The Unholy Rollers

This was an attempt by American-International Pictures to cash in on the publicity for the highly publicized KANSAS CITY BOMBER, also released in 1972. Actually, it's more like Roger Corman's attempt to do so, because while A.I.P. footed the bill, it was a Corman show all the way (even though he had already started his own movie company/distribution outfit, New World Pictures, two years earlier.) In fact, it has the same look and sparse production values as New World movies of the earlier '70s, making you wonder if A.I.P. gave Corman little to spend, or if Corman pocketed a lot of the budget.

Whatever the case, the end result is pretty boring to sit though, despite the showcased sport (roller derby) and the presence of B movie queen Claudia Jennings. The first few minutes aren't bad, promising an energetic and wacky look at the behind-the-scenes of roller derby, but then the movie suddenly takes a turn to the deadly serious. Sure, there are catfights, nudity, and clobberings on the roller ring, but there's no feeling of fun to it all. Actually, much of the movie focuses on boring bickering and chattering between the characters. To make matters worse, the print of the movie currently playing on cable eliminates the original music score and substitutes bland muzak that results in the viewing experience becoming more of a slog to get through.

From the dank sub-sub-basement of athletic entertainment, somewhere beneath 1970's "Big Time Wrestling", came the sweaty phenomenon known as "Roller Derby". Combining elements from wrestling, roller skating, and Australian football, this "sport" barely made a blip on the radar screen of life.

However, it did have its own particular audience, including a 9 year old yours truly, tuning in every Saturday night to watch these raucous rollers' riotous escapades! Especially entertaining were the females of the game, as their violent behavior was quite shocking for the era.

In 1972, ever vigilant for the next $1.98 exploitation vehicle, Producer Roger Corman made THE UNHOLY ROLLERS for the hordes of drive-in devotees.

Starring the unbelievably-hot Claudia Jennings as Karen Walker, ROLLERS excels at recreating the cheeeze-tinged, white trash goodness of actual derby competition.

When Karen quits her job at a cat food factory and tries out for The Avengers RD team, she's accepted immediately. Horrible rock and roll music, nudity, and mayhem ensue.

It's important to keep in mind that this movie is not a Greek tragedy. So, don't go into it looking for anything other than painful dialogue, heinous acting, and general idiocy.

Claudia Jennings fans fear not, for she's in almost every scene!

While nowhere near as exciting as ROLLERBALL, nor as dramatic as THE KANSAS CITY BOMBER, this movie does capture the low-rent spectacle in all of its half-wit glory.

Be sure to remain seated for the smash-bang-boom of the "wild in the streets" finale...

It's a shame that Claudia Jennings, Playboy playmate of the year, died at age 29 from a traffic accident, and made a series of low budget, forgettable films. Many of these films still appear on TV from time to time, but not Unholy Rollers, her best film. Another shame. Unholy Rollers is about Claudia joining a roller derby troupe and because of her personality and strikingly good looks, never being accepted into the group. The film is low budget all the way. Probably did well at drive-ins and rural markets, but got swamped by Kansas City Bomber released the same year. I never cared for the roller derby, it's quite stupid, but this "inside story" is quite decent. Just don't expect to find it.

Unholy Rollers is AIP cinema verite, a true American film classic that peels the facade away from the cult of sports celebrity. Claudia Jennings is outstanding as the roller queen whose place on the pedestal is about to be taken by the next one in line. She plays the role with utter conviction, and the film's low budget limitations lend added authenticity to its depiction of this seedy American pastime.

Respectfully disagree with the previous reviewer, pmtelefon, who says this film "runs out of gas" in the last half hour. Sorry, but in my opinion it never runs into gas. Scenes that should have an impact...the conflict between Karen and Mickey, Karen's troubled relationship with a male skater, her visit to her mom, her best friend choosing not to live with her, and the final denouement where she cracks up...fail to deliver on any emotional level due to the general lack of acting, writing, and directorial ability. So what we're left with is Claudia Jennings' bod, which is sexy as hell, a well depicted atmosphere of working class raunchiness that is as essential to roller derby as the smell of hot dogs are to baseball and a few laughs. Give it a C.