Valley of the Dolls (1967)

Getting into the world of acting is always going to be cutthroat. For three women, it's a common thing. There's one who is a natural talent (Patty Duke), a blonde(Sharon Tate) who can sing, but has limited talent, and a secretary(Barbara Parkins). Once these three got together, it was no stopping them. Neely(Duke), meets a Broadway star(Susan Hayward) who is flat out arrogant, get fired from the show. After a successful telethon, she heads out to Hollywood. However, she falls victim to egotistical behavior, and her marriage is in ruins due to pressure and drug use. Jennifer(Tate) follow the same path as Neely with a different result. Her husband gets sick, she became pregnant, and ends up doing skin flicks to support her family. Like Neely, she turned to drugs as well. Anne(Parkins) also fall into the same trap like the other two. Only she ended up being the strong one. The "Dolls" are considered to be part of the actresses' downfall. And only one that really redeemed herself. The acting is well made. The star quality waa there. I really enjoyed this film very much. 5 stars.

Among the most legendary of trashy movies, "Valley of the Dolls" is also compulsively entertaining. Anne Welles leaves the pristine snow-covered village of Lawrenceville for the savage Broadway jungle in Manhattan. Based on the lurid best-selling novel by Jacqueline Susann, the film chronicles the rise and fall of three young women: Welles, played by Barbara Parkins; Neely O'Hara, played by Patty Duke; and Jennifer North, played by Sharon Tate. Evidently, life is easy street in New York, at least at first, because opportunities are thrown at their feet; secretaries with scant shorthand skills become hair-spray models, mediocre singers become sensations, and women with bodies become stars of French art films.Reportedly a roman-a-clef drawn from well known show business personalities, "Valley of the Dolls" is glossy, big-budget nonsense from director Mark Robson, who previously directed such decent films as "Von Ryan's Express," "Peyton Place," and "The Bridges at Toko-ri." Perhaps Robson thought lightening would strike twice, and he could fashion another critical hit like "Peyton Place" from another trashy novel like Grace Metalious's 1950's scandalous best seller. However, "Valley of the Dolls" is no "Peyton Place." While Robson drew excellent performances from Lana Turner and a distinguished cast in his earlier soap opera, he unleashes his cast, and they go over the top in "Valley of the Dolls." Although directing three Oscar-winning actresses (Susan Hayward, Lee Grant, and Patty Duke), Robson let them chew the scenery shamelessly. While the bitchy performances provide guilty entertainment, they are often risible. Hayward is Helen Lawson, a tough Broadway veteran, who leaves no survivors; Hayward's badly staged musical number pits her against an out-of-control mobile, and her wig-pulling duel with Duke is justifiably famous for campy hilarity. Duke overplays the bitchiness throughout, and her final scene is a histrionic masterpiece of bad acting. The flashbacks of Duke in a sanitarium will have viewers rolling, especially when her toe cuts through a sheet. Only Lee Grant retains her dignity and under-plays a small, thankless role. Meanwhile, Sharon Tate is lovely, but wooden, and Barbara Parkins and Paul Burke do little with what little they are given by the script.The film's budget was obviously generous, and the now-dated 1960's fashions, make-up, and hair styles could be studied and copied for period films set in that decade. Also dated and offensive are repeated references to gays as queers, fags, and faggots; but, in fairness, the all-white cast lacks other minorities to denigrate. Except for the title song sung by Dionne Warwick, the tunes are instantly forgettable, although a duet between recovering addict Duke and wheel-chair bound Tony Scotti is like something out of "Airplane." The dialogue is either intentionally or unintentionally funny at times, and the use of "dolls" to refer to pills sounds forced. Although Robson likely entertained fantasies of producing another soap opera masterpiece on the order of "Peyton Place" or "Imitation of Life," he instead left a camp classic that is a guilty pleasure for many.

Film version of Jacqueline Susann's best-selling novel chronicling the rise and fall of three young ladies in show business.If I understand this correctly, the film was released and critics hated it, but audiences loved it. When Sharon Tate was murdered, the film was released again, and audiences still loved it. Years later, when it was screened for a new generation, it was even noted that people loved it because it was a bad movie. So strange.I will give them credit for going into certain questionable areas like "art films" and abortion, drug addiction and more. By the 1960s, this may not have been so shocking, but still brave enough that it is worth noting. But yet, it still seems sort of bland. This film is nothing compared to the crazy Meyer-Ebert collaboration "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls".

I really did like this movie. Even thou, I don't totally agree with it's rating PG-13 for that time. But it seems to me that even back in the 1960's there were some really racy subject matter that needed to be portrayed and shown. But to have a PG-13 rating was not the right call. The characters were stellar and plot was fascinating. Now a little spoiler...I can't recall the title of the movie where the male character cries "Stella" or something like that. But in this movie when Neely O'Hara one of the main characters cries out in the air like the guy (in the film I can't remember the name) in that film did. I was reminded of the scene from the other film. Classic! I'll say. The story also reminds me of a small portray of Marilyn Monroe's life. How she rose to stardom, fame and how that rise ultimately cost her (professional and personal) life.