The Unholy Rollers (1972)

Karen wants more action out of life and quits her job at the cannery to become a skater in the roller derby. She encounters friction from the other skaters - especially Mickey, the current ... See full summary »

Director:

Vernon Zimmerman

Writers:

Howard R. Cohen (screenplay), Vernon Zimmerman (story)

Stars:

Claudia Jennings, Louis Quinn, Betty Anne Rees

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claudia Jennings	...	Karen Walker
Louis Quinn	...	Mr. Stern
Betty Anne Rees	...	Mickey
Roberta Collins	...	Jennifer
Alan Vint	...	Greg
Candice Roman	...	Donna
Jay Varela	...	Nick
Charlene Jones	...	Beverly Brayton
Joe E. Tata	...	Marshall
Maxine Gates	...	Angie Striker
Kathleen Freeman	...	Karen's Mother
John Harmon	...	Doctor
Karl Rizzo	...	Referee
Mike Miller	...	Referee
John Steadman	...	Guard

Storyline

Karen wants more action out of life and quits her job at the cannery to become a skater in the roller derby. She encounters friction from the other skaters - especially Mickey, the current number one star of the team. Karen proves herself a feisty competitor but refuses to be a team player. As she skates her way to roller stardom, she incurs the wrath of jealous team members and the owner of the team.

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Plot Keywords:

roller derby | girl in panties | panties | nudity in changing room | nipples | 

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Taglines:

A locker room look at the toughest broads in the world!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Leader of the Pack

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original soundtrack was replaced by a Kendall Schmidt synthesizer score for the HBO VHS release in 1986.

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Goofs

At the gun range, after firing all the rounds Nick, empties the spent rounds, but it is obvious the rounds weren't fired, with the bullet and shell still intact.

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Connections

Edited into Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

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Soundtracks

Stay Away From Karen
Written by Bobby Hart, Danny Janssen
Sung by Louie and the Rockets

User Reviews

Lightning-fast Roller Derby drama.

Unholy Rollers is an action-packed drama, spotlighting the sport of Roller Derby. When this film was released in 1972, Roller Derby was at the zenith of it's popularity with the public.

Be forewarned, this definitely doesn't qualify as a P.C. movie, by any means. Like most B movies from the 70s, it's chocked full of stereotypical characters; lecherous male chauvinist pigs, dumb blond women, a lust-crazed lesbian, negligent store clerks, etc.

The film has B movie queen Claudia Jennings in the starring role, as Karen Walker. Karen is a gorgeous, buxom young woman, working at a dull job in a cat food cannery. For fun, Karen loves going to see her favorite local Roller Derby team, the LA Avengers.

Meanwhile, Karen gets tired of fending-off the unwanted sexual harassment, of her sleazy supervisor. Fed-up, she throws a can of cat food in his face, then quits in disgust. Without any other job prospects lined-up, Karen decides to try out for the LA Avengers team.

Karen makes the team, then reports to the team doctor, for her physical. The doctor turns-out to be mainly interested in ogling Karen's bod, after she strips-down to her undies for the physical. The doc gives Karen a clean bill-of-health. She then gets her Avenger uniform, and reports to the rink for her first game.

Karen gets off to a rip-roaring start, during her first game as an Avenger. She displays lots of colorful showmanship. The team Owner, Mr. Stern, likes Karen's skating style. In the locker room after the game though, Karen's teammates caution her to skate according to the team rules.

The Avenger's star skater, Mickey Martinez, gleefully teases Karen about her skirt that she wears. Mickey eggs-on the others, including the team's coach, to join in. Karen takes offense. But she's told by another teammate, Jennifer, not to take it seriously. Jennifer then invites Karen to join the rest of the team, for drinks at a local seedy bar. Wanting to be accepted by the others, Karen goes along.

Once at the bar, Karen is approached by Mickey again. Mickey is the lesbian character, and she makes amorous advances towards Karen. Karen gets belligerent with Mickey, telling Mickey to get lost. Feeling insulted, Mickey wants to 'teach Karen a lesson'. So, Mickey and some of the other Avengers, pin Karen to a pool table, tearing off all of her clothes. Naked and furious, Karen gives them all a brutal tongue-lashing. Especially Mickey, who she vows to get even with.

With vengeance, and a thirst for fame driving her, Karen quickly rises to the top of the Avengers team roster. Karen even beats Mickey's scoring record, eclipsing Mickey to become the Avenger's new number one skater. But fame and glory go to Karen's head. She refuses to be a team player, or follow orders by the team's Owner. Soon, Karen is headed for a fall. And she learns the hard way that, star or not, she's as expendable as any other skater in the league.

This film is jam-packed with lots of flashy skating footage, ribald humor, violent fights on the track, and an overall sense of raunchy debauchery. The bitter rivalry between Karen and Mickey, is the meatiest plot-line in the film. There's just not much else about the movie, that holds the viewer's interest.

Claudia Jennings performance as Karen Walker, is brilliant. Claudia had a wholesome, all-American cheerleader kind of beauty. Yet she manages to make the violent, ruffian qualities of Karen Walker completely believable.

Betty Anne Rees, was the perfect choice to play Karen's nemesis, Mickey Martinez. Betty was born with the face of a villain. It has lots of severe, razor-sharp angles, and looks like an abscessed tooth feels-painfully evil.

Unholy rollers is wild roller-coaster ride, through the rough-and-tumble world of 70s Roller Derby. It's destined to go down in history, as one of the biggest cult B movies, of all time. It's a must-see, for any 70s B movie fan.