Paradise Alley
Encyclopedia
Paradise Alley is a 1978 film about three brothers in Hell's Kitchen
, New York City
in the 1940s who become involved in professional wrestling. It was written and directed by Sylvester Stallone
, and was given the green light by Universal Pictures
after Stallone's success with 1976's Rocky
. Stallone also stars as Cosmo, one of the brothers, and sings the film's title song.
This was the first major film in which Armand Assante
appeared. Anne Archer
also starred. Joe Spinell
, a co-star of Rocky, played the wrestling MC.
A number of professional wrestlers appeared, including Terry Funk
as the foil to the hero. Cameos include Ted DiBiase
, Bob Roop
, Dick Murdoch
, Dory Funk Jr., Don Leo Jonathan
, Don Kernodle
, Gene Kiniski
, Dennis Stamp, Ray Stevens
, and Uliuli Fifita
. Playwright and screenwriter John Monks Jr appeared as Mickey the bartender.
Lenny agrees to manage his career. They look to Victor to win enough matches so they can get out of Hell's Kitchen for good. (Victor wants to marry his Asian
girlfriend and live on a houseboat they plan to buy in New Jersey
.)
Each brother has his own style. Cosmo is a hustler and con-artist, always looking for the next easy buck. Lenny is the former war hero, now an undertaker who came back to the neighborhood with a limp and a bitter attitude. Victor is a gawky, strong, dumb yet sincere hulk of a man, who leaves his job hauling ice up tenement
stairways once he is persuaded to become a wrestler.
Initially, it is Cosmo that dominates the proceedings, aggressively encouraging Victor to wrestle against the wishes of his girlfriend. Lenny is at first unsure of all this, and constantly tries to warn off Victor, reminding him that he could get hurt.
As the story progresses, the roles begin to reverse. Cosmo becomes concerned for Victor's welfare and feels guilty about getting him into this while Lenny becomes ever more keen to exploit Victor as far as he can.
Lenny seems to undergo a complete personality change, losing his cool demeanor and becoming an aggressive, manipulative high roller.
In the end, Victor wins a big wrestling match in a rainstorm and the brothers are reunited.
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the 1940s who become involved in professional wrestling. It was written and directed by Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, and was given the green light by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
after Stallone's success with 1976's Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
. Stallone also stars as Cosmo, one of the brothers, and sings the film's title song.
This was the first major film in which Armand Assante
Armand Assante
-Personal life:Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York, the son of Katherine , a music teacher and poet, and Armand Anthony Assante, Sr., a painter and artist. His father was Italian and his mother was Irish, and was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family...
appeared. Anne Archer
Anne Archer
Anne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
also starred. Joe Spinell
Joe Spinell
Joe Spinell was an American character actor, who appeared in numerous films in the 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:...
, a co-star of Rocky, played the wrestling MC.
A number of professional wrestlers appeared, including Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
as the foil to the hero. Cameos include Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
, Bob Roop
Bob Roop
Bob Roop is a retired amateur and professional wrestler whose career has spanned high school, college, Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American Heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler at the 1968 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
, Dick Murdoch
Dick Murdoch
Hoyt Richard "Dick" Murdoch was an American professional wrestler.-Professional wrestling career:A second-generation wrestler, the son of 1950s Texas wrestler Frankie Hill Murdoch, Dick Murdoch grew up with fellow second-generation wrestlers Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk, watching their fathers...
, Dory Funk Jr., Don Leo Jonathan
Don Leo Jonathan
Don Heaton , also known as Don Leo Jonathan, is an American former professional wrestler.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Don Kernodle
Don Kernodle
Charles Donald Kernodle, Jr. better known as Don Kernodle was an American professional wrestler with the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Gene Kiniski
Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas "Gene" Kiniski was a Canadian professional wrestler and the father of wrestlers Nick Kiniski and Kelly Kiniski. "Canada's Greatest Athlete" as he billed himself for promotional purposes was born outside of Edmonton, Alberta...
, Dennis Stamp, Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens (wrestler)
Carl Ray Stevens , better known as Ray "The Crippler" Stevens or Ray "Blond Bomber" Stevens, was an American professional wrestler. Stevens was a wrestling superstar since the early years of the television era until he retired during the early 1990s...
, and Uliuli Fifita
Uliuli Fifita
Tonga 'Uli'uli Fifita is a retired professional wrestler and actor, known for his appearances in both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
. Playwright and screenwriter John Monks Jr appeared as Mickey the bartender.
Plot
Victor, the youngest and largest of the Carboni brothers (Cosmo and Lenny are the other two), becomes a local wrestler (named Kid Salami) at the request of Cosmo, who thinks there is big money to be made.Lenny agrees to manage his career. They look to Victor to win enough matches so they can get out of Hell's Kitchen for good. (Victor wants to marry his Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
girlfriend and live on a houseboat they plan to buy in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.)
Each brother has his own style. Cosmo is a hustler and con-artist, always looking for the next easy buck. Lenny is the former war hero, now an undertaker who came back to the neighborhood with a limp and a bitter attitude. Victor is a gawky, strong, dumb yet sincere hulk of a man, who leaves his job hauling ice up tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
stairways once he is persuaded to become a wrestler.
Initially, it is Cosmo that dominates the proceedings, aggressively encouraging Victor to wrestle against the wishes of his girlfriend. Lenny is at first unsure of all this, and constantly tries to warn off Victor, reminding him that he could get hurt.
As the story progresses, the roles begin to reverse. Cosmo becomes concerned for Victor's welfare and feels guilty about getting him into this while Lenny becomes ever more keen to exploit Victor as far as he can.
Lenny seems to undergo a complete personality change, losing his cool demeanor and becoming an aggressive, manipulative high roller.
In the end, Victor wins a big wrestling match in a rainstorm and the brothers are reunited.
Cast
- Sylvester StalloneSylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
as Cosmo Carboni - Armand AssanteArmand Assante-Personal life:Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York, the son of Katherine , a music teacher and poet, and Armand Anthony Assante, Sr., a painter and artist. His father was Italian and his mother was Irish, and was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family...
as Lenny - Lee Canalito as Victor
- Anne ArcherAnne ArcherAnne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
as Annie - Kevin Conway as Stitch
- Terry FunkTerry FunkTerrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
as Frankie the Thumper - Frank McRaeFrank McRaeFrank McRae is an American actor and former professional football player.McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. McRae graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season.Among his acting roles are...
as Big Glory - Joe SpinellJoe SpinellJoe Spinell was an American character actor, who appeared in numerous films in the 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:...
as Burp - Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
as Mumbles - Aimee Eccles as Susan Chow
- Joyce Ingalls as Bunchie
- John Monks Jr. as Micky the Bartender
- Frank StalloneFrank StalloneFrank P. Stallone, Jr. is an American actor, singer/guitarist and Golden Globe and Grammy Award-nominated songwriter. He has appeared in many Hollywood films and television. He is the younger brother of Sylvester Stallone.-Early life:...
as Singer - Ted DibiaseTed DiBiaseTheodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
as Wrestler