Kesse Bienen auf der Matte

This is a film about a girl wrestling team and their manager (played by Vicki Frederick, Laureen Landon and Peter Falk) on a tour across the middle west of America. It was the last film directed by Robert Aldrich and was an independent production that he is said to have financed himself. Released through MGM, it had a disappointing run but is still quite highly regarded by many viewers, probably because the direction, camera work and acting were all significantly above average. Its limited success probably resulted chiefly from the very limited interest most potential viewers have in female wrestling as either entertainment or sport. This was compounded by a serious dichotomy between the actual wrestling sequences and those showing the team on the road. Watching it is like simultaneously watching two very different films cut up into sizeable chunks that have been mixed together almost indiscriminately. Films of this type are often released in several different versions, each designed to have greater appeal to one specific group of potential viewers. This makes them difficult to comment on, as comments written for one version may not be applicable to another. This appears to be the case here The original release "......all the Marbles" was renamed "The California Dolls" for release in the U.K., and a second release in the U.S.A. also used this alternative title. I saw the U.K. version, and so my comments may not be applicable to either of those released in North America. Where does one go from here? Clearly such a film can be reviewed at several different levels depending upon the viewers interests. Equally clearly this has already been brought out in the comments already submitted about this film. Potential backers of films of this type have great difficulty deciding whether there will be an adequate market, even when the film-script under consideration is of exceptional quality; and it may be even more difficult to decide to which market group the films should be primarily directed. In reviewing it, rather than limiting my comments to one such group, I would prefer to look briefly at how it might be expected to appeal to several different groups of viewers.

I am among the viewers for whom the greatest appeal was the remarkably convincing performance of Peter Falk (whose work has mainly been for TV, and who is probably best known for playing the detective Columbo) as the manager of the small touring team. He was perfect as an experienced and wily, but very seedy, small scale business manager who has seen it all. Once could sense that life had continually been knocking him down, but that he had long ago mastered the art of picking himself up again and carrying on exactly as before. Top marks for this.

Another group of viewers would be more attracted by the realistic portrayal of the life style experienced by any independent group operating on the fringes of the entertainment industry, and continually on the move between a series of one night stands. This is an interesting lifestyle with which most of us are not familiar, and it was very convincingly portrayed here.

A third group will be those who rate female wrestling as a significant spectator sport and who want to watch this film primarily for the ring sequences. I believe these individuals should be very happy with what this film provides. However, after watching even one of the brutal wrestling sequences, other viewers will be left wondering why such attractive girls did not try to get Uncle Hef to picture them in his magazine wearing nothing but a pair of rabbit's ears, so that they could sign up with a Hollywood model agency and earn a few bucks by modelling (acting?) in films for Andy Sidaris, instead of through a life in the wrestling ring.

This brings us to the final group of viewers I will consider - those who enjoy a T&A film for its own sake. Both 'ccthemovieman-1' (in comments already on this database) and other non-IMDb sources refer to copious nudity in the original release of this film. I cannot comment on this as the version I saw was stripped of every vestige of toplessness (presumably because of concerns that such sequences might antagonise some viewers). Even during the mud wrestling sequences none of the contestants became topless for an instant (something I have always understood to be contrary to the whole 'philosophy' of mud wrestling). This confirms my earlier point that there are often several different versions of a film of this type put together in the editing room. If a DVD release is being considered MGM would have to decide which of them is most likely to be a commercial success.

My suggestion is therefore that MGM should consider issuing a double sided DVD, one side with a copy of ".... all the marbles" edited to maximise its appeal to both the latter groups above, and the other side with the alternate version "The California Dolls" edited to maximise its appeal to the first two groups above. This would also help to minimise the problem of the mixture of two different stories. The first version would concentrate on all the ring sequences, plus any others which showed the girls topless, and would include minimal linking sequences. I believe this version could have a wide appeal. It takes more than a few topless scenes to sell a T&A DVD today; but we have here two very attractive cast members who, quite unusually, are also very competent actresses. Those primarily interested in the topless sequences would probably also enjoy the wrestling (or cat-fighting as some of the comments have called it), so on balance this version should have a strong appeal. In the second version the fight scenes would be substantially cut in duration to allow the disk's many other purchasers a greater appreciation of the fascinating character studies provided by this movie.

A strange underrated film. brilliant acting and wonderful fight sequences. The film lives in a curious world of endless motel rooms, dislocation and transit (Harry's grubby car/opera soundtrack ...) A curious feature is also that we are asked to believe that pro tag wrestling is "for real." the photography throughout is excellent and the performances are very strong (Falk is superb!)another wonderful, tantalising element is the scant detail we are given of the central characters. Molly = "junkie" ex secretary, Iris = ex lover of Harry, and Harry himself = opera loving ex teacher. the tone of the film is of these (and other) exploited girls, literally fighting for a better life, on the "eternal road" both strong, but a million miles from "independent". occasional comic moments, and moments which bring enormous sympathy and empathy. a classic film. and sadly, I believe, Aldrich's last.

P Hancock. Kent, UK

For a movie about lady wrestlers, this was fairly realistic. Aside from treating pro wrestling as real competition, the movie captures the life of wrestlers on the road quite well. Women's wrestling never had it's own territory, so the performers were always traveling to their next match. The promoters controlled the payoff and moving up the card often meant getting in good with the promoter. Performers worked through injuries and had no health benefits. It was a tough life, but most loved it.

The actors are great and the story has a good framework. Peter Falk is the definite standout, but the two ladies acquit themselves quite well. The wrestling sequences are well staged and blow away anything booked by the WWE. The most far-fetched idea is women's wrestling headlining a big card in Las Vegas, with tv coverage. Well, it is a movie. It's also the best movie ever made about pro wrestling, all though that's not saying much.

It's been said that this movie inspired the GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) promotion and tv show. If true, they should have watched the movie more closely, as it was better than anything they presented.

The movie has its flaws, but it's still entertaining, and the final match will have you on the edge of your seat.

I have always been a Burt Young fan and to see this film was definitely a treat. I always knew wrestling was a show and not a real sport although the athletes themselves are really taking the bumps and it does take a lot of ability to pull off the moves. I was extremely annoyed when wrestling became a "sports entertainment", because it is more bullshitting than wrestling now a days. I for one applaud movies like the original Wrestler with Ed Asner and Body Slam as they kept the secret of wrestling well hidden. The tongue and cheek way I watched it growing up illustrated the fact that no one could really do that 360 days a year and survive. I especially enjoyed this film because of its plot. A tag team wrestles their way to the top and will do almost anything to get a shot at the title. Burt Young plays a great heal in the film and you genuinely despise him as the film goes on. Peter Falk is his usual charming fatherly type and this film didn't feel staged. I am not familiar with either actress that played the California Dolls so for the first film I have seen them in they did an astounding job. I felt it was more realistic then 1974's The Wrestler which was more of a B rated film. I think that any wrestling fan that longs for the old days of pro wrestling will really enjoy this film. For the new agers who like all the sex and story lines that ruined the old school programs there is enough eye candy to keep you entertained....

All the Marbles is a movie about a wrestling team called California Dolls.There are two women in the team and a guy called Harry is the manager.Peter Falk, who is mostly remembered from the role of Columbo, plays Harry in All the Marbles, and he does a great job in it.Harry travels all around the country with the girls looking for fights.The girls even go mud wrestling once, but they don't like it that much.Then in the end the girls fight for the championship.That's great to watch. All the Marbles is great.