Kansas City Bomber

Let me get this out of the way, not only was I a huge roller derby fan, Raquel Welch was my first pubescent crush. I was only six at the time this film was released and I every Saturday afternoon I would sit glued to the set watching my favorite team, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds do battle every week with their rivals. Now when I heard that there was a movie about the roller derby coming out, I was extremely excited. Also, when I saw Raquel Welch on the cover of Life Magazine, I really got excited. However, I had to wait a few years to see this movie on television and when I did, I couldn't see what I made a fuss about. Sure, Ms. Welch was hot in this film and the skating sequences were excellent, but as far as the story goes, you can have it. The story was nothing but pure soap opera. The only thing I really enjoyed about this film was Norman Alden's performance as the aging roller derby star who acted as sort of a big brother to K.C.. Other than that and the skating sequences, this movie fell flat. However, if you want to see what made roller derby big in the 1970's, this film is for you.

Much like pro-wrestling, roller derby was pure entertainment. Fake. A put on, really. But nothing about Raquel Welch was fraudulent. At the time this movie was made, she was thirty-two and prime choice. Her role (roller derby siren) is athletic, sexy, dramatic, physical, and smashes, forever, the starlet mold she had been frozen in for years. Never again would she achieve such a perfect mix in the acting arena. She has a great introduction: we see only her lower body (legs and skates) moving through darkness, as Don Ellis' rousing score penetrates the blackness. She has an entrance even an emperor would give thumbs up to. I like how she turns (briefly) the wrong way during the National Anthem. Your other left, Raquel. Cute. Jodie Forster plays her hero-worshiping daughter with a heavy dose of arsenic. Kevin McCarthy is the devious, unethical owner of the roller derby club. Raquel's fellow skaters, especially Hellena Kallianiotas and Norman Alden, give excellent support. I believe that Miss Kallianiotes inhabits one of the most depressing characters ever seen in a sports film. She is a loner. And she drinks bourbon from a brown paper bag--all the while alienating fans, teammates, and ownership. The film's cameraman performs magic with his gorgeous on location shooting in Portland. Also, there are some very unusual and lengthy tracking shots at a marina and through a hotel. Fantastic. Watch for the freeze-frame shot at the conclusion of the movie. It foreshadows James Caan's iconic pose in the upcoming Rollerball. Both films visualize an out of control society: where rules and fair play don't exist. I like how McCarthy's character barges into the ladies locker room, helps himself to a drink, and makes himself at home with his half-dressed female skaters. Later, he lets slip a business confession: "Everyone is bought and sold--including you and me." Telling.

Raquel Welch broke her wrist doing some of her own stunts, in this movie where action is all-important, and plot non-existent. In 1972, by her own admission, Raquel Welch was a sex goddess who hasn't turned serious actress -- and "Kansas City Bomber" changed nothing. Raquel said in an interview at the time, that when she was growing up in La Jolla, CA, she would sometimes strap on a pair of skates and clank all the way from her porch to her garage and back. When she was 7, she put the skates away and didn't skate again until a year ago when she began readying herself for "Kansas City Bomber." Raquel reported to a banked oval track built for her on a Hollywood lot, where she skated 5 hours a day for 3 months. Her tutor was famous skater Paul Rupert who skated along beside her, coaching her and teaching her the basics of 5 strides on the banked track, how to take falls (fall backwards -- if you fall forwards you could break a wrist), and everything else she needed to know.

There is almost no time for any love interest in this movie, what with the all the Roller Games and bruising grudge matches. Whatever its dramatic shortcomings, and there are many, "Kansas City Bomber" does offer Raquel looking good even in pads, some authentically seedy roller skating locales, and real heroes and villains of the banked track. Sharp-eyed fans will recognize real-life Roller Games players from the L.A. Thunderbirds: tall John Hall, and big blocker Danny "Carrot Top" Reilly; the games announcer even mentions the names of top jammer Ralphie Valladares, and Ronnie "Psycho" Rains (with a beard), and "Little" Richard Brown -- who is still skating (now in Roller Jam) almost 30 years later! The game they play is some hybrid of Roller Derby and Roller Games that does not exist in real life. It lends a surreal atmosphere which is appropriate. Raquel's nemesis on the banked track is Helena Kallianiotes, a Belly Dancer in "Head" (1968). Try suspension of disbelief, and you will enjoy this movie forever ("and forever is a long, long time!")

Renowned sex symbol Raquel Welch is front and centre as Diane "K.C." Carr, a reigning roller derby star who is obliged to leave town early in the tale. She signs up to play for leering team owner Burt Henry (Kevin McCarthy), the kind of guy who ultimately does what's good for business. She must overcome the vindictiveness of another player, Jackie Burdette (Helena Kallianiotes), who'd previously been the big cheese of the team, and fend off advances from horny pig teammates. In the meantime, single mother K.C. ends up with little time for her two kids (the daughter is played by Jodie Foster, in one of her earliest roles).

The script here is just okay, but at least it manages to entertain, and create a key emotional moment for teammate Horrible Hank Hopkins (character actor Norman Alden, giving the movies' standout performance). What is striking is the way that this fad of the 70s has definite similarities to pro wrestling: the colourful personalities, the bone-crunching brutality, the circus-like nature of the sport, life on the road, and the frequent smack-talking. This helps the picture to at least be a reasonably good artifact of time and place, if not a great film. The action on the track is pretty damn amusing, and adding a degree of authenticity is the presence of real-life roller derby players of the period. Decent location shooting in Kansas City, Fresno, and Portland is an asset.

Raquel is very appealing and also quite convincing in a very physical role, giving as good as she gets. McCarthy is fine as the unlikely romantic partner for her. Kallianiotes is one of those antagonists whom you do come to understand and sympathize with, to some degree. Jeanne Cooper, Katherine Pass, Cornelia Sharpe, William Gray Espy, Richard Lane, and Russ Marin round out a solid supporting cast. If you're watching it for Jodie, be advised that her role is actually quite minor.

Overall, a watchable picture, certain to appeal to fans of Raquel and roller derby in general.

Seven out of 10.

Raquel Welch had for a long time been noted for her physical attributes, but Kansas City Bomber plays this down, and focuses on her acting skills and character portrayal. Welch plays KC Carr, top roller derby skater, who is following her own career and dreams, but is also tormented about spending more time with her two kids. Carr is traded to the Portland team, through manipulation by the team's owner, Burt Henry (Kevin McCarthy). Henry thinks of his players as little more than trade-able commodities, and sees Carr as not only the top skater on his team, but also as a romantic interest. Carr goes along with Henry's romantic attention, which causes friction among the other players on the team.

For those unfamiliar with the sport, roller derby was popular in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, featuring teams with men's and women's units. The fastest skater (wearing the designated helmet) scores points by passing opposing players on the track. The opposing team, of course, tries to prevent this from happening, usually having a big thug in the back of the pack, to inflict mayhem on the skater. The sport had some athletic skills, but was mostly showboating, like WWF. The fans were mostly retirees and blue-collar people. This film captures the atmosphere at these events perfectly.

KC also has to deal with Jackie Burdette (Helena Kallianotes), the other top skater on the team, who dislikes KC as a rival. Norman Alden plays Horrible Hank Hopkins well. Hank is the big anchor guy on the team, who befriends KC, although he is a bit simple, and the other players have little respect for him. KC's mother, played by Martine Bartlett, constantly rags on KC about not spending enough time with her two children (one of whom is played by Jodie Foster, in her screen debut).

I've seen several Raquel Welch movies, but this one is definitely my favorite.