Paradise Alley
| Paradise Alley | |
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| Directed by | Sylvester Stallone |
| Produced by | Edward R. Pressman |
| Written by | Sylvester Stallone |
| Starring | Sylvester Stallone Kevin Conway Anne Archer Joe Spinell Armand Assante Lee Canalito Terry Funk Frank McRae Joyce Ingalls Tom Waits |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $7,185,518 (US) |
Paradise Alley is a 1978 American sports film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone in his feature film directorial debut, who also starred in the role. The film tells the story of the three brothers in Hell's Kitchen, New York City in the 1940s who become involved in professional wrestling.
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.
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 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.
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Wikipedia