That Time in 1974 When Rocky & The Fonz Starred in The Lords of Flatbush Together

Do you remember that time in 1974 when Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler were in a low-budget independent movie together? We don’t remember too much about 1974 either, we were pretty doped up on Quaaludes at Studio 54 when Rocky and The Fonz were down in Coney Island filming this movie. Turns out that The Lords of Flatbush is a film that follows a group of tough guys in 1950s Brooklyn as they smoke cigarettes, ride motorcycles, and try to act tough. It’s basically the cinematic equivalent of that one guy in high school who wore a leather jacket and carried a switchblade, but it’s actually fake leather and a plastic switchblade, sold with such conviction that you can’t help but be slightly charmed. Slightly.

What is The Lords of Flatbush about? 

The Lords of Flatbush is a 1974 American coming-of-age drama film co-directed by Martin Davidson and Stephen Verona. The film takes place in late 1950s Brooklyn, NYC, and focuses on a group of tough teenagers known as “The Lords of Flatbush” as they navigate the complexities of adolescence, relationships, and their futures. The film stars a young Sylvester Stallone, Perry King, Henry Winkler, and Paul Mace as the four members of the titular gang who struggle with the things American teenagers of the day struggled with. While flawed and unfocused, Lords of Flatbush has its charms and with its Mean Streets vibe, it’s considered a cult classic in the canon of coming-of-age cinema, and remains a compelling and atmospheric portrait of a bygone era.

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Richard Gere & Lords of Flatbush 

Famous leading man and handsome bastard Richard Gere was originally cast as Chico — the role that would later go to Perry King — but he was fired from the film during production. The exact reason for his departure has been the subject of much speculation and has never been definitively confirmed, but Sylvester Stallone told Ain’t It Cool News his side of the story in 2005:

Yeah, the original part of Chico, which was played by Perry King, was originally supposed to be played by Richard Gere, but we never hit it off. He would strut around in his oversized motorcycle jacket like he was the baddest knight at the round table. One day, during an improv, he grabbed me (we were simulating a fight scene) and got a little carried away. I told him in a gentle fashion to lighten up, but he was completely in character and impossible to deal with. Then we were rehearsing at Coney Island and it was lunchtime, so we decided to take a break, and the only place that was warm was in the backseat of a Toyota. I was eating a hotdog and he climbs in with a half a chicken covered in mustard with grease nearly dripping out of the aluminum wrapper. I said, “That thing is going to drip all over the place.” He said, “Don’t worry about it.” I said, “If it gets on my pants you’re gonna know about it.” He proceeds to bite into the chicken and a small, greasy river of mustard lands on my thigh. I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car. The director had to make a choice: one of us had to go, one of us had to stay. Richard was given his walking papers and to this day seriously dislikes me. 

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Sylvester Stallone & Lords of Flatbush

Sylvester Stallone, who was still cutting his teeth as a young writer and actor, has a writing credit for The Lords of Flatbush for additional dialogue. He was allowed to improvise and rewrite some of the character’s dialogue, and the extra hamming seems obvious in the one particular scene when he’s with the pigeon coops on the roof, as if he’s desperately trying to inject life into an otherwise unexciting film.

Henry Winkler & Lords of Flatbush

Before The Fonz was The Fonz, Henry Winkler was a young Yale School of Drama graduate with a fresh MFA in his back pocket, hitting up the New York City acting scene in the early 1970s. The Lords of Flatbush (1974) is one of his earliest film appearances, and according to IMDB, Henry Winkler would later base Arthur Fonzarelli on co-star Sylvester Stallone’s character.

Is Lords of Flatbush any good?

Eh. Not really. The Lords of Flatbush more interesting than good. The plot is all over the place, with the characters meandering from one scene to the next without any real sense of purpose. There are some attempts at romance and drama, but they mostly fall flat. And the fight scenes look like they were choreographed by a group of middle schoolers on the playground. The film received mixed reviews upon its release, with some critics praising the performances of the lead actors and the film’s evocative portrayal of Brooklyn in the 1950s, while others criticized its lack of narrative focus and tendency towards nostalgia. There’s a heavy tone of that 1970s American DIY film aesthetic, and it’s fascinating to watch pre-Rocky Sylvester Stallone and pre-Fonzie Henry Winkler still figuring out their craft. If that sounds interesting to you, check it out. — but keep your expectations in check.

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