Sunnyside

Sunnyside (1979)
AIP Production # 7908

Jeff and Cheryl explore the dark side of urban living by watching Sunnyside.

Screenplay by Timothy and Jeff King
Story by Jeff King and Robert L. Schaffel
Produced by Robert L. Schaffel
Directed by Timothy Galfas 

Starring:
Joey Travolta as Nick Martin
John Lansing as Denny Martin
Stacey Pickren as Donna Rosario
Andrew Rubin as Eddie Reaper
Michael Tucci as Harry Cimoli
Talia Balsam as Ann Rosario
Joan Darling as Mrs. Martin
Chris Mulkey as Reggie Flynn
Richard Beauchamp as Hector
Heshimu Cumbuka as Ice
Jonathan Gries as Wild Child
E. Lamont Johnson as Rage
Billy Jacoby as Billy

An American International Pictures Release 

View the Sunnyside trailer here. 

You can stream Sunnyside on Prime Video, Fubo or MGM+. 

Visit our website - https://aippod.com/ and follow the American International Podcast on Letterboxd, Instagram and Threads @aip_pod and on Facebook at facebook.com/AmericanInternationalPodcast  

Get your American International Podcast merchandise at our store. 

Our open and close includes clips from the following films/trailers: How to Make a Monster (1958), The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), High School Hellcats (1958), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), The Wild Angels (1966), It Conquered the World (1956), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), and Female Jungle (1955)

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
There are some men who don't walk away from a challenge.

(00:04):
Nick Martin is one of them.
He's spent his life on the streets, and now he may lose it there.
Joey Travolta is Nick Martin.
He's tough, tender, terrific.
Joey Travolta stars in Sunnyside.
We're not talking about actors.
We mean a real monster.
I brought her back.
She'll live and I'll get her another body.

(00:26):
I'm know they’re gonna catch me, but don't let anyone see me like that! Please, Doctor,
help me!
Biologically speaking, it's of primary importance that man should want to mate.
Hey, that’s right!
You don't get all your kicks from surfing, do you?
We want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man.
And we want to get loaded.
You think you're going to make a slave of the world?

(00:48):
I'll see you in Hell first!
The American International Podcast.
Are you ready?
This is the American International Podcast where we not so coincidentally discuss movies
released by American International Pictures.
I'm Jeff Markin.
I'm Cheryl Lightfoot.
And on this episode, we're looking at Sunnyside from 1979.

(01:10):
Sunnyside was directed by Timothy Galfas, written by Timothy Galfas and Jeff King,
from a story by Jeff King and Robert L. Schaffel and produced by Robert Schaffel for American
International Pictures.
Sunnyside stars Joey Travolta as Nick Martin, John Lansing as Denny Martin, Stacey
Pickren as Donna Rosario, Andrew Rubin as Eddie Reaper, Michael Tucci as Harry Cimoli,

(01:32):
Talia Balsam as Ann Rosario, Joan Darling as Mrs. Martin, and also stars Chris Mulkey
as Reggie Flynn, Richard Beauchamp as Hector, Heshimu Cumbuka as Ice, JJonathon Gries as Wild
Child, E. Lamont Johnson as Rage, and Billy Jacoby as Billy.
Sunnyside opens with shots of a Queen's neighborhood and a text telling us that Samuel

(01:52):
Z. Arkoff and Lou S. Arkoff present this film.
We get a good look at the New York City skyline too.
And the sunny side theme performed by the New York City Band plays.
We see neighborhood kids playing basketball and just typical New York scenery.
And then we catch up with some of the main characters.
This is the Nightcrawlers Gang and they're meeting up.
We don't really know who they are yet.

(02:14):
Most of them are dressed in denim except for one who shops at the Herb Tarleck collection.
He dresses like a used car salesman.
This suits her quite loud.
Nick, the leader of the gang, stops by the bakery where his girlfriend Donna works to confirm
their date at Christos that evening.
So that evening at Christos, Donna is waiting at the bar and Nickbox break pastor, goes up to
the bar in order 86 to the sandwiches and a six pack to go.

(02:37):
Rapt he confirms when the bartender asks him.
For some reason Donna finds this amusing and the two of them start to dance.
However, Nick's gang friends come in to kill the vibe for Nick and Donna.
He tries to shoot them away but it's too late.
They've succeeded in ruining his date.
Donna goes outside.
It's funny how they do this because Harry just goes up and says he's going to have a drink
and then Ruggie comes up and says he's going to go have a drink with Harry and they're just

(02:59):
doing it to be obnoxious.
It looks like Donna's used to this.
Nick follows Donna out.
He doesn't stay with his friends and they decide they're going to go for a walk leaving
his friends behind.
He says that they've been over else to go and they'll be fine.
That's their regular hangout as we'll find out.
So then he suggests that they take in the carnival.
As they're walking there, Donna says that she just wants to get away.
The two of them, not all his friends.

(03:20):
They walk around the carnival for a bit and they get to a game stand and Donna picks down
a doll she'd like to win.
It's the one where you have to throw balls at a knock over the bottles.
So they get to be thrown for a dollar and Donna takes the first two balls and whiffs them
both.
Nick takes the last ball.
He throws a ball and hits the pyramid of bottles square in the center.
They don't budge.
The ball bounces off.
Nick recognizes that this is a cheat.

(03:42):
Nick is insisting he gets a doll for his throw but the carnival is insistent that
they've got to scatter.
However, his boss or somebody, not quite on camera, says just give him the doll.
They've obviously been made as a fraud.
However, this is going to stick in Nick's cruff for a good portion of the movie.
Later, Nick asked Donna if she had fun at the carnival tonight.
He says he's never taking anybody there before.

(04:02):
They stroll by an empty lad and Nick stops and describes the dream house that he'd like
to build with her there.
They dream of a bright future together.
And now we're at a factory where Nick's brother, Denny, is getting undressed after work.
He's in the locker room with all the other guys when a supervisor comes in to look for volunteers
for overtime.
Nobody wants to do it.
And Denny begs off because tonight is his turn to make dinner and somehow this works.

