...All the Marbles

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

Nice film with Peter Falk (RIP) ...I had seen it before, years ago, didn't remember it though...except the mud wrestling scene and that hot "Iris" aka Vicki Frederick - wow!

I wonder why Frederick didn't make it to a bigger star, she certainly had the looks and talent to be a real 80's sweetheart/hottie...

The movie is a sort of a mixed bag, divided between t&a of female wrestling scenes and story about them trying to make it...perhaps with too much wrestling/backstory depending on one's point of view... The last wrestling scene was something like 20 minutes long, a bit too much perhaps. But I have to say wrestling was well made and ladies were fit, so no big problem, entertaining fair nevertheless.

I liked the 70's feel of it, reminded me a bit about Rocky...well it did have "Paulie" in it. And Columbo, in quite a different role, pulling a fine performance as a sleazy manager. And of course according to this film, wrestling is all real, not a show. Ha! Wonderful find.

7.5/10

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.

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....