Rocky 4 - Starring Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Brigitte Nielsen and Tony Burton - Released in 1985

The movies in the Rocky series have captivated audiences since 1976; little known to people is the fact that novelizations of the screenplay are also available, beginning with the first film. These have been published by Ballantine Books, and written by Rosalyn Drexler, Robert.E.Hoban, and two of the novelizations based on Rocky II and IV were written by Stallone himself. Rocky 4 has once again been scripted and stars Sylvester Stallone in the lead role of the boxer Rocky Balboa. It is also the most financially successful film in the Rocky series.
The year is 1985, and a Russian fighter Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) with his wife Lumdilla (Brigitte Nielsen), a champion swimmer and a coach at a guest boxing championship match, arrive in the US.
It is believed that Drago has been scientifically trained by the Soviets and is called the ‘Siberian Express’ by the Russians. The boxer’s manager Nicolai Koloff (Michael Pataki) leaves no stone unturned to sell Drago’s macho image to the Americans, exhibiting it to be the hallmark of Soviet perfectionism.
Foe turned friend Apollo Creed, although he has been out of the ring for several years, challenges Drago to an exhibition bout - against Balboa’s reservations. The match takes place in Vegas to the background of ‘Living in America’. Not prepared for the Russian’s steely defense and rock solid physical fitness to get in the way - Apollo is in for a surprise. His blows have no effect on the Siberian Express, who remains calm and unaffected - even warning Creed that he will lose, after the first round.
Unfortunately, the Russian’s warning serves its purpose - the fighting legend and friend, is mercilessly beaten and killed by Drago, who is least affected by his death - ‘If he dies, he dies.’ Rocky, still not over the death of Mickey, his former coach, now loses both his friend and trainer - Apollo Creed. He is spurred to action by this sad event and takes on the mantle of fighting for retribution.
Drago cites safety concerns and decides that the best place for the match would be his homeland - Moscow. Rocky agrees to fight the Russian in a fifteen bout round on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, Creed’s trainer Duke (Tony Burton) decides to train Rocky in far off Russia, sans Adrian and Rocky Jr. Accompanying them is Paulie (Burt Young), his brother-in-law. Those were the days when the Iron Curtain was still in place, and as expected, Balboa has to rough it out, and trains despite the vagaries of Nature stacked up against him. His perseverance is rewarded when his wife Adrian (Talia Shire) comes to visit him.
In order to put him on the back foot, the Russian is introduced to the audience with a lot of pomp and fanfare. When the bout begins, Rocky is crushed by the strength, stealth and skill of the Russian.
In a crazy blood bath lasting twelve rounds, Rocky maintains his secure stance, and the crowd admires his resilience against the bigger opponent. The loss of home support ruffles Drago’s calm demeanor, he roughs up his manager. Ivan loses his cool and this becomes his undoing- as Rocky delivers a KO punch in the fifteenth round.
Although the film eluded praise from critics, yet it has endured over the years, endearing fans of all ages. It has also been hailed as one of the few sports biopic with such lasting appeal. The movie ends with a politically correct Rocky Balboa mumbling ‘If I can change, and you can change, then everybody can change.’

Rhinestone - Starring Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton - Released in 1984

Sylvester Stallone known more for his muscle flexing, makes his singing debut alongside Dolly Parton in the ‘Rhinestone’. Not only has he starred in the role of a cabbie who can’t sing to save his life, he has also collaborated on the screenplay.

Freddie Ugo (Ron Liebman) is the owner of Rhinestone, a dance-song-pub, where Jake Farris (Dolly Parton), his star performer and love interest  is stuck with him, after she signs a life long contract with the Sultan of Sleaze. He refuses to let her go, and insists that with his Midas touch, he can turn any one into a superstar - a country western singing sensation.

Ugo tells Jake that the only way she can buy herself out of the contract is if she finds a clown to turn into a ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ - he would give her two weeks, one number on stage, and voila - she gets to tear up her three year contract…if she loses, another five years and a sleazy proposition for something on the side with him.

She agrees, even though the stakes are high -‘no weirdoes, no lepers, no dead people, just some average normal person’ - and so the two go hunting and come across Nick Martinelli (Sylvester Stallone) a cabbie, who ‘passes in front of her face’ - she’d rather have had a leper!

When Ugo discusses the wager with Nick, he laughs, pointing at the singer on stage ‘I can’t stand that hill Billy’. Well, he walks out on the duo, leaving a beaming Ugo, though Jake reminds him she has two weeks. She goes and traces Nick down to the company that rents its cab to him. He is, as expected, fired by the owner. Now jobless, he takes up Jake’s offer, provided she gets Freddie to get the banged up taxi repaired, AND get his OWN taxi.

Ugo says they have a deal (cocksure that Jake will lose), because Nick thinks country music is ‘worse than liver’. Jake takes her job seriously; Nick is full of crock trying to flirt with her instead of concentrating on the singing. She takes him home to Leiper’s Fork, to her home in the country so that he can feel the life and the music.

