The Lord's of Flatbush (1974)

A group of kids in Brooklyn form a gang. From this moment on they do everything together. This makes things easier but at the same time they have to face new problems.

Directors:

Martin Davidson, Stephen Verona

Writers:

Stephen Verona (screenplay), Gayle Gleckler (screenplay),

Stars:

Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Perry King	...	David 'Chico' Tyrell
Sylvester Stallone	...	Stanley Rosiello
Henry Winkler	...	Butchey Weinstein
Paul Mace	...	Wimpy Murgalo
Susan Blakely	...	Jane Bradshaw
Maria Smith	...	Frannie Malincanico
Renee Paris	...	Annie Yuckamanelli (as Reneé Paris)
Paul Jabara	...	Crazy Cohen
Bruce Reed	...	Mike Mambo
Frank Stiefel	...	Arnie Levine
Martin Davidson	...	Mr. Birnbaum
Joe Stern	...	Eddie
Ruth Klinger	...	Mrs. Tyrell
Joan Neuman	...	Miss Molina
Dolph Sweet	...	Mr. Rosiello

Storyline

A group of kids in Brooklyn form a gang. From this moment on they do everything together. This makes things easier but at the same time they have to face new problems.

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Plot Keywords:

youth | 1950s | diner | drive in | new york | 

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Taglines:

When was the last time someone gave you a hickey?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 1975 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Lords of Flatbush

Filming Locations:

Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$160,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ebbets Field

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Stallone, Robert De Niro was in talks for a role in the film but left to do Bang the Drum Slowly.

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Goofs

When Chico takes Jane to the drive-in, the license plate number of the stolen Packard changes. When they arrive at the theater it is SV-5875, yet when they start to pull out, the plate has changed to 4N-4290.

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Quotes

Stanley Rosiello: If you ever show my girl a ring like that again, you know what's gonna be written on your tombstone? "I was dumb enough to show Frannie Malincanico a $1600 ring," ya got that?

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Connections

Referenced in FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)

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Soundtracks

"The Chase"
Solo Guitar by Charles Brown

User Reviews

Doesn't live up to its promise.

Here we have early film appearances from a number of guys who went on to varying degrees of stardom. I think this is mostly what this movie's good reputation is based on. But I didn't find it quite so compelling as a film.

This flick is about four high school boys in 1950's Brooklyn who belong to a "social-athletic club" (others would say gang) called the Lords. As is often the case in movies, they all look like they saw the end of high school some years before. The four (Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, Paul Mace) are poised on the brink of adulthood and the responsibility that it will bring. The film is shot in a manner that is almost cinema verite, with lots of hand-held cameras getting grainy-looking closeups. The dialog also is obviously meant to be realistic, but I found it often less than scintillating. I waited around for the bigger issues to be tackled and the larger truths to be revealed, but they are not exactly enlightening, either. A faux-'50's music soundtrack doesn't help much.

Despite these negative comments, I would give 'The Lords of Flatbush' a marginal "thumbs up," mostly for effort. It does do a good job of depicting the culture and local color of the place and time it represents. But this is no definitive film about either coming of age or life in Brooklyn in the 1950's.