Kansas City Bomber

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.

Kansas City Bomber is both a gritty,realistic action film and a perfect showcase for the talents of Raquel Welch! The film opens with a (staged) match-race which sests the tone for the rest of the story... Raquel portrays Diane"KC"Carr-a beautiful,dissallusional mother of two who has become a pro-skater for both the money and the desire to succeed in something for HERSELF!Her two children(curiously about the same ages as Raquels kids in real-life) live in Kansas City with her concerned yet old-fashioned mother.KC's mother of course wants her to quit the life on the road and simply come home to the kids.KC says she just needs"a piece of the action" but we can tell that Mom's advice IS sinking in! Meanwhile life on the road as a pro-skater is no bed of roses: KC's new team the Portland Loggers is managed by the shifty and suave Burt Henry-Mr. Henry has "big plans" for KC-not to mention making her his(latest?) love interest!Much to the dismay of the other girls on the team-especially the aging,alcoholic,scrapper Jackie Burdett. Mr.Henry's idea of achieving his 'big plans' involve elevating KC's status at whatever the cost! Will he succeed? Or will KC's better judgement win out? Aside from the obvious plot drama,Kansas City Bomber is probably the first movie to reveal the life of second-rate athletes.This movie takes some chances with showing it's skaters as they were in the 1970s-mostly middle-aged and lonely! They travel from city to city in buses,hang out together in cheap bars,and get no other joys from their lives-except while signing thier fans autographs! I especially appreciate the way that the filmakers resisted the temptation to glamourize the sport of pro-skating-instead they have portrayed it mostly as it was in the 70s-a dying sport! These skaters perform to dingy and half-empty arenas and expo centers-populated with the elderly,disabled and too young patrons! Clearly nobody is getting rich here-EXCEPT for the sleazy Mr.Henry!

Bruising action and bruised egos propel the plot in this look at the pro roller derby world of the early 1970s. Raquel Welch plays K.C. Carr, a physically tough but emotionally vulnerable young woman who can "jam" with the best of them. For K.C., her job as a player pays the bills, but it keeps her on the road, separated from her two young, fatherless children.

I would estimate that roughly fifty percent of the film takes place in an indoor rink, where skaters go lap after lap around the rink, trying to gain advantage on each other, as the audience cheers and jeers, depending on who they like and don't like. The film portrays fans as low-class, uneducated dolts, oblivious to their obvious manipulation by franchise owner Mr. Henry (Kevin McCarthy), who carefully orchestrates skater performances. The seedy backstage world of pro skating reeks of cheap quarters and beer joints. Among the players, jealousies, anger, and fear lurk just below the surface.

Aside from the roller derby element, the story is rather thin. But it does end in a somewhat surprising way.

Raquel Welch gives a really fine performance, even though she's just a tad too "pretty", relative to the other women skaters. K.C. wants to get along and be a team player, but her adversaries give her a rough time. Welch gives her character an emotional depth that makes K.C. warm-hearted despite her physical toughness.

Lighting is very dark, which matches the film's dreary, downbeat tone throughout. Camera shots are quite effective in the fast changing skating action.

Owing to its narrow focus, "Kansas City Bomber" will be of interest to a very restricted base of potential viewers. Beyond this base, the film is worth a look for the fine performance of Raquel Welch.

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.

Loana-NO PHOTO AVAILABLE! This is what you are greeted with on IMDb when you click on the character name of Raquel Welch from ONE MILLION B.C….Considering her iconic fur-bikini clad image was the best-selling poster EVER until Farah Fawcett came along a decade later, I find this fact to be just beyond the limits of my Suspension of Disbelief! I imagine that someone, somewhere, feels that Jo Raquel Tejada deserves a break….And believe me, I could not possibly be in more agreement with that decision! With its miserable 5.4 IMDb rating, and MEASLY 711 votes, (To be crystal….That's considerably LESS than the 1,000 votes needed to be taken seriously here!) I state, most emphatically, that BOMBER is the most underrated film of the thousands on which I have voted on this website! Believe me, I have NEVER made the previous comment before!

Here is a film which parallels the intense focus of its lead character, K.C. Carr, on the somewhat seamy world of professional team roller-skating. For those of you under 40, this sport (or is that exhibition?) enjoyed a considerable cult following in the 50's, 60's and 70's. BOMBER does not pretend to offer us romance or glamor or alternate back-stories…Just a gritty and intense focus on K.C. Carr and her obsession to excel in team-skating. Perhaps, this is a bit of a metaphor for her desperation to be taken seriously as an actress? How do I recall so clearly a film released well over 40 years ago? That's a fair question!

Well, when HANNIE CAULDER was released in 1971, I thought the film was rather under-appreciated by both the critics and the public alike and, even much more obvious, was the undeserved nature of the almost universal panning of Ms. Welch's performance in the title role! There was a growing vocal tide of resentment in the media against Raquel Welch. When BOMBER was released, the media was awash in Raquel Welch jokes…Johnny Carson quipped: "Hey, how about that new Raquel Welch movie…Kansas City BOMBER…Talk about accurate Box-Office Predictions!!!" Ahhhhh…Ms. Welch has been haunted, for most of her career, by the ghost of Loana (Photo Seared into our Collective Cultural Memory!) So, I paid to see BOMBER on three occasions in 1972, applying my most critical eye! All I could see was a very skilled actress whose interpretation permeated every cell of her being. I suppose I was one of a very select group who saw it that way! BOMBER does have a lot more going for it than just the title role…Helena Kallianiotes turns in an excellent performance in a Golden Globe nominated supporting role.

BOMBER displays even handed direction that immerses us in the very realistic, rather seedy world of professional team skating. The technical excellence of the filming and editing of the on track scenes also cannot be overlooked. Although you might not rate it 9*, as I did, if you can manage to see BOMBER with an open mind, I am sure you will find it both entertaining and worthwhile!

ENJOY!/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!