The Gladiator is a vigilante made for TV action film directed by Abel Ferrara

Abel Ferrara

Abel Ferrara is an American film screenwriter and director. He is best known as an independent filmmaker of such films as The Driller Killer , Ms. 45 , King of New York , Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral .-Early life:Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent...

 and starring Nancy Allen

Nancy Allen (actress)

Nancy Anne Allen is a Golden Globe nominated American actress and cancer activist.Allen began an acting and modelling career as a child, and from the mid-1970s appeared in small film roles, most notably the anchor of Robert Zemeckis's ensemble comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand...

 and Ken Wahl

Ken Wahl

Ken Wahl is an American film and television actor, popular in the 1980s and 1990s. He twice won the title of Sexiest Man on TV, earned an Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe.-Career:...

. Robert Culp

Robert Culp

Robert Martin Culp was an American actor, scriptwriter, voice actor and director, widely known for his work in television. Culp first earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents...

, Brian Robbins

Brian Robbins

Brian Robbins is an American actor and producer, director and screenwriter. He often collaborates with Mike Tollin.-Biography:...

 and Rick Dees

Rick Dees

Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...

have supporting roles. The film was released in February of 1986. Although originally intended for theatrical release, the film was purchased by Showtime Networks and aired as an original film.

Synopsis

A homicidal maniac is on the loose, killing motorists at random in his "death car" - after losing his brother to the twisted assassin "Skull", Rick Benten becomes a vigilante, and takes it upon himself to hunt down the reckless drivers that fill the streets at night. Being a master mechanic, Rick spends his time converting his pickup truck into an armed and dangerous vehicle - with speed to take on the fastest car, and strength to make sure in a one-on-one situation, he will be the only survivor. The cops soon find out about the vigilante known only as the "Gladiator" and do all they can to catch him before his citizen's arrests go one step too far - but will they find the Gladiator before the Gladiator finds Skull? When the two finally meet, it's a duel to the death and maybe an end to Rick's career as a vigilante.