Talking Disney Podcast Movie Night: 'The Strongest Man in the World'

Welcome to the Talking Disney Podcast Movie Night! We love movies here at the Talking Disney Podcast, we watched and talked about each of the Disney animated feature films on podcast episodes #51 (“The One That Started It All”) through #124 (“Strange World Is The End Of Our Journey”). We are bringing some of that movie-watching magic to the website. We will still talk about some movies on the podcast occasionally. We aim to watch one movie a week (lofty goals!), share some details, and publish our thoughts as often as we can. Some weeks, we may have comments from all three hosts, sometimes two, and sometimes just one. 

The movies will be picked at random, and for now, to make it easier on us, we will choose movies that are currently on Disney+.

So, without further ado, here is the next movie in the Talking Disney Podcast Movie Night series - “The Strongest Man in the World.”

“The Strongest Man in the World” was released on February 6, 1975. Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution.

Spoiler Warning - There may be spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t seen the film, check it out first. If you have seen it or don’t care about spoilers, then, by all means, click “Read more >>”.

“The Strongest Man in the World” is set at the perpetually cash-strapped Medfield College, the story centers on Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell), a science student whose latest lab mishap turns into a superhuman adventure. The trouble begins when Dean Higgins (Joe Flynn), facing pressure from the college’s board over financial mismanagement, discovers that Professor Quigley’s (William Schallert) science class has been overspending—renting a cow named Ruthie Belle for experiments to boost its milk production. Furious, Higgins fires Quigley and threatens to expel the students. In the chaos, Dexter’s chemical concoction accidentally spills into a vitamin cereal mix created by his classmate Richard Schuyler (Michael McGreevey). When Ruthie eats the tainted cereal, she produces over 80 gallons of milk, revealing the mix’s extraordinary effects. Dexter later consumes some himself and gains temporary superhuman strength—snapping shoelaces, bending lampposts, and yanking doorknobs off with ease.

Seeing a chance to save his job and the college, Higgins pitches the “strength formula” to Harriet Crumply (Eve Arden), president of Crumply Crunch cereal, who agrees to sponsor Medfield in a weightlifting contest against rival Krinkle Krunch’s team from State College. Meanwhile, Krinkle’s president, Kirwood Krinkle (Phil Silvers), learns of the formula through Harriet’s traitorous nephew Harry (Dick Van Patten) and hires ex-con A.J. Arno (Cesar Romero) to steal it. Arno kidnaps Schuyler, mistakenly believing he holds the key, and uses hypnosis via a Chinese restaurateur, Ah Fong (Benson Fong), to extract a useless version of the recipe. When Krinkle tests it and breaks his hand instead of gaining strength, they realize the formula’s true power lies with Dexter’s chemical, not Schuyler’s vitamins.

At the contest, Medfield flounders until Dexter, delayed by Arno’s goons, arrives with his chemical stash. After a quick dose—complete with blue smoke puffing from his nostrils—he lifts an 1,111-pound weight, clinching victory for Medfield and Crumply Crunch. Higgins and Quigley keep their jobs, Arno is foiled again, and Dexter proves his worth, though the formula’s future remains a quirky footnote.

The third and final film of the Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell) series. The series centered around a college student named Dexter Riley who attended Medfield College and a science class led by Professor Quigley. The first two films in the series were “The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes” and “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t.”

Cast and Crew

Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer(s): Joseph L. McEveety and Herman Groves
Cast: Kurt Russell, Phil Silvers, Ronnie Schell, William Schallert, Dick Van Patten, Harold Gould, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn, Richard Bakalyan, James Gregory, Benson Fong, Don Carter, Christina Anderson, Michael McGreevey, Eve Arden, Ann Marshall

Producer: Bill Anderson

Composer: Robert F. Brunner

Cinematographer: Andrew Jackson

Editor: Cotton Warburton

Film Technical Specifications

Genre: Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | Rating: PG | Runtime: 1 hour and 32 minutes (92 minutes) | Sound Mix: Mono (RCA Photophore Sound Recording) | Color: Color (Technicolor) | Aspect Ratio: 1.75:1.

Box Office

Budget: Unknown
Opening Weekend (U.S. & Canada): Unknown
Gross (U.S. & Canada): $6,600,000
Gross (Worldwide): Unknown

Jason's Thoughts

Another Disney movie that I had not seen before. Not a blockbuster by any means, but not a horrible hour and a half. I have not seen the first two movies in the Dexter Riley series, so maybe those come up soon and I can finish the trilogy? There were some good character actors from the period and many cheesy 1970’s movie moments. “The Strongest Man in the World” gets a score of 50.00 (out of 100) from me.

James' Thoughts

This is an older Disney movie, made in the 70’s, that I haven’t seen before. I’ve really been excited to see some of these older movies as I know there are a lot I’ve been wanting to watch. I was pretty optimistic to see this one, but that optimism didn’t last too long. I thought the movie was OK I guess - but there was just a lot I didn’t care for. There are a lot of great actors in this film - many of whom I am a fan of. But I feel that the story just wasn’t that great and the characters within the film just weren’t good. I felt myself becoming bored watching this one and kept checking to see how much time was left. I didn’t hate it, but I definitely didn’t think it was that good and it’s not one I’ll be looking to watch again any time soon. On a scale of 0-100, this one gets a 55 from me. 

Talking Disney Podcast Score: 52.50

Have you seen “The Strongest Man in the World?” What are your thoughts on the movie? Share in the comments below, we'd love to hear them.