Be Kind Rewind – Put Someone in a Sleeper Hold
By Michael Nazarewycz
The first thing I ever wrote for this website was a nostalgia piece on
Hulk Hogan. Hulk’s been in the news recently for things that no one will
probably be nostalgic for ... you know, ever ... but his return to the
spotlight (for better or worse) reminded me of that column, this site,
the ‘80s and the birth of modern day professional wrestling, and the
films it inspired.
|
|
|
...All
the Marbles
1981
Starring Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick, Laurene Landon, and Burt Young
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Harry Sears (Falk) manages the California Dolls, a professional female
wrestling tag-team comprised of Iris and Molly (Frederick and Landon).
Their arch nemeses are the Toledo Tigers. They follow a Rocky-esque
climb toward the top of wrestling mountain. This was director Aldrich’s
last film, and it’s hard to believe the man responsible for this also
gave us such legends as The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Flight
of the Phoenix (1965), and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
(1962).
Body
Slam
1986
Starring Dirk Benedict and Tanya Roberts
Directed by Hal Needham
Dirk Benedict plays a band manager who accidentally hires a wrestler to be
in a band, and thus the 1980s hybrid of wrestling and rock-and-roll is
born. This film is full of real wrestlers (which sounds somewhat
oxymoronic), including Rowdy Roddy Piper, Captain Lou Albano, The
Samoans, Classy Freddie Blassie, Rick Flair, and Bruno Sammartino.
Check out other Be Kind Rewind
issues:
Michael Nazarewycz is a
US-based Writer for UK-based
Filmoria.com.
He also blogs at
ScribeHard On Film. He can be reached via Twitter
@ScribeHard.
