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KANSAS CITY BOMBER
MGM
Kamos City Bomber is a movie full
of great faces. Raquel Welch, of course,
and Helena Kallianiotes. who was also in
Five Easy Pieces, plays the former
Roller Derby champ whom Raquel
replaces here, and radiates a total bad
sensuality reminiscent of Anna Magnan
at her steamiest. Perhaps the best faces
of all, though , and the best moments in
the movie, are seen when the camera
cuts from the derby track to the
bleachers for sharp doseups of rank and
file Derby fans: they are the poor trash
of all colors of America, the sweaty,
shirtsleeved members of the lower
middle class who come to get their
rocks ofT by screaming at a bunch ol
people tripping and jabbing each other
m the nbs for a couple of hours.
The movie isn ' t a " social drama "
pounding at you with relentless
moralising * It is about how lives arc
bought and sold in America, but it
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doesn t press the point farther than Note the excellent makeup job on Mi. Weich. at the right in the loner right picture.
necessary for the context of a rousing
old-fashioned GP (not enough skin, not definitive or most exciting Roller Derby while limeys aren t known for their
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enough violence, just enough slow - movie. Last year ’ s Derby was much cinematic excellence they will be now.
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motion ) taJe of a girl with stars in her better in spite of being a documentary , The only thing that s gonna slop ( hem
eyes. Yeah, it ' s time once again for the and the classic fictionali/ation of the from getting the Best Foreign Language
fading star to be bounced by the event was made over 20 years ago. Film award next time around is English
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talented kid who is so talented and Mickey Rooney s The Fireball will bash don t happen to be a foreign tongue
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beautiful that nobody likes her.and you your brains out in a way that Kansas too had cause these winners deserve
can write the rest of the script. Which is City Bomber tries for but never quite something besides financial success.
just fine. achieves; you can catch it on the Early Well anyway Jekvll has Marline
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Raquel proves for all time that she Show for free if you just watch your TV Beswick who s supposed to have been in
can carry her weight as an actress: she Guide, and besides all that it s got Thunderbolt and she s the best thing
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’
kicks ass on Jennifer O Neil (to name Manlyn Monroe in it. But too much since Yvette Mimicux. When Jekyll
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only the most beautiful no- talent of the hindsight is just another anal neurosis, drinks that stuff and turns into Sister
current venue ), and demonstrates that Raquel is good on her own terms, and Hyde the hair grows all the way out and
with this type of non- demanding role , Kansas City Bomber is as good a drive-in the beard disappears. An explanation is
which after all is probably not so far movie as we re going to get this fall. that while women don t have beards if
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from her own story, she can provide a Lester Bangs they did it would keep their hair
dimension that fills the screen with shorter. In other words facial hair is
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more than tits. And whatever the DOCTORJEKYLL connected inside the head to topof- the-
reason, it's certain that when she s up AND SISTER HYDE
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there, you really can t see anyone else. AIP
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Kevin McCarthy is fine, too, as the BLOOD FROM THE
blandly manipulative team owner, MUMMY S TOMB
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although hell never top his performance
in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. He This has gotta be the best double
delivers a great speech when Raquel feature so far this year. The Abominable
accuses him of buying and selling her Dr. Phibcs and Yog - the Monster from
and all the other members of the team. Space was 1971 and that s the only
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“Yeah. " he says, "I buy ’ em and sell recent pairing that could give this one a
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' em. We re all bought and sold in this run for the money and what s more this
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life. That s your American Pie, baby ' " is the finest limey double feature since
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Kansas City Bomber is not the Jesus fuckin Christ knows when and
66 CMM