ROCKY—-round One. Stallonederella stormed Fame Beach in a surprise attack when a 29-year-old actor with $106 in the bank intrigued studio bigshots with a story idea. He wrote the script in a lightning three days, held firm on negotiations (he’d star or the deal was off) and director John G. Avildsen shot it in twenty days for $1,600,000. Funny, touching and rousing, the old-fashioned street epic of a never-was who rang the glory bell became the #1 hit of 1976, won three Oscars (Picture, Director, Editing), secured a lasting place in the cultural landscape and as of 2023 has generated eight sequels. ‘Rocky’ didn’t take ‘Adrian’ “to the zoo” but to the moon, and a good chunk of the planet was happy to tag along. Every once in a while, the ignored underdog fights its way to become leader of the pack. Especially in movies. *

Working-class (barely) Philadelphia. Genial 3rd-tier prizefighter ‘Rocky Balboa’ (Sylvester Stallone) is going nowhere fast as a club brawler until he’s enlisted for a Bicentennial gimmick bout with the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. Rocky has the support of shy girlfriend ‘Adrian’ (Talia Shire), her abrasive brother ‘Paulie’ (Burt Young) and ‘Mick’ (Burgess Meredith), his aged veteran trainer. They all need a way out of Palookaville, but super-confident champ ‘Apollo Creed’ (Carl Weathers) seems unbeatable.

Sentimental yet serious fable works like a rough-edged charm thanks to the superior characterizations, sharp direction and editing, Bill Conti’s propulsive scoring and one heck of a knockdown-dragout at the end. It works as a shaggy dog story, a spirit-salving romance, a slice of society’s unrecognized underclass, a handy manual for line-quotes and an excuse to cheer.

Stallone makes self-effacing Balboa a bruiser with dignity and gentleness to go along with his ability to take and dish pummeling that would fell a mastodon: Sly choreographed the fights. Colorfully cast in the bit parts, it’s a field day for the four key supporting players. Weathers bravura energy (Jim Brown with charm) boosted him into the limelight and Young’s scuzzy but eventually salvageable buddy remains his signature role. Shire had displayed emotional acumen in The Godfather and its first sequel. Here she takes the fire & ice of ‘Connie Corleone and submerges it into a mousey exterior that hides a resilient survivor’s core. Meredith’s crusty, rasping taskmaster is one of his all-time best pieces of work, matched only by the intensity he’d displayed the year before, as another old pro needing a break in The Day Of The Locust.

Besides the Academy Award wins, well-deserved nominations went for Best Actor (Stallone), Actress (Shire), Screenplay, Supporting Actor/s (Meredith and Young), Sound and Song (“Gonna Fly Now’). Boosted by $4,200,000 in ads, critics approval and tremendous word-of-mouth from enthused audiences, the US gross reached $117,235,000, with another $107,765,000 rolling in overseas.

A minute shy of two hours, with Thayer David, Joe Spinell, Tony Burton, Bill Baldwin, Stu Namhan, Jimmy Gambina and Al Silvani. Joe Frazier cameos as himself.

* Meanwhile back in the ring—Stallone wrote the next five sequels and directed four. They vary from very good (Rocky III) to lousy (Rocky IV, the biggest moneymaker). Fans are devoted, snobs avoid them like plague. Objectivity goes AWOL when politics (often perceived) and personality pique cloud judgement. You can spit ire over the mostly risible Rambo‘s and the ego excusing Expendable‘s and still acknowledge that the first Rocky rumble was a knockout.

Avildsen: “I had no idea Rocky would be such a hit. I thought it was going to be the second half of a double-bill at the drive-in.”

Shire: “I got it because I was called to audition and I went in and gave the best reading I had ever given in my life.”

Young: “You have to really respect the camera. It picks up the truth and it can smell a counterfeit performance.”

Meredith: “It’s a refreshing change after things like Taxi Driver and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest—brilliant pictures, perhaps, but not rooting pictures. It’s the difference between watching a sunset and a snake.”