New Year, Same Us! We kick 2018 off here at Three Way Theater with one of our most requested films as we finally review Sylvester Stallone’s 1978 opus Paradise Alley.

The Carboni brothers — con man Cosmo (Sylvester Stallone), disabled war veteran Lenny (Armand Assante) and dim-witted Victor (Lee Canalito) — are determined to leave the slums of New York City. Their best escape route is the muscle-bound Victor, whom a manipulative Cosmo convinces to become a professional wrestler. The wins and prize money pile up, until neighborhood gangster Stitch wants in on the action, scheduling Victor to fight the dangerous Frankie the Thumper (Terry Funk) in a marathon match.

We break down Stallone’s directorial debut after the success of Rocky and discuss the merits of roof racing for fun, Nazi war criminals hiding out in Hell’s Kitchen, and the awful animal cruelty in movies.

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Terry Funk and Sylvester Stallone on the Mike Douglas show, talking about Funk’s audition for Paradise Alley.