I'd like to add to my comments from yesterday, when I could not recall
the name of the roller derby film with Raquel Welch.
Naturally, it came to me immediately after I logged off.
The film is called KANSAS CITY BOMBER (1972).
 
May I also recommend a personal favorite, and unsung, film about
a female athlete:  Ida Lupino's HARD, FAST, AND BEAUTIFUL (1951),
with Sally Forrest as a young tennis player, and the incomparable
Clair Trevor as her ambitious 'tennis mom.'
The portrayal of the weak father, the tough, aggressive mother,
and the overall rot at the core of the family, give the film
a faintly 'noir' flavor -- aided, of course, by the biting social
criticism.
 
HARD, FAST, AND BEAUTIFUL shows up occasionally on AMC,
and is especially noteworthy for being directed, as I indicated,
by Ida Lupino.
 
        -- Derek Bouse
                        Albion College, Michigan