User Reviews

Nice film with Peter Falk (RIP) ...I had seen it before, years ago, didn't remember it though...except the mud wrestling scene and that hot "Iris" aka Vicki Frederick - wow!

I wonder why Frederick didn't make it to a bigger star, she certainly had the looks and talent to be a real 80's sweetheart/hottie...

The movie is a sort of a mixed bag, divided between t&a of female wrestling scenes and story about them trying to make it...perhaps with too much wrestling/backstory depending on one's point of view... The last wrestling scene was something like 20 minutes long, a bit too much perhaps. But I have to say wrestling was well made and ladies were fit, so no big problem, entertaining fair nevertheless.

I liked the 70's feel of it, reminded me a bit about Rocky...well it did have "Paulie" in it. And Columbo, in quite a different role, pulling a fine performance as a sleazy manager. And of course according to this film, wrestling is all real, not a show. Ha! Wonderful find.

7.5/10

This is a film about a girl wrestling team and their manager (played by Vicki Frederick, Laureen Landon and Peter Falk) on a tour across the middle west of America. It was the last film directed by Robert Aldrich and was an independent production that he is said to have financed himself. Released through MGM, it had a disappointing run but is still quite highly regarded by many viewers, probably because the direction, camera work and acting were all significantly above average. Its limited success probably resulted chiefly from the very limited interest most potential viewers have in female wrestling as either entertainment or sport. This was compounded by a serious dichotomy between the actual wrestling sequences and those showing the team on the road. Watching it is like simultaneously watching two very different films cut up into sizeable chunks that have been mixed together almost indiscriminately. Films of this type are often released in several different versions, each designed to have greater appeal to one specific group of potential viewers. This makes them difficult to comment on, as comments written for one version may not be applicable to another. This appears to be the case here The original release "......all the Marbles" was renamed "The California Dolls" for release in the U.K., and a second release in the U.S.A. also used this alternative title. I saw the U.K. version, and so my comments may not be applicable to either of those released in North America. Where does one go from here? Clearly such a film can be reviewed at several different levels depending upon the viewers interests. Equally clearly this has already been brought out in the comments already submitted about this film. Potential backers of films of this type have great difficulty deciding whether there will be an adequate market, even when the film-script under consideration is of exceptional quality; and it may be even more difficult to decide to which market group the films should be primarily directed. In reviewing it, rather than limiting my comments to one such group, I would prefer to look briefly at how it might be expected to appeal to several different groups of viewers.

I am among the viewers for whom the greatest appeal was the remarkably convincing performance of Peter Falk (whose work has mainly been for TV, and who is probably best known for playing the detective Columbo) as the manager of the small touring team. He was perfect as an experienced and wily, but very seedy, small scale business manager who has seen it all. Once could sense that life had continually been knocking him down, but that he had long ago mastered the art of picking himself up again and carrying on exactly as before. Top marks for this.

Another group of viewers would be more attracted by the realistic portrayal of the life style experienced by any independent group operating on the fringes of the entertainment industry, and continually on the move between a series of one night stands. This is an interesting lifestyle with which most of us are not familiar, and it was very convincingly portrayed here.

A third group will be those who rate female wrestling as a significant spectator sport and who want to watch this film primarily for the ring sequences. I believe these individuals should be very happy with what this film provides. However, after watching even one of the brutal wrestling sequences, other viewers will be left wondering why such attractive girls did not try to get Uncle Hef to picture them in his magazine wearing nothing but a pair of rabbit's ears, so that they could sign up with a Hollywood model agency and earn a few bucks by modelling (acting?) in films for Andy Sidaris, instead of through a life in the wrestling ring.

This brings us to the final group of viewers I will consider - those who enjoy a T&A film for its own sake. Both 'ccthemovieman-1' (in comments already on this database) and other non-IMDb sources refer to copious nudity in the original release of this film. I cannot comment on this as the version I saw was stripped of every vestige of toplessness (presumably because of concerns that such sequences might antagonise some viewers). Even during the mud wrestling sequences none of the contestants became topless for an instant (something I have always understood to be contrary to the whole 'philosophy' of mud wrestling). This confirms my earlier point that there are often several different versions of a film of this type put together in the editing room. If a DVD release is being considered MGM would have to decide which of them is most likely to be a commercial success.