(04:24):
Three other guys get assigned to it.
And he does because next thing we have is dinner at the Martin household and Denny has made
dinner.
It's spaghetti with clams.
Also there is he and next mother, Donna and their little brother, Billy.
Denny's excited because he has a job interview at an ad-aing new seat.
And if he gets this job, it's going to change all their lives.
Apparently he's some kind of artist, graphic artist.

(04:45):
Donna and Nick would both like to introduce Donna's sister and to Nick's brother, Denny.
Little Billy says he isn't hungry.
He said he had too many hot dogs today.
So Nick takes Billy to his room and puts him to bed.
The Nick comes back and says goodbye.
He's going out.
His mom and Donna are just appointed at Nick as the staying in tonight.
Denny thinks this is to be expected.
And after Nick leaves, tries to coax the others to eat.

(05:07):
And now we're in a very strange scene.
A rival gang leader named Eddie Reaper is screwing some chicken in a bedroom while a bunch
of unrelated people hold a Bible study class out in the living room.
Well, it's led by Eddie Reaper's father.
Eddie Reaper is with this girl, but Denny suddenly gets dressed and leaves.
But he makes sure that the people in the Bible study group are aware of his presence before
he goes.

(05:27):
Yeah, he makes a crew gesture at them at the door and then leaves them scandalized in his
wake.
So now we meet some of Reaper's gang.
They're the savage warlocks.
They're walking down the street.
And we see Nick's gang is doing the same, but towards them from the opposite direction.
And they're all going to meet at Nick's request.
Yes, this is some sort of gang summit.
It's going to include a third gang that are called the death makers.

(05:48):
I guess the idea is that if they work together, they can achieve more and maybe put an end
to some of the inner gang violence that's been plaguing all of them.
Harry, the guy with the loud suits warns Nick that he can't trust the other gangs and
he tells Nick he's a dreamer.
But Nick says that these gangs are the toughest gangs in the neighborhood and that's why
they need to band together.
The three gangs converge in a deserted ballroom chosen by Nick to have their summit.

(06:10):
There's a stage where the curtain's still hanging from it and there's chairs in a circle.
It's really kind of an out location for this meaning to be taking place.
Yeah, but it's neutral territory and they can all be comfortable there as comfortable
as they can be.
So while the summit might be about working together and putting an end to inner gang hostilities,
Nick has got other injustices on his mind.

(06:32):
Because carnival barkers are ripping people off, this will not stand and Nick wants to do
something about it.
He wants to take down the carnival.
You're supposed to be giving to the community, he says, but instead they're ripping off the
people in the neighborhood and taking them for chumps.
All the gang members are really keyed up at the moment and Nick demands seriousness.
The gangs can work together to stop all this.

(06:53):
Reaper declares that this is a groundbreaking collaboration and that trust is a must.
At the age, the leader of the death makers razz is Reaper for being too old, calls him a grandpa.
Nick tries to take control.
He's going to hear all this bickering there, therefore a purpose to take down those carnival
cheats.
So Reaper asks what it is he's proposing they do and Nick responds to Reaper by handing
him a gun.

(07:13):
How many more of these can you get asked Reaper?
Enough says Nick.
Reaper hands the gun over to one of his fellow gang members.
He throws it to the ground and it shatters.
It's just a toy.
Nick doesn't want any real violence tonight.
Like those down a hand drawn map of the carnival layout and assigned sections to himself to
Reaper and to rage.
It's a crudely drawn map on butcher paper.
It's just a bunch of rectangles and circles.

(07:35):
So I don't know how they're supposed to know which way is up or anything.
Nothing's labeled.
This is a really funny scene, honestly.
Rage says they'll have to bust some heads so that people will know that they were there.
Reaper says everyone will know the gangs were there because the gangs will have all their
money.
Nick confirms that this job will put money in their pockets and afterwards if they
wanted to bust each other's heads, that's their business.
But first they take care of the carnival.

(07:56):
He calls it a carnival.
And now outside this groundbreaking summit, there are two men fighting in the alley.
The alley is just disgusting.
The rival gang members come out to bust up the fight and we see that one of the guys is
Denny and the night crawler stopped him from getting his ass kicked.
Nick walks Denny home.
A little later, Nick asked Denny what he was doing there tonight.
Denny says he was worried about him.

(08:17):
He had heard that Nick was meeting up with Eddie Reaper.
Nick tells Denny he hears too much and he should have stayed home.
But Nick says Denny.
Eddie Reaper?
He's a killer.
Nick wants Denny to work on his art and to get a girlfriend and praises some of Denny's
graffiti that Nick saw earlier.
Denny tells Nick to stop the con.
But Nick is serious.
Nick doesn't have talent like Denny.
Gang stuff is all he has.

(08:38):
And then Nick cautions his brother to clean up before their mother sees them.
Now when I rooftop where Eddie Reaper and some of his savage warlocks are trying to get
into the tigrae business, they're meeting with a supplier named Desi.
I guess he's kind of a bootleg supplier.
Yeah, he's a wholesaler, let's say.
Reaper offers to take 50 cartons off of him, but Desi tells him that the minimum is 3000,
but Reaper only wants 50.

(08:58):
But they come in 3000.
What are you going to do?
Reaper tells Desi that he knows a really good body shop.
When Desi asks for what, Reaper walks to the roof ledge, looks over, grabs a huge chunk
of concrete from the top of the roof and drops it onto the hood of Desi's car.
That's what for.
Now we're back at Christos, the gang's bar of choice.
And Harry and Alvin tell Nick that he just missed Denny.

(09:20):
Nick is adamant that Denny isn't to be involved in any of their gang business.
And the rest of the gang arrive and now it's time to go to the carnival job.
And now we're at the carnival or almost some Iki-Dude named Beebe from the Death Makers watches
as his boss rage tries to get some against a fence.
And then Reaper and Nick arrive to get the violence started.
The gang's getting to position.

(09:40):
Once the position, the robberies all go on simultaneously.
The only problem is the savage warlock set brought real guns instead of the toy guns Nick was
supplying.
So several people are killed.
Reaper and his number one man, Ice, take a moment from getting concessions to take out
rage and Beebe because they're having their weird threesome again against a trailer.
Once they've killed them, they leave with their cracker jacks.

