Valley of the Dolls (1967)

Valley of the Dolls
Directed by Mark Robson
Written by Helen Deutsch and Dorothy Kingsley from the novel by Jacqueline Susann
1967/USA
Red Lion
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Anne Welles: Neely, you know it’s bad to take liquor with those pills.

Neely O’Hara: They work faster.[/box]

I was expecting a sudsy melodrama with over-the-top acting and that is exactly what I got.  Not that this is entirely a bad thing!

Nice girl Anne (Barbara Parkins) leaves her idyllic home in New England for the excitement of the Big Apple.  She promptly gets a job with a show business attorney.  This eventually leads to meeting Helen Lawson (Susan Hayward), an aging Broadway legend; Neely O’Hara (Patty Duke), an aspiring Broadway legend; and Jennifer (Sharon Tate), a sweet, reluctant sex symbol.  Anne, with her elegant looks, gets hired to represent a line of beauty products.

All of the younger women fall in love with men who are basically non-entities. The stress of  making their dreams comes true lead all to prescription drugs and booze at some point.  Neeley goes completely over the edge.  With Lee Grant as a doting sister.

This became kind of a guilty pleasure.  It’s super trashy but very entertaining.  I didn’t know Patty Duke could overact to this extent but she is perfect for her part.  Susan Hayward emerges with her dignity intact.  I had forgotten how much I love Dionne Warwick’s rendition of the theme song.  Can’t exactly recommend it but don’t regret I saw it one bit.

John Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for his adapted score.  Andre and Dory Previn wrote the songs.