no longer trusts Henry (or his promises to let her bring her children along, a son and daughter) and wins the match race.

The film was written by Barry Sandler as a UCLA MA Thesis, with Welch in mind for the lead.

"Raquel was a huge star at the time--kind of like the pop culture goddess", recalled Sandler.

"I just thought it would be great to see her as a roller derby queen; it seemed like a perfect meshing of pop culture with that role.

He delivered a copy personally to the house Welch then shared with her husband and manager, Patrick Curtis.

"[3] Sandler says the original script was very different from what the movie became: [It was] a dark, gritty, character piece, more in the vein of Requiem for a Heavyweight.

Eventually Welch divorced Curtis and made the film for her own company in association with Artists Entertainment Complex and Levy-Gardner-Laven.

The film was part-financed and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, whose president, James T. Aubrey, was romantically linked with Welch for a time.

... MGM wanted to sell Raquel Welch in a tight roller derby jersey, running around the track.

[6] Welch practiced skating for several months, training with pro teams, wearing a wig and dark glasses and posing as a journalist looking into a story.

Two weeks into the shoot Welch suffered a cut lip and swollen face during a fight scene with co-star Helena Kallianiotes.

[5] The film used real-life stars of the National Skating Derby, Roller Games, as uncredited extras, such as Patti Cavin ('Big Bertha' Bogliani), Judy Arnold (who was a skating stunt double for Raquel Welch's character),[9] Ralph Valladares, Ronnie Rains, Judy Sowinski, Richard Brown, Tonette Kadrmas and John Hall.

Real roller derby venues in Kansas City, Fresno, and Portland were also used for key scenes.

[1] Roger Greenspun of The New York Times wrote that: Jerrold Freedman has directed "Kansas City Bomber" with an eye to hard-hitting action and gutsy detail.

His roller-games scenes seem authentic but rather unexciting; and his major stylistic contribution is to indulge a penchant for zooming his camera back, leaving characters trapped behind windows in pretentious and often ludicrous dramatic isolation.

Slouching sullenly in doorways, staring moodily into space, cadging booze from a bottle hidden in a skating boot, she goes to the dogs with an inappropriate passion rich enough to suggest an over-the-hill Sarah Bernhardt being traded off to the minors by the Comédie Française.

[15]Arthur Murphy of Variety wrote, "Raquel Welch stars in one of her most effective roles to date.

Rugged, brawling action will more than satisfy those who enjoy that type of commercial carnage, while the script explores deftly the cynical manipulation of players and audiences.

"[16] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and thought it was "more than good fun.

"[17] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times thought Welch "comes through with a characterization as unexpected as it is persuasive" and said the film "is a well observed slice of contemporary Americana" which "marks Raquel Welch's coming of age as an actress and is a personal triumph for her after surviving more rotten movies than anyone would care to remember.

[20] Helena Kallianiotes was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.