My suggestion is therefore that MGM should consider issuing a double sided DVD, one side with a copy of ".... all the marbles" edited to maximise its appeal to both the latter groups above, and the other side with the alternate version "The California Dolls" edited to maximise its appeal to the first two groups above. This would also help to minimise the problem of the mixture of two different stories. The first version would concentrate on all the ring sequences, plus any others which showed the girls topless, and would include minimal linking sequences. I believe this version could have a wide appeal. It takes more than a few topless scenes to sell a T&A DVD today; but we have here two very attractive cast members who, quite unusually, are also very competent actresses. Those primarily interested in the topless sequences would probably also enjoy the wrestling (or cat-fighting as some of the comments have called it), so on balance this version should have a strong appeal. In the second version the fight scenes would be substantially cut in duration to allow the disk's many other purchasers a greater appreciation of the fascinating character studies provided by this movie.

This is overall an entertaining movie,but I have to admit...the real interest here for me is watching 2 very sexy women wrestling. I've always enjoyed catfighting,and this is one of the few mainstream movies that has that in it. I would someday like to see a racier version of this movie,but i know I'm probably just dreaming. Its been awhile since I've seen this,but i believe there was also a jello wrestling scene in it. One thing I had a little trouble believing was that the lead dark haired wrestler was sleeping with the Peter Falk character...ewwww....highly doubtful. I recommend watching this movie to see if you like it.

A strange underrated film. brilliant acting and wonderful fight sequences. The film lives in a curious world of endless motel rooms, dislocation and transit (Harry's grubby car/opera soundtrack ...) A curious feature is also that we are asked to believe that pro tag wrestling is "for real." the photography throughout is excellent and the performances are very strong (Falk is superb!)another wonderful, tantalising element is the scant detail we are given of the central characters. Molly = "junkie" ex secretary, Iris = ex lover of Harry, and Harry himself = opera loving ex teacher. the tone of the film is of these (and other) exploited girls, literally fighting for a better life, on the "eternal road" both strong, but a million miles from "independent". occasional comic moments, and moments which bring enormous sympathy and empathy. a classic film. and sadly, I believe, Aldrich's last.

P Hancock. Kent, UK

"All The Marbles" has one major asset: the staging of the wrestling sequences. They are long, appropriately noisy, well-edited and expertly done. But the movie often lags during the fairly pointless scenes that are designed to link together those sequences. The two heroines are very beautiful and also demonstrate considerable acting talent, and Falk adds some bright moments, but the movie still can't shake off a definite "low-energy" sense in its non-wrestling scenes. Still, this is a "must" for fans of the subject, if only because of the rarity of similar movies.

Iris (Vicki Frederick) and Molly (Laurene Landon) are the California Dolls traveling the country with their hard-nosed manager Harry Sears (Peter Falk) to wrestle in rundown events. The girls try to do it seriously but money is tight and life on the road is a struggle. Sleazy promoter Eddie Cisco (Burt Young) shorts the girls $20 and Harry takes a bat to his Mecedes. In the end, he comes to them with a title fight.

On the surface, one would think this is a simple T&A B-movie of the era but it's actually a good movie about an unconventional family. I really love their relationship. The actual wrestling isn't quite as interesting. It's questionable whether that many people would watch serious women's wrestling. It would be more like a carnival sideshow or WWF in the old days. All that aside, this is a great family unit to watch.

This was a fairly interesting movie with a different topic: women's wrestling. It also features a couple of hot-looking ladies (if you can call them that) and has the usually-likable Peter Falk of Columbo TV-fame in the lead.

However, this is typical '70s sleaze with lots of profanity and nudity, particularly the latter and mainly to attract a male audience. I like looking at these "babes" as much anyone but, hey, to be honest, films like this made us learn the meaning of the word "gratuitous."

The wrestling scenes were decent but the last one went on forever. Actually, it went on for 20 straight minutes which seems like forever in a film. That, and a cast of sleazy characters, made this too unappealing and down for the count.

