The Unholy Rollers (1972)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

A Roger Corman production from the 70's so you know it's funny, sleazy, plot less and gratuitous but never boring, there's always something happening on screen. Claudia Jennings dominates as Karen Walker, a cat food factory worker who gets cheesed off and becomes a roller derby queen. She gives a tough-as-nails performance, spitting her lines in a manner not unlike the actresses in John Waters' early films. Other stand-outs include Louis Quinn as a cynical promoter and Alan Vint doing a hilarious take on the "roommate's boyfriend" character. It's an obvious attempt to cash in on Kansas City Bomber (apparently started while KCB was still in production) replacing Raquel Welch's vulnerability with Claudia Jennings' unapologetic approach and ladling on plenty of sleaze. So what's not to like?

The roller derby, a sport that is brutal as it can be. Two opposing teams go around the track to score points and to prevent the opposition to score. In "Unholy Rollers", just to say the game will never be same when Karen Walker (Claudia Jennings) joins the Avengers. Karen Walker(Jennings) was working at a cannery, and is very unhappy there. Feisty and independent, and hard to be around with. When she joined the group, she proved her mettle in the roller derby, however, her feisty personality made her everything but a team player. She rose to the top, with ease. When the team grew jealous of her, they give her a lot of grief. At the bar they hang out, they would put her on the pool table, and strip her naked. After that, the person who has accosted her decided to join the opposing team which results being put in the hospital by Karen. She received a award. But the whole team to anger her further. Karen issues are the ticket to her downfall in the roller derby world. I think no roller derby would hire her again. Martin Scorsese did some justice with this film. Claudia Jennings did a great job putting sex appeal in the film. A lot of attitude, a lot of grit, and a lot of action. It's all right when you want to be on top. But it's important that you be humble and not arrogant. Because arrogance it the ticket to your downfall. 3 out of 5 stars.

ROLLERBALL was too pretentious and KANSAS CITY BOMBER was too lightweight. This is the real deal! If you love the lowbrow sport of roller derby or are just a fan of Minnesota-born Claudia Jennings (in her first starring role) then this film is a must-see! Raunchy and violent just like the women-in-prison films that Roger Corman was also pumping out at the time (in fact many of the supporting cast were also appearing in those WIP films). Sure this film has the novelty value of having Martin Scorsese's name in the credits but there's much to enjoy in the film besides looking for his editorial hand with an anarchic non-ending that just seemed perfect.

Unholy Rollers is AIP cinema verite, a true American film classic that peels the facade away from the cult of sports celebrity. Claudia Jennings is outstanding as the roller queen whose place on the pedestal is about to be taken by the next one in line. She plays the role with utter conviction, and the film's low budget limitations lend added authenticity to its depiction of this seedy American pastime.