…All the Marbles

From Viennale

“A purely commercial film. No messages, just a comedy,” claims Robert Aldrich of his cinematic swan song, so as not to arouse suspicion. Yet behind the entertaining façade of this rousing underdog sports film, sheer subversion lurks once again. The California Dolls (Vicki Frederick and Laurene Landon) are a female wrestling tag team touring the American hinterland with their manager (Peter Falk) in the hope of making their big break. Between stunningly staged matches, they engage in quick-witted banter about their precarious situation, whilst driving in a dilapidated car through the industrial ruins of the early Reaganomics era to the sound of opera music. Aldrich’s final ode to the outsider’s struggle for survival (loosely modelled on Abraham Polonsky) is a showbiz satire that holds up a mirror to the American way of life: even when triumph comes entirely from the heart, it remains mercilessly hollow. As with THE LONGEST YARD (1974) and other films, Aldrich changed the script to fit his theme of self-redemption: “It’s a good story, stolen from a past success. I used the Abe Polonsky screenplay for BODY AND SOUL (1947) as the basis for this film.” While overlooked at home upon release, ...ALL THE MARBLES succeeded abroad, where it was recognised as a major work. (Christoph Huber)