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!

"...All the Marbles" (1981) is Roberts Aldritch's last direction and an often really underestimated and ignored movie. The thin story tell us about a slick manager of two female catchers, played by Peter "Columbo" Falk, who's traveling across the United States from fight to fight with his two girls. Finally, the find their big fight in Chicago, battling against two black fighters in a scandalous and hard-fought wrestling fight.

It's not a great movie but really funny and entertaining. Peter Falk's performance is convincing, and the many and long fighting scenes are hilarious and a delight for every catfighting lover. Released in 1982, it was a funny counterpart to all the more serious and often ridiculous masculine fighting flicks in the shadow of the "Rocky" movies like "American Fighter", "Karate Warrior" and several martial arts productions. Ironically, "Rocky Balboa's" manager Burt Young plays a similar role in this movie. In Germany, the film was released with the rather slick title "Kesse Bienen auf der Matte" (Hot bees on the mattress). Recommended.

This one's a puzzler. With such an honored film resume, it's hard to understand why Aldrich took on this project; it's probably sad that this was (?) his last project before he died in 1983. Also curious how an actor like Peter Falk signed on (although if memory serves he really didn't do all that much since Colombo at this point in time). Harder to figure still is how the film got green lighted in the first place.

Was it a comedy? Was it a drama? Was it a "buddy" film? Was meant to be a lady "Palooka" or boxing genre? Th movie suffered from trying to go all over the map and as a result, didn't do any one thing well. Certainly it couldn't have been a star vehicle for Vicki Frederick (better known for her role in the "A Chorus Line" movie), could it?

Also, the timing of this is amazing if you consider that "Wrestlemania" (that popular culture earthquake that popularized "modern pro wrasslin" and characters like Hulk Hogan, Cindy Lauper, and "Girls Just Wanta Have Fun" video star Capt'n Lou Albano, etc.) was still another five years away.

Seemingly had nods toward "Rocky (I)" in terms of the story: down-on-luck, working class fighters struggle and get their shot at the brass ring. But again, the film didn't seem to flesh out any of these various story lines: • Is pro wrestling real or fake (again, this was BEFORE the industry's dirty little secret of "KayFabe" was broken in open court)? • Can the "good guys" (Good Girls in this case) succeed in their crusade against the morally challenged fight promoters or the "system" of low-budget/low esteem pro wrestling traveling circuses? • The physical and emotional affects of this lifestyle (battles with "substance dependency" by one the characters, "how did my life turn out like this?, how did I get here?") • The sexual discrimination and women-in-a-man's-world attitudes faced by these two young women trying to "eek" out a living in high-inflation, low morale, and national malaise Jimmy Carter's "Rust Belt" America.

I'm not even mentioning the obvious salacious subject-matter (scantily clad women rolling around wrestling rings with other scantily clad women). The film's reliance on clichés and other pleas for help are numerous: 1) Jumping on the "mud wrestling" craze of the late 70s and early 80s (when this was supposed to be about in-ring "pro" wrestling; 2) The completely unnecessary and blatantly opportunistic special guest appearance by "Mean Joe" Greene (of the then Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and "Hey, Kid"/Coca Cola TV commercial fame); and finally, 3) The apparent May-December romance between the two "stars".

It's almost like Falk and Aldrich were fulfilling a contractual commitment to the studio by doing this film, and this was the script that they settled upon. Either that or you have to wonder which one of them – perhaps both -- has the wrestling fetish.

Having said all this, the viewer CAN tell that both Falk and Aldrich are brining some sophistication to the film, and that's probably what saves it from being completely ready for Mystery Science Theater 3000. The choreography of the wrestling sequences is right up there with some of the better boxing pictures I've seen. And the "driving" interludes through small, depressed industrial towns and the back roads of the Midwest farmlands nicely convey the "living on the road and out of the trunk of the car" day-to-day existence the trio might have endured.