(10:08):
Now we're back at the night crawlers hangout and they're discussing the killings that went
on tonight.
Nick wasn't part of their plan and Gearbox says that rage getting stuff wasn't in accident.
And then Nick arrives.
Yes, if they have all the money and Harry has put it all in a paper sack.
Nick tells them all to stay out of the clubhouse tonight.
It's too hot there.
It's possible the warlocks might be coming by since they know that they have this large

(10:28):
sum of money.
Which is weird because they're going to go to the warlocks to split the money.
Well, they might not want to split it.
Haha.
And they might get ambushed.
So Nick leaves taking a few of the night claws with him and they give Nick a gun to take
with him.
A real gun.
Nick Alvin, Harry, Reggie and Ice, Nick asked who among them is the most pissed off.
Harry says it's him.
So Nick hands over the gun to Reggie to hold.

(10:49):
Harry doesn't trust these violent warlocks, especially as they're going into the ballroom
to give them the money that they stole.
Nick promises that Reaper will split it up fairly.
They arrive and Nick voices his displeasure and what went on tonight.
He's not happy to use real guns.
That wasn't part of the plan.
No guns, no armed robbery.
Reaper says that what happened to rage was his personal business.
And now like a split that take 50/50.

(11:10):
She gets a little over excited.
It pulls on the gun, but Nick hasn't put it away.
Then Nick tells Reaper to keep off his turf.
Reaper says, "Okay, Nick, I got what I wanted and you got what you wanted."
So now we split and we're even.
Nick gives Reaper all the cash.
Reaper hands it to one of his lieutenants and they count it.
And apparently Nick's take is half of the $6,921 that they stole.
Reaper makes to throw the bag to Nick and then holds off saying that they could have more

(11:33):
profitable adventures in the future.
And on a personal note, blowing up isn't good for your health.
Then he tosses the bag to Nick.
Snaps the finger and walks out with the night crawlers following him.
The guys are down, but Nick knows how to cheer them up.
A party.
A party.
And the guys are really excited.
But then Nick asks Harry for the use of his apartment and Reggie grants it.
As he says, "Hey, that's my place."

(11:54):
But it says, "Okay, anyways."
And that heal, make sure he doesn't come home too early.
Reggie asks him to say hi to Donna for him.
So Nick and Donna take advantage of the apartment.
But first they have to change the sheets.
Then Donna goes to the kitchen to fetch a couple of glasses, but all she can find in
the cupboard is cigarettes.
From top to bottom left to right, it's all cigarettes.
I know he doesn't drink, but he sure does smoke, she says.

(12:15):
She asks what it's all about and Nick says it's Harry's business.
Donna counters that he's a night crawler than it's Nick's business, too.
Then she implores him to leave the gang.
He's got so much going for him.
But Nick insists he's got to do what he's got to do.
And what he's going to do right now is Donna.
Yeah, they have some badly stage sex.
It's not well lit.
It's not well-active.
And it's no fun to watch.

(12:37):
Oh, and there's a terrible song underneath.
The soundtrack plays "Loving You" by the New York City Band.
And now we're at breakfast the next day at the Martin Place.
The Martin Boys, Denny and Nick have a coded conversation in front of their little brother
who thinks their mom is hot for Christo the rest of the tour.
Their mom comes out and the boys give her a fistful of cash to treat herself.
It's her birthday.
At the night crawler clubhouse, Nick closes a deal with Dezi the cigarette wholesaler.

(13:01):
Reggie's going to pick up the merchandise.
Outside his shopkeeper is cleaning up some damage.
It tells Gearbox to hang out here and keep an eye out in case there's any more trouble.
Nick also generously gives the man some cash because this man runs a grocery store and gives
a neighborhood residence credit a lot of the times.
So now that they're flush with cash, they're going to do him a solid.

(13:21):
Then Nick and Harry head out and Harry's car to talk to Reaper.
Apparently Reaper has brought several of the death makers into his gang since they were
without a leader and they've been causing trouble in the neighborhood.
Harry reminds them that they do make money together, right?
They find Reaper hanging out with his gang on a corner and Nick says that someone has
been dumping in on their territory.
He says they can handle the guy who's been spray painting the buildings but he wants Reaper

(13:43):
to let the guy who's been breaking windows to know they had a could lead to broken arms.
He says he's also heard that Reaper has been adding to his gang.
"Yeah, well, some of the fellows wanted some extra security," says Reaper.
"Give it to him," says Nick.
They may need it.
Then Harry drives the car off and Reaper goes back to his pals.
Now we're at the bakery where Donna, her sister Ann and their dad are working.

(14:04):
Some warlords burst in and bust up the place.
They spread cake everywhere, break glass, terrify the girls.
It's a nightmare.
And apparently this is the day of the party.
Harry meets his girl Diane on the street.
They're about to go up to Nick's mother's apartment.
She's brought a gift and a six pack, but she's kind of homely.
So Harry's only going to be seen with her in private.
He tells her that he'll meet her later at her place because she's not allowed to come

(14:27):
over to his.
He takes the party gift and five, six of the six pack that she's holding and goes up alone.
However, he does give her a $10 bill for her trouble.
Nick and Reggie have been watching this exchange turn the balcony above.
Inside the apartment is being decorated for Nick's mom's party.
Elvin is pasting magazine clippings to the wall.
Nick tells him that this won't fly it as mom's party and tells him to take them down.

(14:47):
He and the rest of the gang are setting up food and decor.
It's all kind of half-hazard.
Nick notices that Denny's not there.
He also sends Reggie out to take that shipment of cigarettes and count all the cartons
to make sure they're all full.
Now we're back at the bakery where Donna and her sister are recovering from the earlier
invasion and cleaning up when Denny arrives to pick up the cake.
Which fortunately was in the back, so it didn't get damaged.

(15:08):
And goes to the back to retrieve it, and Reggie comes in and joins him.
And brings out the cake, and Donna introduces Denny to Anne they hadn't met before.
And since they're all going to the party and and Denny decided to go together, Reggie says
he's going to stay and help Donna clean up first.
I think Reggie has a thing for Donna.
Reggie has a big thing for Donna, but everyone treats it as just a harmless fixation,
I guess.
Now we see Denny and Anne arrive at the party.

