Kansas City Bomber (1972)

I’ve had a mad crush on Raquel Welch since I was a boy sitting in the Paris Cinema in Providence watching Kansas City Bomber.

I can pinpoint the exact moment she stole my … heart, too. It’s the scene when the slimy team owner (Kevin McCarthy) gets her back to his apartment. He takes off her coat revealing what the woman who up to this time had been dressed primarily in an unflattering roller derby uniform looks like in a skin tight sweater dress.

To quote Mike Myers, who was just nine when this Hollywood thunderbolt first hit me, schwing!

I’ve seen Kansas City Bomber many, many times since then and, while the unveiling scene always makes my heart skip a beat, I’ve come to appreciate the film for more than Raquel’s physical charms.

In the movie, Raquel plays K.C. Carr, a journeywoman roller derby player who gets her big break when she is traded to the Portland Loggers and is finally given a chance to show fans she’s more than just another pretty face. Unfortunately, the Loggers already have their own star, the hard-living Jackie Burdette (Helena Kallianiotes) who does not intend to give up without a four-wheeled fight.

There’s plenty of roller derby action in Kansas City Bomber and director Jerrold Freedman makes it look a lot more believable than the actual sport (although the slow-motion ending is a bit corny).

Kansas City Bomber is the best skating action/comedy since Slap Shot, and, since it was made five years before the Hanson Brothers even hit the big screen, it deserves a to be seen.

Starring Raquel Welch, Helena Kallianiotes, Kevin McCarthy.

IMDB Site.