Falk's character grooms the young, up-and-coming "athletes" or "performers" for their "shot" at the big time (think Burgess Meredith in Rocky). Falk's performance -- as the streetwise but disrespected, good-hearted but washed-up, grouchy but lovable manager – is distracting not because it's tired and cliché but because it is so far above any other actor in the movie. Had I been there, I would have LOVED to ask him about this role during his appearance on "Inside the Actor's Studio" a few years ago.

Speaking of Rocky, Burt Young, Rocky's brother-in-law Paulie in the series, basically plays the same character here, only not as lovable but a shady character with some power to "pull some strings" when it suits him.

But ultimately the tag team relationship between Frederick and Landon -- teammates and theoretically "friends" -- is almost nonexistent. Really only one scene even attempts to explore this "bond" (a la Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid). The physicality of their performances and their obvious training to learn the bumps and rolls of the wrestling game is commendable, but doesn't save the movie, either.

We're not sure whether we're supposed to believe what they've been through is real, so we really don't care for any of the characters by the end. But by that time, we pretty much know what's going to happen, anyway. Watch it for an interesting, if not laudable, project by each Messrs. Falk and Aldrich.

Talk about buried treasures, this is such a one: A tough, gritty movie that has the feel of a fly-on-the-wall documentary. Aldrich has produced a no-holds barred roadmovie about a female freewrestling tag team, marvelously played by drive-in favorite Laurene Landon and Vicki Friderick and Peter Falk plays the girls greasy manager, a perfect role for him. The team wrestles in rundown industrial towns in hardhitting, brutal battles. Amazing choreography is sure to keep you at the edge of the seat However many are likely to find this movie too brutal for their taste, so if Rollerball is you cup of tea, step right up. If you taste more goes in direction of Driving Miss Daisy, this may not be the movie for you. Overdue for DVD release. 9/10

Look, this movie portrays wrestling as on the level, which is naive and laughable but I'll be damned if it doesn't at least have a good story and act out the fiction of wrestling really well. The road stuff is believable and the final match would be great even by today's standards. So despite being a bit slow at the start, it's worth a watch!

Harry Sears (Peter Falk) is the manager of attractive tag team wrestlers Molly (Laurene Landon) and Iris (Vicki Frederick) collectively known as The California Dolls. As the trio go around the mid-west taking very middling engagements at best or humiliating engagements at worst, Harry uses his negotiating prowess to try and bring the Dolls to the top.

All the Marbles was the final film of director Robert Aldrich who'd previously directed such films as Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Flight of the Phoenix, and The Dirty Dozen. Aldrich had wanted to make a film about female wrestlers as no one had done one before, and took ideas and concepts from sports dramas such as Rocky and Body and Soul. While the movie was intended to be a film of maximum commercial appeal by both MGM and Aldrich (Aldrich even said as much himself) down to the fact they were planning a sequel to be titled The California Dolls go to Japan before the movie was even released. The movie ended up underperforming with audiences do to be released opposite the World Series playoffs and several football games and coupled with Aldrich's death meant the sequel was never made. All the Marbles on the surface seems like a serviceable enough film, but unfortunately it lacks much narrative drive dramatically, the humor is rather lacking in punch, and the characterizations of its three leads feel very surface level at best.

For the first half of All the Marbles, the movie doesn't have much sense of structure as our three leads go around Ohio from venue to venue with scenes of the Dolls wrestling while Harry argues with promoters about compensation. We never really get to know how or why Molly and Iris fell in with Harry as their manager and there's really not all that much character to our trio. I guess Laurene Landon as Molly is maybe slightly emotionally vulnerable and Vicki Frederick's Iris seems to have some level of sexual/romantic tenson with Harry but we aren't given any deep dives to their characters and while Peter Falk is always an engaging presence he feels like he's recycling his Columbo performance rather than playing a character. While it is impressive Frederick and Landon do their own wrestling stunts, after a while the wrestling scenes don't engage all that much because there's not much character investment and the stakes aren't high enough to care. I guess if you're a fan of women's wrestling you'll find something to like, but the mark of a good sports movie should be audience engagement even if the audience doesn't know or like the sport. Movies like The Harder they Fall or Rocky will engage audiences even if they could care less about boxing, Pride of the Yankees or Angels in the Outfield are great character pieces even if you don't like baseball. All the Marbles on the other hand doesn't have much character or structure so it's not that engaging.