(15:29):
They tell Nick what happened at the bakery.
Denny thinks that he knows who did it.
I mean, kind of obvious.
But now it's time to kill the lights.
Nick's mom is nearly home.
She comes in, the lights go up in the yellow surprise, and she's surprised.
Then the party commences for real.
They do sing happy birthday in kind of a strange tempo.
Well, there's only one confirmed singer in the group.

(15:49):
Let me go back to the clubhouse where Reggie is accepting that cigarette shipment from
Desi.
Desi says he needs to talk to Nick later and Reggie beats over and over that he was told
to check out the shipment and Desi's like, whatever.
Back at the party, Anne is dancing with Denny.
I turn you on, Donna, she says.
She suggests they go elsewhere, but Nick's in the bedroom.
So Anne suggests they go to the John and we see they're laying in the tub, Anne is on

(16:10):
top of Denny and they're kissing.
But then she suddenly stands up, goes to the medicine cabinet and sprays shaving cream
on him.
Let me see Desi and his guys packing up the truck and leaving as Reaper and his gang
get ready to attack.
Once Desi and his guys are gone, they go into the night crawler clubhouse and interrupt Reggie's
counting.
That's not a good thing.
Reggie warns them to get out of there before he starts kicking some ass, but it just makes

(16:31):
the world X laughs as they outnumber him five to one.
Reaper suggests that Reggie go on up to the party while they take half the cigarettes.
Then Reggie starts a fight he can't win.
Nope, they beat him good.
And we know this because the next scene takes place outside the hospital where Denny and
Nick are waiting in the rain.
And he still wants to get that job with the advertising agency and get Nick out of
there.
But Nick isn't going anywhere.
Those are too heavy right now.

(16:52):
Denny wants him to think of other people right now.
His mother, Billy, and to keep himself safe for their sake.
Nick rolls his eyes at the idea that someone might love him.
Me too.
But Nick says he's got to do what he's got to do.
He tries to give Denny a cab fare, but Denny can make his own way home.
Snow we're back at Christos.
Nick gearbox Alvin and I served at the bar when Harry joins them.

(17:14):
They're all upset about Reggie and they're angry with Reaper for what he did to him.
He didn't make it.
That's where we find out he died.
Nick asked Harry if he still got his connection.
Anything you want ensures Harry, but he warns Nick that the cops are looking for him.
Nick doesn't care.
It's time for them to kick some ass.
Reaper is getting too greedy says Nick.
He wants them the neighborhood.
It might be time to fight back.
Let's bust some heads.

(17:35):
It seems wild child who I should know is Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite.
And he really lives up to the wild child name here.
He's so jittery and he's always dancing around like a 80s band hype man.
After declaring let's bust some heads.
He picks up a hard boiled egg from a bowl on the counter.
You're going to need something heavier than that says Nick.
Then a hard boiled egg.

(17:55):
Then Nick sends gearbox Alvin to deliver a message to Reaper.
Alvin is on Nick goes to the bakery to see Donna.
She missed the party.
He comments.
He wants to talk to her privately so they go into the office even though the bakery is
empty but for the two of them.
Donna is afraid for Nick.
She finds out which nightcrawler was killed and is distressed to find out that it was Reggie.
Donna just wants a normal life where they can go outside without getting shot at.

(18:17):
She wants him to stay safe.
Then asks him to make a love to her right there in the office.
And mercifully we don't have to stay and watch that.
When Nick does exit the bakery he's accosted by two plain clothes policemen.
Hey Nick what are you doing to say?
What am I doing?
I'm eating the brownie.
What am I doing?
They cuff him and take him down to the station for questioning.
All right with gearbox and Alvin who are going to see Reaper.

(18:44):
They meet two guys from the gang and Gearbox stammer's out his message to Reaper.
And then the two guys take turns mocking him.
It's not pleasant to see but then they take him up to Reaper on the rooftop.
One of the gang members goes up to Reaper and tells him that two nightcrawlers want to talk
to him and asks if he wants to talk to them.
"Well they're here or anything," says Reaper.
Alvin says that they want to meet on their turf at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning.

(19:05):
He says they'll come clean and they just want to talk.
Nick wants to talk to me and firms Reaper and he agrees to the meeting.
At Christos the Denomofia is sitting at the bar when Harry comes in to deliver the news
that Nick's been picked up by the cops and he won't be out for 24 to 48 hours.
This is a problem.
Nick is the one that was going to wire the stuff to blow up the Warlocks Clubhouse tomorrow.
And he's otherwise occupied.

(19:25):
Then he's there and he can't believe this is happening.
But he agrees to take over for Nick and do the wiring.
That night it's a really waning night.
Outside the Warlocks Clubhouse, then he gives Anna Kiss and leaves her as lookout as
then he and the nightcrawlers head inside with the dynamite.
They go in and decide that they're actually doing the Warlocks a favor because the places
are disaster.
They're rat and festive mess.

(19:46):
They stumble around in the dark for a while but to get that dynamite set.
The next day, Harry, Denian, and Anne are walking home.
Denian assures Harry that this is going to work.
Denian brings Anne back to his mother's apartment where Billy's there getting ready to leave
for school.
He greets his big brother telling him and Anne that he and Nick are both in trouble.
Their mom is pissed because neither one came home last night.
Denian tells Billy he was helping Donna.

(20:07):
Billy leaves her school but isn't buying that story.
Denian Anne go into his room and sarcastically ask him if he's going to be joining the gang
now, maybe even be the new leader, but Denian assures her that's not his thing.
Then Nick suddenly appears in the doorway, glowering at Denian.
We didn't spend the night here, says Denian.
I know that.
I told you to stay out of my business.
Denian explains that the gang needed help.
They came to him and he helped them out.

(20:29):
That's not the point, says Nick.
And then he had to drag her into this.
He slaps Denian and says, "Stand on my business."
Then he slams the door.
He didn't mean that, says Denian.
He didn't mean that.
Denian and Allie, the warlocks await their rivals for the planned rendezvous, but they don't
show.
Reaper and I started impatient and figured that something there isn't right.
Reaper sent his one gang member to the clubhouse to get some guns for them all.

