How sad is this?

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

1981 was shortly after Andy Kaufman gave lady's wrestling a slight boost and a few months after john Candy's famous mud wrestling scene in stripes. Lady's wrestling had taken on a bit of a sexy twist and Hollywood tried to capitalize on it a bit with this adventure. Clearly it wasn't intended to just be junk. Peter Falk was a respected actor and the choreography was very well done. The movie, however, isn't without it's flaws.Most people know that wrestling is scripted and these lady's in the "WWE" equivalent would certainly have fought scripted matches not real ones. But if we forgive that, and assume that there's genuine competition, then this movie did a fairly good job of presenting the "grind" of wrestling for a living. Not much reward and lots of bruises.The movie poster implied T&A, but the movie itself was more sport competition than playful fun. The entire film, for example, lacked the sex appeal of the 2 minute mud wrestling scene in stripes, so a person seeing this for the sexy aspect, left disappointed, but it also wasn't really a true "sports" movie either as the outcome was never really in doubt.The movie also failed to give the sense of an underdog rising to challenge a rival, the way Rocky, The Champ or even, made for TV movie Mad Bull or Sylvester Stallone's arm wrestling movie over the top did. The underdog wining in the end may be done to death, but it works. This movie offered pain, but no real tension for the viewer.A final thing it lacked was a personality. You didn't really get to know the ladies at all. They were just wrestlers, not people you were interested in. Peter Falk was OK, he's usually able to come across as a person, but even he was pretty shallow. There was no back story, no "how did he/they get here". Not to compare this to Rocky, cause that's not fair, but when Burgess Meredith talked about not getting his chance and his cheek, bloody, full of holes, you knew everything you needed to know about him and why he was managing. You cared about him. Peter Falk, who was the only character in this film with any personality at all, was still "just some guy".So this movie missed all the marks other than wrestling choreography, which it got down very well. No heart, no story, no personal history, no real underdog, not enough sex appeal, just some well choreographed wrestling scenes that left you saying "ouch" more than "wow".All that said. there are so few lady wrestling movies out there (so few good wrestling movies in general), that this is worth a watch if lady's wrestling is your thing and you want a movie that's basically a lie about how the WWE works, but is told like it isn't.

Three persons in search for a dream scour the back roads and interstates of the mid-western, United States searching for fame and money. Professional Wrestling Manager and ex-Teacher Harry Sears(Peter Falk) and his two lovelies, ex-girl friend Iris (Vicki Frederick) the brunette twenty years younger than Harry is constantly gripping about getting substantial venues to show her wears in the Wrestling Profession.The other partner in this sexy tag team is the soft spoken blonde Molly played by Laurene Landon. Riding town to hamlet Harry Blares his opera music in his car and tells the Girls where there next match will be. Bookings become scarce and Harry relegates, basically humiliates the two woman into a mud-wrestling match which leaves Iris questioning her own self worth as she breaks down and cries which motivates their crusty manager. Harry finagles his way to Reno for a possible winner take all tag team title match. I was drawn to this story because I'm a Peter Falk fan. He doesn't show emotion and stays on an even keel despite terrible odds. This movie has a beginning, a middle and a happy ending which will not disappoint, Weird vehicle for both Falk and Director Aldrich but it some how caught my interest. Both Fredericks and Landon (Our two lady Stars) convinced me that they were really Professional Wrestlers by their moves in the squared circle. Kudos to the consultants that trained the two. It's not a chick flick but more a wrestling movie with the Columbo touch!

How can you not enjoy Peter Falk carting around two very feisty lady wrestlers? Robert Aldrich directed this witty cross between ROCKY & THE KANSAS CITY BOMBER. Falk is the not very good but extremely enthusiastic manager of sexy wrestlers Vicki Frederick & Laurene Landon (aka The California Dolls). The three travel from one dingy arena to another as the Dolls try for the big time in Reno. Falk is hilarious, basically acting like Peter Falk. Landon, and especially Frederick are not only sexy, they're smart, funny and tough as nails, both in and out of the ring. They're never made to look anything but smarter than the rowdy audiences who come to see them. They're in on the joke! This is a very funny, very affectionate road film with very likable characters. Burt Young is a mean-spirited & ruthlessly stingy wrestling promoter. Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi from THE GODFATHER & a one-time wrestler himself) gets a lot of laughs as Young's morally superior bodyguard. The script by Mel Frohman and others is full of priceless one-liners.

I saw this movie in Chennai(then Madras),India way back in the early eighties while in college.I remember the movie vividly for its vibrant wrestling action and its handsome women.Peter Falk I remember at his leering best and it still remains one of my favourite movies though I've never managed to lay my hands on a DVD as yet ! I remember it running to a packed house for many weeks at a theatre called LEO which being close to our college used to be filled with a raucous crowd of chanting guys who just loved the movie.I guess we must have seen the movie no less than 5 times! It would be great to get a copy of California DOLLS(it was'nt called ALL THE MARBLES when it was released here)for old times sake. Laura really was a looker and we just loved her!