All the Marbles is watchable on its own thanks to the appeal of its three leads, but it falters in comparison to other sports films in spite of the novelty of its women's wrestling focus. If you are a fan of women's wrestling maybe this will satisfy your appetite, but by that measure you could just watch actual women's wrestling and get the same result.

For a movie about lady wrestlers, this was fairly realistic. Aside from treating pro wrestling as real competition, the movie captures the life of wrestlers on the road quite well. Women's wrestling never had it's own territory, so the performers were always traveling to their next match. The promoters controlled the payoff and moving up the card often meant getting in good with the promoter. Performers worked through injuries and had no health benefits. It was a tough life, but most loved it.

The actors are great and the story has a good framework. Peter Falk is the definite standout, but the two ladies acquit themselves quite well. The wrestling sequences are well staged and blow away anything booked by the WWE. The most far-fetched idea is women's wrestling headlining a big card in Las Vegas, with tv coverage. Well, it is a movie. It's also the best movie ever made about pro wrestling, all though that's not saying much.

It's been said that this movie inspired the GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) promotion and tv show. If true, they should have watched the movie more closely, as it was better than anything they presented.

The movie has its flaws, but it's still entertaining, and the final match will have you on the edge of your seat.

All The Marbles turned out to be Robert Aldrich's last directed film and while it's not the greatest film he ever directed for those who are fans of Peter Falk it's a must.

In this one Falk plays the manager of a female tag team champion wrestlers the California Dolls played here by Vicki Frederick and Laurenne Landon. They do a lot of tank town shows and even accept a mud wrestling gig at one point all to get that championship match with the Toledo Tigers. They faced each other twice before and split the outcomes. The finale is a championship match in more ways than one. It's for All The Marbles.

Falk really is working on all cylinders with a gamut of emtions that run from basso profundo to coloratura soprano. Just sit back and enjoy.

The film also has Burt Young playing a shady promoter and Lenny Montana as his bodyguard. Young truly needs a bodyguard with all the shady stuff he pulls and he got one of the best. Lenny Montana is best known for being Luca Brasi in The Godfather and Young needs his services more than Don Corleone did.

In fact you can almost forget that wrestling is an exhibition watching this film. The matches are just like what you see from WWE.

Vince McMahon should be proud.

Three dots following a sentence usually means... there's more to come... And when the opposite occurs, and the dots proceed the sentence or title, that's pretty much that...

Which sums up the 1981 Peter Falk road movie ...ALL THE MARBLES in which the quirky COLUMBO actor plays Harry, the lowlife manager of a female tag-team wrestling troupe going city to city...

And from the very beginning it feels like we're heading towards a concussion since the ladies are already at the end of their professional ropes: So those dots represent all the work we didn't see, and they really want those marbles, already...

They referring to sexy and voluptuous jocks Iris and Molly, played by brunette Vicki Frederick and blond Laurene Landon, both sick and tired of the nowhere grungy gigs that Harry, in debt with several bookies, keeps tossing them into. Dive arenas (and one mud wrestling carnival) hardly provide enough bread to keep the trio active, stopping at cheap motels with nothing left over for a fancy dinner, which Harry keeps promising...

Other than being a lightweight exploitation replacing the popular roller derby genre with wrestling, ALL THE MARBLES is a showcase for the two Amazon beauties yet also highlights the legitimate acting skills of the more prominent Iris.

In this semi love interest role, much of the plot evolves around Vicki Frederick's character reluctantly staying on board while, deep down, she's madly in love with her endearingly seedy manager. In that particular aspect, Peter Falk, despite being a fantastic actor, is miscast in a role more suited for a younger Henry Winkler or John Ritter type.

Directed by DIRTY DOZEN and KISS ME DEADLY veteran Robert Aldrich, MARBLES is a fairly decent road picture. A number of scenes are shot through a dilapidated car's murky windshield, passing through a melancholy industrial landscape as the trio discuss their next gig, ultimately pitted against a pair of equally talented wrestlers, backed by a mafia wreck played by Burt Young and his bulky henchman Lenny Montana, best known as Luca Brasi from THE GODFATHER.