(20:51):
A safe distance away from the warlock clubhouse, Nick and his gang are waiting for the blast.
Harry's got his camera ready to take pictures.
We see the guy that Reaper sent back for guns and to the building, just in time to get
blow it up real good.
Here in the explosion, the warlocks jump into action as Harry snaps pictures nearby.
We run back to see the burning wreckage of their clubhouse.
Reaper is trying to get in, but the flames are too high and it's not really feasible.

(21:15):
Later Harry is meeting with Dezi.
He says he needs cigarettes only.
These ones are special.
Steel butts and they need 15 of them.
When Dezi asks how much money Harry has, he asks to confess that he only has $250.
That's not really a lot.
Starting a gang war, asked Dezi.
He mentions how he would like someone to take care of the warlocks.
Harry pulls on the polar rides he snapped.

(21:35):
Take a look at this.
We blew up their clubhouse.
Dezi flips through the pictures.
You guys did this?
"Yeah, and I'm sorry to hear about your car," says Harry.
"Yes, as Dezi.
You know what I'm going to do?
I'm going to give you a dozen thirty-eighths and a nine-millimeter automatic.
It's a good from Dezi."
Dezi says he likes Harry's style and says maybe Harry can work for him one day.
But Harry, you have to think about that.

(21:56):
So the warlocks are prowling the streets, looking to exact their revenge when they come upon
gear box.
He tries to run, but they catch him and beat him, and then they impale his hands into the
wall.
"Yes, almost biblical."
A crowd quickly gathers.
Harry is there and he tells everyone to stand back.
He whips off his jacket and places over gear box so he doesn't go into shock.
Then Nick and some of the other night crawlers run up, and Nick's mom shows up too.

(22:18):
As do the police with their sirens glaring.
Now it's dark and Nick and his mother are strolling through the park.
The one where Nick's mother used to take him when he was a child.
She wants to know what happened to make Nick how he is today.
It's almost as if she blames him for what happened to gear box.
And she's crying, but Nick reassures her that it was a rival gang's doing not his own.
One day he's going to get her out of this neighborhood, and she won't have to worry about that anymore.

(22:39):
Now we're in the hospital room where gear box is recuperating, and all the night crawlers
have come in to visit him.
Harry tells one of them to watch the door, and he passes out the guns that he's required
amongst the gang members.
In an adjoining room, we could see a warlock is eavesdropping on their conversation.
How we'd never find out.
Nick arrives and pays his respect to gear box, but that medication has kicked in and he's

(22:59):
out.
And we see that the warlock is still listening intently to what the gang is talking
about.
Nick is the one who gets to keep the 9mm gun and announces that in two days they'll get
reaper in his boys.
Alvin and Harry are checking every move they make.
And then the warlock goes out the fire escape to tattle to his boss.
Then Nick goes to spend some time with Donna.
She's angry with him, but his defense is that he's here with her right now and not them,

(23:22):
but she feels he's not talking to her anymore.
She starts to cry.
She's just afraid she says.
There's nothing to be scared of, says Nick.
Then he suggests they go for a ride, so they hail a cabin.
Take it out to the Staten Island ferry.
Take the ferry at night and it seems like now all is well for the two of them.
Nick tells Donna about his gambler father who was killed seven years ago doing something stupid.

(23:43):
Looking at the skyline, Nick says he likes Manhattan.
And once again promises to move out of his neighborhood soon.
Nick says this is their night, the last being implied.
And he wants it to be like it always was with them.
It's now morning and Alvin and Harry are on a reconnaissance mission, sticking out
weeper and the warlocks and getting a feel for their daily routine.
Now we're with Danny and Ann walking down the street.

(24:04):
Then he tells Ann that he got the new job, but he fears that he can't hack it and thinks
that he can hack it because he thought the same thing about their first night together
and not turned out okay.
Ann tells Danny her dreams.
It was to be a psychologist when she grows up.
She loves the idea of getting into people's heads.
Though they're in love and they're checking out a potential apartment where they can live
together with their families, I assume.
They talk to the landlord and she says that they need to give her an answer by tomorrow.

(24:28):
After hearing Alvin are still in that stakeout duty, at the end of the day, they decide that
picking off the warlocks will be simple.
They go off to report to Nick what they found.
On the way, Alvin hears trouble.
It's a warlock and Alvin goes to Karate chop the interloper and then they proceed on their
way to Nick.
Next morning, Nick is waiting for Donna outside.
She arrives and opens with she thinks she's pregnant.

(24:50):
Nick asks her what if he doesn't want to see her again.
Danny tackles her and tells her he has a date that night.
She tells him she's not really pregnant.
They playfully ban her and say a long last goodbye full of plans for a future that spoiler
they'll never have.
Nick tells her that he wants to take her away and she can have a baby and he wants her to
look just like her and she hopes he looks just like him.
They say goodbye and Nick heads off to meet the night crawlers.

(25:12):
And then we're in night crawler headquarters where guns are cocked and plans are finalized.
Danny is riding in a cab with his mother.
She can't believe that Danny is getting his own apartment.
The cab passes the warlocks going down the street and Danny ducks in his seat.
He has the cab changed direction so he can get out and more Nick.
The night crawlers continue to head to the meeting where the warlocks are waiting fully armed.

(25:33):
If they intend to take out Nick, Danny is almost caught up to where Nick and his gang are walking
and shouts out to warn him of the setup ahead.
Nick tells him to go back.
But no sooner does he do that than the shooting starts and soon everyone is getting hit left
right in center.
Nick is shot to the leg but he's still standing.
He shoots ice and reaper.
Someone from a stairwell shoots Nick in the chest as Danny runs up to Nick as he falls

(25:53):
into a pile of trash.
Nick tells his brother he loves him.
The music comes up as credits roll over the scene of dead people lying on garbage bags.
And that's the end.
This is the American International Podcast and we're discussing sunny side from 1979.

