Roller Derby Girl (1949)

Director:

Justin Herman

Writer:

Justin Herman (writer)

Release Date:

10 July 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Short

Plot Keywords:

Roller Skater | Roller Skating | Roller Derby | Three Word Title | Roller Skate

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Jean Porter
Midge Brasuhn

Runtime:

10 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Movie Connections:

Version of "RollerJam" (1999)

Good look at female Roller Derby skaters

This film was part of the Paramount Pacemakers series, a group of short films that displayed Americans in the workplace, living their lives. It was nominated for best one-reel short film for the year 1949.

"New" skater Jean Porter, a beautiful young woman of Native American descent, decides to join the Roller Derby. She goes through the rigorous training and eventually (in the space of ten minutes!) tries out for a professional Roller Derby team. The famous Brooklyn Red Devil veteran villainess Midge "Toughie" Brasuhn really shows her how tough the sport can be, but Porter survives on grit and determination.

ROLLER DERBY GIRL was briefly syndicated to independent TV stations in the 1980s as part of a Republic Pictures movie package, banishing fears that it was a "lost" film.