Connect with us
Herricanes documentary
Image: SXSW

Film

The Herricanes — New Documentary Tells the Compelling, Untold Story of 1970s Women’s Football 

The Herricanes Review

A SXSW world premiere, directed by the daughter of one of the players, tells the story of women who played for the love of the game. 

Football has a long history of upstart, non-NFL football leagues, but none were quite like the National Women’s Football League. That women’s football league operated throughout the 1970s and included a team called the Houston Herricanes.

The Herricanes, a documentary premiering at South by Southwest this week, was directed by Olivia Kuan, whose mother, Basia Haszlakiewicz, was among the players. At the festival, the film won a Special Jury Award. 

The documentary interviews numerous former players while also sharing video footage of practices, although actual surviving game footage is scarce. 

The film also attempts to tell the multi-decade story of women’s football more broadly. It features interviews with women who play for a women’s football team in the present day, as well as the handful of women who have been hired as assistant coaches in the NFL. Also interviewed is Frankie de la Cretaz, who wrote a book about the league called “Hail Mary.” 

The women in the league all had day jobs, and when it came to football, they weren’t paid- in fact, in some cases, such as the Herricanes, they had to pay for their equipment and the right to play. There was racial tension among the players, and yes, some of them were gay, in some cases finding comfort with one another in a time and place (1970s Houston) where being a lesbian wasn’t so easy. 

The launch of the league took place shortly after the 1972 passage of Title IX and coincided with changing ideas, at the time, about what gender roles looked like. It was also a time of the Steel Curtain Steelers and the Ken Stabler-led Oakland Raiders when men’s football might have been in its most macho era in history. 

The original idea of the league was to do some similar to the Harlem Globetrotters, although the league ended up not really being so comedy-oriented. And no, unlike the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, they were not made to play in skirts, although the players did fear that at one point. 

The film ends with a reunion many years later, much as A League of Their Own did, one that was filmed when the players got together in 2019. 

The NFL, for quite a few years now, has made it clear that it wants women to be fans, and as part of that, you may notice that say, Super Bowl commercials, which were glaringly sexist not too long ago, are much less so now. Yet at the same time, you’ll hear an occasional pigheaded comment from a football figure. 

The Herricanes does not yet have distribution, but it is a fascinating look at some fascinating hidden sports history.  

  • Stephen Silver
Written By

Stephen Silver is a journalist and film critic based in the Philadelphia area. He is the co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle and a Rotten Tomatoes-listed critic since 2008, and his work has appeared in New York Press, Philly Voice, The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Tablet, The Times of Israel, and RogerEbert.com. In 2009, he became the first American journalist to interview both a sitting FCC chairman and a sitting host of "Jeopardy" on the same day.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook

Trending

The Passion of Joan of Arc review The Passion of Joan of Arc review

More Than a Face: Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc at 95

Film

Deep Impact was a serious look at the end of the world Deep Impact was a serious look at the end of the world

25 Years Later: Deep Impact was a Serious Look at the End of the World 

Film

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie review Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Caps Off the Trilogy With a Heartfelt Bang (Mostly)

Film

The 25 Greatest Wrestlers of All Time The 25 Greatest Wrestlers of All Time

The 25 Greatest Wrestlers of All Time

Wrestling

THE COVENANT (2023) THE COVENANT (2023)

Guy Ritchie Goes to War with the Moving, if Flawed, The Covenant

Film

The Best of the Beast – Brock Lesnar’s Ten Best Matches, Ranked The Best of the Beast – Brock Lesnar’s Ten Best Matches, Ranked

The Best of the Beast – Brock Lesnar’s Ten Best Matches, Ranked

Culture

Early Predictions for AEW Double or Nothing 2023 Early Predictions for AEW Double or Nothing 2023

Way Too Early Predictions for AEW Double or Nothing 2023

Wrestling

BlackBerry movie review BlackBerry movie review

BlackBerry Is a Wonderfully Canadian Account of a Dying Tech Dream

Film

Sean Connery Sean Connery

60 Years Later, Dr. No Remains the Paragon of Bond

Film

Big George Foreman Big George Foreman

Big George Foreman Should Have Been Bigger

Film

Sean Garrity review Sean Garrity review

The End of Sex is a Ballsy Comedy of Marital Manners 

Film

Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret: Judy Blume’s Adaptation is Right On

Film

He Got Game retrospective He Got Game retrospective

He Got Game was Spike Lee’s Shot at a Basketball Movie 

Film

The Matrix Reloaded The Matrix Reloaded

20 Years Later: The Matrix Reloaded was Underwhelming, but Still Underrated

Film

The Mother Jennifer Lopez and Lucy Paez The Mother Jennifer Lopez and Lucy Paez

Jennifer Lopez’s The Mother is Eerily Similar to Enough, But That’s Not a Bad Thing

Film

10 Best SummerSlam Matches 10 Best SummerSlam Matches

10 Best SummerSlam Matches

Culture

Connect