(26:14):
In October 11th 1978 article in Variety reported that principal photography was scheduled to
begin October 30th on sunny side.
According to production notes, the men took place to tire the on location in New York City
in Los Angeles.
Capture the authenticity of the story, the filmmakers often shot in crime ridden New York

(26:36):
neighborhoods where they employed extra security and developed a rapport with local youth
in order to safeguard the set.
Specific sites in the Los Angeles area included the West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital,
a bakery in Pasadena California and a steel factory in Torrance, California.
In a November 1st variety article, producer Robert L. Schaffel said that filming was scheduled
for seven weeks with a $2 million budget, which was financed through private backers and

(26:59):
tax shelter funds.
Sunnyside was Joey Chavulta's film debut.
After the casting was announced early in October 1978, Chavulta got a lot of press for joining
his little brother John in the acting biz.
Liz Smith in her column said, "Joey Chavulta will star in one of those so-called street movies
for American International.
Another in the rush of young gangflex.
It's called Sunnyside."

(27:19):
Scott Keynes, November 1978 column wrote that, "John Chavulta's older brother Joey starts
work this week on Sunnyside, a modern day drama.
Since John's first movies have done substantially more than $200 million at the box office, a producer
must have deduced that he can't go far wrong with Joey."
In Elaine Mercuzzi's column published in November 1978, Joey "bristeled when he read Time

(27:41):
Magazine's report that John had greased Joey's initiation to Thinseltown by dishing out $5,000
and the promise of a screen test."
Chavulta said, "That was total bullshit.
I wouldn't want that support right now.
I'd never taken anything that way.
I wouldn't.
When I get something, I work hard for it."
Ernest Scott wrote in his May 16, 1979 column that, "Joey doesn't believe he is capitalizing

(28:03):
on his brother's fame.
The same may not be said for the producers of Sunnyside who gave their relatively unknown
Joey top billing over John Lansing and Stacey Pickeren."
In the same column, Joey Chavulta said that his 66-year-old father Sam was making his
film debut in Sunnyside too.
And though he had no lines in that movie, Chavulta promised in my next picture, he will.
In a syndicated column by Dorothy Trilor published in November 1978, Chavulta said he turned down

(28:27):
a television role to appear in Sunnyside.
The series Chavulta said was more his brother John Stylan said, "I'm not going to be a rip
off for anybody."
Chavulta told Chavulta columnist Douglas Thompson that he had a deal for a movie based on his
own story called Steel Away, based on his dual career as a singer/teacher.
Before he got into acting, Chavulta taught special ed students in Rockland County for three years.

(28:49):
About Sunnyside, he said, "I can identify with much of it.
I taught kids and people who were involved in gangs.
I grew up in that kind of situation so I feel comfortable in the role."
Chavulta also said he was in talks with Warner Bros. to produce a second script called
"The Friend You Leave Behind."
But neither that nor Steel Away was ever produced.
Marilyn Beck's Hollywood column, published in January 1979, said Joey Chavulta reported

(29:11):
to her that a truck bearing the film and other essential equipment broke down 300 miles
south of San Francisco.
And producer Robert Chavulta had to have the vehicle towed all the way to San Francisco
where some filming took place for a whopping feed.
When I was looking it up, this was in a contemporary news article.
Even though other contemporary news articles did not mention San Francisco as a shooting site.

(29:32):
So that discrepancy is there and I can't resolve it.
Harry Hahn, writing for Liz Smith's column, reported in January of 1979 that Joan Darling,
known as the director for the television show Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,
"Just finished playing Joey Chavulta's mother in his first film, Sunnyside.
And she's telling most of LA that he'll be a bigger star than Brother John."
Sunnyside was released on June 1st, 1979.

(29:54):
It's greed at the Embassy 2 theater in New York City on opening day.
Joey Chavulta was sent on a 75-city tour to promote the film.
While in Atlanta, he told Scott Kane at the Atlanta Journal that he met with a famous fan in
Los Angeles while filming Sunnyside.
It was Lily and Carter, mother of then-president Jimmy Carter.
Mrs. Carter was on the Merve Griffin show and was asked by Merve,

(30:15):
which celebrities she'd most like to have dinner with.
She had just seen Joey on television and decided that he was her favorite.
Some were set up a dinner date for the two of them at Mamezhan in Los Angeles.
And apparently it was a big success.
Highlights for Sunnyside include,
New York City 1979, every jungle needs a king.
Joey Chavulta is tough, is tender, is terrific in Sunnyside.

(30:37):
Sunnyside was released during a year in which the trend of game-related films made headlines,
following violent incidents at theaters showing the warriors and boulevard nights.
In comparison, the innocently titled Sunnyside received hardly any press for being a full-blown
game picture as described by the June 6th 1979 variety review.
The New York Daily News published a story on the film's opening day,

(30:57):
reporting on how members of the Sunnyside Neighborhoods community planning board two
planned to pick up that day at two movie houses and queens and at some others elsewhere.
The group planned to urge moviegoers to boycott the film as a quote,
"Slander against the people of Sunnyside."
And contacted movie reviewers urging them to tour the real Sunnyside neighborhood before writing about the film.
According to the article, the film depicts mean streets of low-income tenements gangs and hopeless kids,

(31:23):
according to the producers.
And that, according to Karen Berger Morello, chairman of the Sunnyside Community Board is beyond belief.
Sunnyside is a decent, middle-class community with lots of trees, she declared angrily.
We hope the movie just goes away. The article said the producers chose the name of their community
to juxtapose the upbeat name with the urban despair depicted in the movie.
Kind of funny that her name is Karen. Walter McCaffrey, vice chairman of the community board,

(31:46):
said that the board was looking to take legal action somehow. They quoted him saying,
"This is not an individual being maligned. It's a neighborhood, and it is difficult to find a legal
hook to hang on," he said. But I'll tell you, I am not going to plunk down four dollars to see it.
In Janet Maslin's New York Times review, she wrote that, yesterday's first show at the
Embassy to Theater, the house had been taken over by a gang of kids who consumed a fifth of something

(32:09):
or other, slam seats around, made a wide range of grunting noises and scream cat calls at the movie.
Sex scenes made them particularly noisy, scenes at which gangs drew up war plans on the other hand
held their wrapped attention. The theater's management made only half-hearted efforts to keep
the movie audible in a situation under control.
About the film itself, Maslin wrote, "Joy to Volta has the family smile, the family walk,

