Poor Paul Mace. Not only did he die pretty young (in 1983), he’s the only primary cast member of The Lords of Flatbush who never went on to bigger things. I wonder what he thought of his co-stars’ hitting the big time almost immediately after this film’s release, while he spent what was left of his life guest starring on TV shows.
Not that The Lords of Flatbush itself catapulted the careers of Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, Susan Blakely and Perry King. This low budget American Graffiti wannabe had a short run in theaters before quietly disappearing…until Happy Days and Rocky made Winkler and Stallone household names. Then the film enjoyed a lot of renewed attention when it aired on television. Of course, we were all curious, perhaps some of us unaware this was made when they were still struggling actors.
Taking place in the ‘50s, the movie is a coming-of-age, slice of life drama focusing on the titular characters, four high school hoods (who don’t remotely resemble teenagers) that spend their days disrupting class, shooting pool, hanging out and stealing cars. There are couple of subplots along the way, such as Chico (King) trying to get with a girl way out of his league (Blakely), and Stanley (Stallone) being coerced into getting married by his bossy girlfriend. But other than that, there isn’t much of a story.
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| "I ordered my fries an hour ago." |
Today, I imagine the primary appeal of The Lords of Flatbush is largely nostalgia…or maybe curiosity. The film is watchable and occasionally engaging, but mostly just a historical footnote in the careers of its impressive cast. Except for poor Paul Mace, who pretty-much became a footnote himself.
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