Their relationship is frustrating as Nick insists he wants to do it his way, but eventually, he sings with the Wild Possum Band, singing ‘Drinkenstein’, in a yellow and orange suit with fur trimmed hat! At one point in time, he actually starts to believe he can sing - Jake tells him otherwise, and he shrugs her off, saying its ‘professional jealousy’. The two part ways.

Nick meets Noah Farris (Richard Farnsworth) who takes to Nick immediately, inviting him to sing with the Wild Possum Band - true bluegrass, he refuses, though. Jake is miserable, and says that she doesn’t want Nick to wind up with nothing, by instilling false hopes in him.

Nick is hell bent to make it in the music world, wanting to approach Freddie. Before he does so, Jake wants to call off the bet. Ugo is thrilled with the latest developments and welcomes the decision; elsewhere, Nick is riding a studded horse in Elvis style rhinestone jeweled suit, he rides into the hotel and knocks down the door to save Jake from Ugo’s clutches. They ride together to the Rhinestone, Nick believes he has to sing a duet with Jake, and is shocked to learn he is going solo - at the club, he is booed on stage. Suddenly he breaks into the best ditty ever, the crowd goes crazy cheering, and the bet is won!

The movie was wonderful for portraying the comic side of Stallone via this comic role; for once he flexed his vocals instead of his arms! Though the film won many nominations for the worst movie of the year - Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture - it does have a certain amount of following.

5 Card Stud (released in 1968) - Starring Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum and Inger Stevens

“Five card stud” is the earliest known game of card poker, so no guesses with regard to what the plot is: Cards and a few handsome men thrown in for good measure! Directed by Henry Hathaway, the story of the movie is sourced from a book by Ray Gaulden and is also a remake of a Charlton Heston debut film ‘Dark City’ (1950). In the current movie, Dean Martin plays the role that Heston assayed in the original film; Martin’s character is similar to the one he played in ‘Some Came Running’. The story of the film bears resemblance even to two works by Agatha Christie. Yet, the movie was captivating, although the story line was not unique, it was accepted and appreciated by movie going audiences of the time.
The film opens with seven men at a game of cards, in a typically western saloon, in 1880 in a town in Colorado. Van Morgan (played by Dean Martin) chooses to spend Saturday evening with the boys - his partners are Nick Evers (his girlfriend’s brother, played by Roddy McDowell), stableman Joe Hurley (played by Bill Fletcher), Mace Jones (played by Roy Jenson), storekeeper Fred Carson (played by Boyd Morgan) and Nick’s ranch hand Stoney Borough (played by George Robotham). They have a new partner, Frankie Rudd (played by Jerry Gaitlin); all’s well up until the time that Nick catches Rudd cheating, although the barkeeper – George, warns him - Frankie earns himself a cruel fate, meted out by  none other  than the men at the table - they drag him out to  stream and hang him near a bridge. "You don't hang a cheat," Morgan growls, "you kick him out of town." But the men ignore Morgan, who is knocked out cold. He is left on the boardwalk, where Mama Malone (played by Ruth Springford) finds him in the morning – she calls George who helps the weather-beaten Van to his room. Lacking courage to inform the town marshal, he leaves for Denver.




Sometime later, Morgan returns, and to his horror, learns that there have been two deaths – of the men who were at the game that night; it seems like they are revenge killings: strangulation by barbed wire, stuffed into a barrel of flour (ingenious!), each death more horrific than the other, till only he would remain alive, the others were all about to be strategically bumped off! Also, the town has acquires a gun slinging priest Jonathan Rudd (Robert Mitchum) - who, Van discovers later is none other than the murdered man Frankie’s brother. On the other hand, Nick is convinced that the killer was in some way related to the man he killed: so, it seems logical that he try and hunt him down. Who could it be - there’s a gold rush on, and with so many strangers in town, it’s hard to tell!
Although they were together that evening at the game, Nick has no love lost for Van Morgan, who happens to be dating his sister Nora (Katherine Justice). But it isn’t brotherly love or concern that he is seething with - in fact he hates Nora and his father. His angst is that if Nora were to marry, the rambling ranch and all its wealth would be inherited by his sister - leaving him out in the cold. He’d rather that Nora married someone he, Nick, chose. That way, the poor unsuspecting creature could easily be put out of the way and Nick would have no worries. A string fella like Morgan wouldn’t be that easily taken care of!
Nick chooses to play dirty, and discloses the names of the perpetrators to Jonathan, hoping he’d kill Van Morgan, making his life easier! He even beguiles Rudd by telling him a far fetched version of that night where it was Nick who tried to talk sense into the men and he who was knocked out trying to save Frankie. Is the real killer brought to justice? Is Frankie’s spirit finally at rest? Western-mystery-thriller-noir- an interesting package, worth the watch!