(32:31):
the family haircut, and the family dairy air. He may also have some portion of the family acting
talent, but a movie like Sunnyside designed almost entirely to capitalize on Mr. Tavolt's resemblance
to his brother, makes it hard to hazard a guess. He's a lot more appealing than his surroundings,
but these are so dismal that almost anything would look bright by comparison."
A brief review in the Cleveland plane dealer said, "Joy to Volta's screen debut is a

(32:54):
triumph for the unintelligible mumble, but in all else the story of gang rivalry in New York is a
disaster. We did art for bad language, the only words really understandable."
Jill Baltaki, writing for the Philadelphia Daily News, called Sunnyside, "An unassuming,
unpretentious, laid-back little melodrama about gang life and family life, nothing special,
but the performances are especially affecting a naturalistic. Tavolt, in particular, turns in and

(33:18):
appealing assured, nice guy performance." Bill Wein in the Camden New Jersey career post called
Sunnyside, "A pleasant surprise. Rarely have the warning signs for exploitation been more
prominently displayed in advance than were those of Sunnyside. Here was a movie for the youth market,
sort of a cross between Saturday Night Fever and the Warriors, during John Travolta's look-alike
brother. It was a sure signal to lower one's expectations, to expect a cynical project,

(33:42):
when packaged to exploit an undiscriminating audience enamored of anything or anyone who could
capture visions of teen Isle John Travolta. From such lowered expectations, because of them perhaps,
due pleasant surprises bring forth. Wein said while Sunnyside was no work of art,
it was respectable, serious-minded, and moderately entertaining. And said Travolta had charm, talent,
and a winning presence."

(34:03):
So, Cheryl, I know Sunnyside came out in 1979, and I'm not sure the exact timeline,
but this would be around the time when film ways was taking over. I don't think that was complete
yet. I think this is full-on American international pictures still at this point.

(34:24):
No, so we can't blame the Sun anyone else. I think that's what you're getting at, right? I think this
is the first time we've seen Samuel Arkoff's son's name come up in a contemporary American
International Pictures movie. He did work on some of their later projects after film ways
had already taken over. Yeah, I do believe this is the first one we would see his name later when
we go into the Rebel Highway series. In terms of what we've seen for the podcast,

(34:47):
it's the first time his name's come up for us. Well, not exactly because he did appear as a dancer
in Shake, Rattlin, Rock. Well, I was thinking more of his role as a producer, not an extra.
I thought you're going to ask me how I felt about this movie. I was all set to render a judgment already.
I don't have a whole lot to say about this movie, honestly. I don't have a lot to say either. I had

(35:07):
absolutely no notes. I have concepts of notes. Well, let's hear them. This movie feels really long.
The violence is brutish. The drama is muckish. It's got nothing I want in a movie. The sex scenes,
well, the sex scene, I guess there's just really one of them, was gross. The characters are unlikable
or you don't know them well enough to like them. Honestly, I feel like I like to Reaper better than

(35:32):
anybody else in this movie. And he was a terrible character. I agree. I think Reaper is the most fun
to watch of anybody in this film. He's got a unique look. He carries a cane around with him. He
doesn't use it. He just likes to hold it. He's got a portrait of himself holding his cane in his bedroom
where he has sex while his dad's having Bible study outside. Honestly, if this movie had been about him,
I think it might have been a better project. This movie almost had me at the beginning when it seemed

(35:57):
like it was going to be this gang taking it out the carnival. I thought, okay, this is something I can
get behind. Yeah, I mean, who hasn't been ripped off by a carny? Although, I thought that was hilarious
that this is not something that you're supposed to engage in violence over. That's just what happens
when you go there. Everybody knows that except Joey Travolta's character who apparently is not

(36:18):
that bright. I don't get the impression that anybody's too clever in this movie. Maybe Denny's got
something on the ball who's graffiti got him a job at an ad agency after all. I think that was a flu
because Denny doesn't seem that bright either. Oh, he doesn't. I mean, it was kind of a idiot in this
movie. And it's just hard to like anyone. I kind of liked Ann and Denny together. It came out of nowhere.

(36:40):
Two of them hooking up like that and then becoming a couple right away. Who cares? I don't care.
Not really hard to care about much of anything in this film. No. And as you proceed toward the ending,
and you know what's going to happen to Nick at the end, I was impatient for it to actually happen
when we were watching it. We don't give you an idea how long the final scene between Donna and
Nick actually is. They roll around in the grass. They plan for their future, which you know is not going

(37:05):
to happen. We know it's not going to happen. They apparently believe it will. Is there not that bright?
But we know what's going to happen in the next scene. Everyone's going to get massacred. They make
their sappy plans for the future. He goes to leave and she makes some stop like three times. Hey,
Nikki. Hey, Nikki. What? What? What? And she has to give him one more message. Just him or
home the fact that they're never going to see each other alive again. And I was just shouting at the

(37:29):
screen for him to just go already. It's irritating. Their love is irritating. It might have been a
blessing, but it seemed to strange choice anyway to have that final massacred go as quickly as it did.
Oh, yeah. Bam, bam, bam. It was done. It was probably very realistic in that regard. Oh, yeah.
I'm sure. Well, I don't know. It wasn't very filmic. It was like I said, British violence. It

(37:50):
happens quickly. People die. It's ugly. They're lying on trash bags and an alley. This movie is so
ugly. Apparently the real sunny side neighborhood in Queens is much nicer, but they couldn't show that.
They had to have the ghetto look. They have trees. I hear. Yeah, there weren't any trees in this movie.
Well, maybe in that park scene, there were some trees. But yeah, this movie just doesn't offer

(38:11):
anything for a viewer to enjoy unless you just want to see what's the deal with this joy,
travel to guy anyway. You've seen Greece. You've seen Irwin Cowboy. You've seen Saturday night
fever. What's his brother like? Well, this is what he's like and frankly, it's not that impressive.
No offense, Joey, if you're listening, but this wasn't the movie for you. He's kind of old to
be doing this part. Yeah. Joey, Travolta, was 27 at the time he was making this movie. So you think

(38:36):
he'd kind of have his shit together by now. But no, he's just gang banging. Nick is a pig headed
idiot too. There wasn't really a lot of familiar faces here. We had almost John Travolta's face.
Yeah, sometimes it looked like him and sometimes it didn't look anything like him. Usually it sounded
like him. Yeah, it does sound like him. Maybe I mentioned that Jonathan Grease appeared as wild

