Film: 'Rocky,' Pure 30's Make-Believe
Nov. 22, 1976 The New York Times Archives Vincent Canby NOT SINCE "The Great Gatsby" two years ago has any film come into town more absurdly oversold than "Rocky," the sentimental little slum movie that opened yesterday at the Cinema II. As a former head of Paramount Pictures said to me with some irritation at the time "Gatsby" came out, movies shouldn't be penalized for being effectively promoted. That's true. Yet the sort of highpowered publicity (most of it free, it seems) that's been attending the birth of "Rocky" must, in turn, subject the movie to impossible expectations that can boomerang. Be warned.Sylvester Stallone, who had a role in "The Lords of Flatbush," another "sleeper" that never quite measured up as a hit, both wrote the original screenplay and plays the title role. Rocky is a young man who, by day, is a small-time Mafia collector, the sort of fellow who shows his heart of gold by hesitating to br...