California Dolls

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

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....

This film will be dismissed by most viewers much like I dismiss hip hop music. With the recent revival of pro wrestling, it is a shame that this film stays buried in the MGM/UA film library. All the Marbles, is the story of the California Dolls, 2 very attractive lady wrestlers seeking wrestling work and fame in seedy blue collar cities and towns of Mid America. Their manager is Peter Falk. They hope to leverage their good looks and athletic talents into the major league of pro wrestling. This film had a first rate director, capable cast, and was well written. It was a shame that it failed at the box office. While lady wrestling is not currently mainstream, things are changing, women can be stronger and better trained and more and more people are watching wrestling. Weekly pro wrestling attracts more TV viewers than weekly baseball. Hey MGM, how 'bout putting All the Marbles back on TV.

Three dots following a sentence usually means... there's more to come... And when the opposite occurs, and the dots proceed the sentence or title, that's pretty much that...

Which sums up the 1981 Peter Falk road movie ...ALL THE MARBLES in which the quirky COLUMBO actor plays Harry, the lowlife manager of a female tag-team wrestling troupe going city to city...

And from the very beginning it feels like we're heading towards a concussion since the ladies are already at the end of their professional ropes: So those dots represent all the work we didn't see, and they really want those marbles, already...

They referring to sexy and voluptuous jocks Iris and Molly, played by brunette Vicki Frederick and blond Laurene Landon, both sick and tired of the nowhere grungy gigs that Harry, in debt with several bookies, keeps tossing them into. Dive arenas (and one mud wrestling carnival) hardly provide enough bread to keep the trio active, stopping at cheap motels with nothing left over for a fancy dinner, which Harry keeps promising...

Other than being a lightweight exploitation replacing the popular roller derby genre with wrestling, ALL THE MARBLES is a showcase for the two Amazon beauties yet also highlights the legitimate acting skills of the more prominent Iris.

In this semi love interest role, much of the plot evolves around Vicki Frederick's character reluctantly staying on board while, deep down, she's madly in love with her endearingly seedy manager. In that particular aspect, Peter Falk, despite being a fantastic actor, is miscast in a role more suited for a younger Henry Winkler or John Ritter type.

Directed by DIRTY DOZEN and KISS ME DEADLY veteran Robert Aldrich, MARBLES is a fairly decent road picture. A number of scenes are shot through a dilapidated car's murky windshield, passing through a melancholy industrial landscape as the trio discuss their next gig, ultimately pitted against a pair of equally talented wrestlers, backed by a mafia wreck played by Burt Young and his bulky henchman Lenny Montana, best known as Luca Brasi from THE GODFATHER.

Meanwhile, Aldrich seems more comfortable with Falk's road-roaming monologues than the pivotal wrestling matches, filmed mostly in benign wide shots. Feeling like part of the live audience or a television viewer, it's difficult to get fully into the struggle of the both women, who not only pay their bruised dues but is why ALL THE MARBLES is worth checking out.

I saw this movie in Chennai(then Madras),India way back in the early eighties while in college.I remember the movie vividly for its vibrant wrestling action and its handsome women.Peter Falk I remember at his leering best and it still remains one of my favourite movies though I've never managed to lay my hands on a DVD as yet ! I remember it running to a packed house for many weeks at a theatre called LEO which being close to our college used to be filled with a raucous crowd of chanting guys who just loved the movie.I guess we must have seen the movie no less than 5 times! It would be great to get a copy of California DOLLS(it was'nt called ALL THE MARBLES when it was released here)for old times sake. Laura really was a looker and we just loved her!