(38:56):
child. Yeah, but I would never have pegged him as Uncle Rico. He looks the same except he didn't
have that mustache. Oh, he's younger. Well, he's a lot younger. I recognize Eric and Lenoville. I
think that's how you say it. He was in St. Elsewhere and I watched that series when it was on. And he's
the guy with the stammer. He plays Gearbox here. And Billy Jacoby who plays the kid Billy was a child

(39:18):
actor in a lot of things. He was Parker Lewis's friend and Parker Lewis can't lose. He goes by the name
Billy Jay now apparently. Jay, a Y and E, but he went by Jacoby for a very long time. Michael T Williams
is in this. Although I can't remember who he played. Not one of the guys that has any lines. Basically,
he's just a gang member, but he would go on to be in a lot better productions than this. I think I know

(39:38):
who he was in the movie. He was a night crawler. This movie reminds me of a much better movie that came
out around the same time we mentioned earlier called the Warriors. That's a really good movie. That movie
is very compelling. The characters are people that you care about. It's about a bunch of rival gangs
and one of them gets unfairly pegged for a murder and they have to make their way back to their own

(39:59):
burrow alive. And I watched that recently. That movie is a lot of fun. I also watched it back around
the time when it came out maybe later. But you missed this one, huh? Yeah, I missed this one.
But yeah, the Warriors is really good and this one isn't. That's all I can say. Yeah, I'm not sure
what the point of this movie really was. I mean, other than a vehicle for Joey Chavolta. Yeah, if it

(40:21):
has a moral, it's don't be in a gang idiot, that's the only thing that you can really take away from it.
I'm just trying to figure out what was the motivation for A.I.P. to even make this film? Was it just because
we have a chance to put Joey Chavolta, Judge of Volta's brother in a movie? So let's just do this and
throw it out there because they didn't really care what they threw out as long as it was going to bring
in money. Yeah, and I couldn't find out if this actually made any money, but honestly, what other

(40:46):
motivation could they possibly have had? This movie has nothing going for it. It didn't seem like it
would have had a two million dollar investment. It has a really large cast and those people had to be
paid. True. And they did get that equipment stuck and they had to pay to have that towed somewhere.
Sure, that was pricey. I don't even know what to say. I would never make this movie. I would have been

(41:07):
okay if AIP had never released this movie and I never had to watch it. Yeah, we've been dreading
this one for a while. We have our movies picked out through the end of the year right now.
And we knew this was coming and we made our way through it. We're almost done with it now.
And that's the best I can say about it. We almost don't have to ever talk about it again.
If it was only a gang versus the carnival, it would be something worth watching. Yeah, I can see

(41:30):
that. I don't know. They may be a germ of a good story here, but I can't identify it.
You need to be invested in at least one of the characters. And the villain of the story, Eddie
Reaper, is the most interesting. Which isn't unusual. The villains usually are. Right.
I would say that second might be Reggie just because he kind of stands out because he's so dumb.
He feels like the gang's mascot more than a member. Right. But they did give him a gun. So,

(41:56):
I don't know. They don't treat him any differently than they treat everybody else. He has important jobs
that he has to carry out. He's counting cigarettes, taking deliveries from gangsters. He's the only one
in the clubhouse when they know that trouble is all around. They didn't do a very good job of
taking care of him. As many people are in that gang, they could have doubled up that night or tripled up.

(42:17):
He didn't have to be there all by himself. I guess celebrating Nick's mom's birthday was more
important than keeping Reggie alive. So, I don't think it's gonna be a big surprise, but why don't you
give her waiting to Sunnyside using our AIP scale where ‘A' is awesome. ‘I' is intermediate and 'P' is
pathetic. 'P,' there's not a lot to say. I can't think of one good thing about this movie. Usually,
I can find something about it. The music was terrible. It was grimy and dreary looking. The acting is

(42:41):
not great. The characters don't care. Couldn't wait for them to die. And my only pleasure was
in seeing the end credits role so that we could be done with it. P pathetic. What do you think?
I'm gonna give it a 'P' for painful. This is not a fun movie at all. I did not enjoy it. I was
optimistic that there might be something in here worth watching. And if that carnival thing had

(43:05):
happened, I was okay. I can get behind this. This might be good, but that was just something to move
the plot forward a little bit and it didn't even matter at the end. And that was the most interesting
part. It was when Nick got the map on the floor and it's putting everything out and said, okay,
this is how we're gonna take out the carnival. But then they just took out the carnival and
never went back there. Well, I think the carnival learned his lesson. So they lost me after that.

(43:27):
So yeah, this movie is a P. And that's too bad because we wasted a lot of precious time on this.
They wasted a lot of money on this. I don't think this movie did that great. The box office,
Joey Trevolta's career didn't take off. Like John Trevolta's did. You know, John Travolta's
still out there making movies not all good, but he's still working. And Joey Travolta is still working,
but he's not doing blockbusters. So yeah, so unless you have a need to see Joey Trevolta in his prime,

(43:52):
I really can't recommend this film. He doesn't even sing. He was only a singer before he got this job.
And no, he's an actor singer. But yeah, don't bother. What you can bother with, though, is checking out
our website, aippod.com. We have information on all the movies we've ever covered, links to the episodes,
trailers, lobby cards, posters, interesting facts. How you can see these movies yourself if you want to.

(44:15):
I don't recommend you find Sunnyside, but there might be other movies you want to check out,
and we give you a clue on how to find them. If they're findable, that's aippod.com.
I think that's enough of trying to make light of Sunnyside for the American International
podcast. I'm Jeff Markin, and I'm Cheryl Lightfoot. And we'll meet you at the drive-in.
Follow the American International podcast on Instagram and Letterbox @aip_pod and on Facebook

(44:39):
at facebook.com/americaninternationalpodcast
The American International Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Markin,
a man whose mind is distorted by hatred, and Cheryl Lightfoot.
A girl hungry for too many things.
The American International Podcast is part of the Pop Culture Entertainment Network.

(45:10):
[MUSIC]