Valley of the Dolls (1967)

Powerful

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

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.

No need to detail the plot The soaper was a rage in '67 largely because of its salacious material at a time when censorship in the movies was disappearing entirely. Now, these more explicit parts seem pretty tame by today's standards. I really don't understand the movie's ranking among the 50-worst of all time. Sure, the results are over-long, along with a sloppy script, and some unintended laughs, while Duke goes way over the top. But I can think of other soapers as bad if not worse (Peyton Place, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), despite their more respectable reputations. I expect many viewers pre-judge the film's results because of the its acquired reputation, and not from a straightforward viewing. But, except for Duke, the acting appears to me routine, while the plot deals with a serious if over-worked subject—the destructive side of success. Sure, the overall tone is melodramatic, but that goes with the soap opera genre where inter-personal conflict is paramount. No, VOTD is not a particularly good flick, but neither is it one of the 50-worst, unless a viewer is unduly influenced by so-called expert opinion (the Medveds). So, my advice is to take the movie as it comes without preconceived notions— yes, the good, the bad, and admittedly, the ugly!

The rating of 1 out of 10 refers to the film from an analytical perspective - I would probably give it a solid 10 on the "guilty pleasure" scale. Yes, the movie is really awful if you objectively analyze it - bad writing (from an equally trashy, compulsively readable novel), bad directing (from veteran Mark Robson, who has done very good work over the years) and bad acting (ranges from wooden to outrageous overacting - Sharon Tate looks beautiful but does very little else, Patty Duke really chews the scenery in her first "adult" role, and Susan Hayward - for shame!) In fairness, the New England scenery is beautiful and the music is OK, (but really didn't care for the theme song) But for all its badness I guarantee you will stick with it to the end. A great time-waster for a rainy or snowy day - just sit back, turn off your better judgment and sense of intellect, and enjoy!

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.