At the beginning of the play being performed by "The Pupils of B. Grade, Liberty School", the announcement poster notes that "The Gladiator's Dilemma" was authored by "Mrs. Funston Evergreen Kennedy" (apparently the wife of Kennedy the Cop who is also involved in the production) "with acknowledgement of excerpts from Shakespeare, Confucius, Aristophanes, Bacon, Cervantes and Irwin S. Cobb". The inclusion of Cobb (1876-1944, whose first name in reality is spelled "Irvin"), the only living writer in the list and the only one not usually associated with "great literature", is obviously meant as a contemporary joke.
An excerpt from this short, entitled "Curtain Calls" was released on 16 mm for the home movie market by Coast Films. Its length was 50 feet.