknown to the other, each sell 75% of Tommy to Fingers for $20,000. Meanwhile Big Ears finds a Sleepy Valley street vendor, returns to Tommy's dressing room and secretly rubs him down with the elixir, leaving Tommy woozy. Fingers confronts Joe and Jeff about the 150% sale of Tommy and tells them that he has placed a big bet on Tommy. Fearing dire consequences, Joe and Jeff drag the half-conscious Tommy to the match, where Gorilla Hogan proceeds to beat Tommy. Joe and Jeff desperately try to dissipate the perfume by turning up the air conditioning and frantically fanning Tommy. Now awake, Tommy triumphantly wrestles Hogan to the ground and then decides to quit wrestling, leaving Fingers with a $40,000 investment in nothing. Joe returns his check to Fingers, but Jeff, having given the $20,000 to Tommy for the loan, is unable to repay Fingers. Joe and Jeff, now billed as the Mad Cyclone and Wild Tornado, work off the remaining $20,000 one wrestle at a time while Lorraine cheers from the sidelines.