Racket Girls (1951)

Director:

Robert C. Dertano

Writers:

(more)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

SEE...Intimate Scenes of Gorgeous Girl Wrestlers with the Naked Eye of the Camera!

Plot:

A money launderer uses women's wrestling as a front for his illegal activities, but earns the enmity of a powerful mobster.

Plot Keywords:

Wrestling | Women's Wrestling | Gangster | Psychotronic | Masked Wrestler

Cast

Peaches Page	...	'Peaches' Page
Timothy Farrell	...	Umberto Scalli
Clara Mortensen	...	Clara Mortensen, World Champion
Rita Martínez	...	Rita Martinez, Champion of Mexico
Muriel Gardner	...	Ruby McKenzie
Don Ferrara	...	Joe the Jockey
Matt Douglas	...	Ronnie, a Mobster
Paul Merton	...	Monk, the Book-keeper
Bruce Spencer	...	Eddie, a Gangster
Tony Zarro	...	Lefty, a Mobster
Mary Jean Walker	...	Jackie, a Bookie
William Lamont	...	Senate Investigator
Phil Bernard	...	Mr. Big, the Gang Leader
Jimmy Lennon Sr.	...	Jimmy Lennon
Phil Solomon	...	Phil Solomon, Wrestling Referee
Doris Ives	...	Beverly, an Unemployed
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
The Leopard Lady	...	Woman Wrestler (uncredited)
The Panther Woman	...	Woman Wrestler (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert C. Dertano		(as Robert C. Derteno)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert C. Dertano		uncredited

Produced by
George Weiss	....	producer

Cinematography by
William C. Thompson		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Robert C. Dertano		(as Robert C. Derteno)

Art Direction by
Dan Sonney

Set Decoration by
James R. Connell

Other crew
A. Arnold Klein	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Arena Productions
• Screen Classics (II)

Distributors

• Globe Roadshows (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Screen Classics (II) (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (2001) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Hollywood Confidential (video)

Other Companies

• Continential Sound Corp.  sound recording

Also Known As:

Runtime:

70 min | USA:68 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Quality Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Arena Productions

Trivia:

George Weiss had Rita Martínez affect a thick Mexican accent because her real voice was "too American".

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Scalia chastises Joe the shadow of the boom mic is visible on the gym wall.

Quotes:

Joe the Jockey:And don't forget about me. I'm Joe.
Peaches Page:Hi, Joe. You're cute.
Joe the Jockey:I get it - anything that is small is cute. Well, that's me.
Peaches Page:Don't you know? Good things come in small packages.
Joe the Jockey:[openly staring at Peaches' breasts] Not to my way of thinking.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Wrestling Women USA! (2001) (V)

"When Ed Wood saw this movie, it's like when Truffaut saw 'Citizen Kane'!"

And there you have it, in one of the choicer remarks from the MST3K version, one of their proudest moments. (God, I miss them.) A bad movie that opens up the possibilities of bad movie-making to other bad movie makers, featuring large-breasted but decidedly unsexy female wrestlers stranded amid a ridiculous sports-crime milieu. Timothy Farrell, the lead, was in fact a member of Wood's stock company, and his performance is actually one of the movie's more professional -- though Muriel Gardner, as his hard-bitten secretary, actually manages to get something like a performance going, and Peaches Page, a real-life wrestler, at least seems like a nice lady. With stock footage, stock music, and even inept camera setups, it would be a laughfest even without the MST commentary, but their bon mots transform it into something special. As Crow opines during an endless scene of a large-breasted female wrestler throwing a ball over and over: "This movie is refreshingly itself."