Meanwhile, Aldrich seems more comfortable with Falk's road-roaming monologues than the pivotal wrestling matches, filmed mostly in benign wide shots. Feeling like part of the live audience or a television viewer, it's difficult to get fully into the struggle of the both women, who not only pay their bruised dues but is why ALL THE MARBLES is worth checking out.

This not so easy to find film starring the late Peter Falk seems to be almost forgotten. Truth is, it touches on a very slight subject, female wrestling, and that alone might have contributed to "All the Marbles" obscurity. Definitely the best moments are in the ring, with a lot of dull small talk in between. The "California Dolls" are easy to look at, and the matches are well staged. The fact that a lot of the conversations between Falk and the girls take place off screen is kind of distracting, and much of it meaningless besides. There is some nudity, and a relationship between Falk and one of the wrestlers is never developed. As light entertainment, the movie delivers, just don't expect anything memorable. - MERK

The tigers made me believe they could really wrestle. Actually all 4 girls could i bet Wish the tigers got more screen time

This film begins with two female wrestlers named "Iris" (Vicki Frederick) and "Molly" (Laurene Landon) and their manager "Harry Sears" (Peter Falk) touring the industrial Northeast looking for possible matches for their tag team known as "The California Dolls." Yet, even though they are quite popular wherever they go, Harry finds it difficult to find lucrative venues due in large part because of his managerial style. Likewise, both Iris and Molly have also become quite frustrated with the current situation as well. That all changes, however, when Iris meets a sleazy promoter named "Eddie Cisco" (Burt Young) who offers them a chance to wrestle against two female wrestlers named "June" (Ursaline Bryant) and "Diane" (Tracy Reed) who have formed the current North American Championship team known as "The Toledo Tigers." The only problem is that this opportunity comes with a price that Iris will have to pay on her own. Now, although this film is billed as a comedy, it seemed more like a light-hearted action film to me because the humor really wasn't that sharp. Be that as it may, the film moved along at a decent pace and having two attractive actresses like the aforementioned Vicki Frederick and Laurene Landon certainly didn't hurt either. That being said, I have rated this film accordingly. Slightly above average.

I have always been a Burt Young fan and to see this film was definitely a treat. I always knew wrestling was a show and not a real sport although the athletes themselves are really taking the bumps and it does take a lot of ability to pull off the moves. I was extremely annoyed when wrestling became a "sports entertainment", because it is more bullshitting than wrestling now a days. I for one applaud movies like the original Wrestler with Ed Asner and Body Slam as they kept the secret of wrestling well hidden. The tongue and cheek way I watched it growing up illustrated the fact that no one could really do that 360 days a year and survive. I especially enjoyed this film because of its plot. A tag team wrestles their way to the top and will do almost anything to get a shot at the title. Burt Young plays a great heal in the film and you genuinely despise him as the film goes on. Peter Falk is his usual charming fatherly type and this film didn't feel staged. I am not familiar with either actress that played the California Dolls so for the first film I have seen them in they did an astounding job. I felt it was more realistic then 1974's The Wrestler which was more of a B rated film. I think that any wrestling fan that longs for the old days of pro wrestling will really enjoy this film. For the new agers who like all the sex and story lines that ruined the old school programs there is enough eye candy to keep you entertained....

This film will be dismissed by most viewers much like I dismiss hip hop music. With the recent revival of pro wrestling, it is a shame that this film stays buried in the MGM/UA film library. All the Marbles, is the story of the California Dolls, 2 very attractive lady wrestlers seeking wrestling work and fame in seedy blue collar cities and towns of Mid America. Their manager is Peter Falk. They hope to leverage their good looks and athletic talents into the major league of pro wrestling. This film had a first rate director, capable cast, and was well written. It was a shame that it failed at the box office. While lady wrestling is not currently mainstream, things are changing, women can be stronger and better trained and more and more people are watching wrestling. Weekly pro wrestling attracts more TV viewers than weekly baseball. Hey MGM, how 'bout putting All the Marbles back on TV.