Movies - Valley of the Dolls

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	Movies - Valley of the Dolls

Valley of the Dolls is the title of a best selling novel by Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966, and the Hollywood film which followed it in 1967.

Book

When first published, the book became an instant success and since its original publication has sold more than 20 million copies. The book was the first of its genre by a female author to achieve that degree of commercial success, and led the way for other authors such as Jackie Collins to depict, as fiction, the private lives of the real-life rich and famous.

Movie

The subsequent film, produced by David Weisbart and directed by Mark Robson, received a great deal of publicity during its production. Upon release it was a commercial success, but was universally panned by critics. It was rereleased in 1969 following the murder of star Sharon Tate, and once again proved commercially viable. In the years since its production it has come to be regarded as a camp classic. Barbara Parkins, recently attending a special screening of the film in San Francisco, made a personal appearance at the theater and told the sold-out crowd of mostly gay men, "I know why you like it... because it's so bad!"

Primary cast

Barbara Parkins
: Anne Welles
Patty Duke
: Neely O'Hara
Sharon Tate
: Jennifer North
Paul Burke : Lyon Burke
Tony Scotti
: Tony Polar
Susan Hayward
: Helen Lawson
Martin Milner
: Mel Anderson
Charles Drake
: Kevin Gillmore
Alexander Davion : Ted Casablanca
Lee Grant
: Miriam Polar
Naomi Stevens : Miss Steinberg
Robert H. Harris : Henry Bellamy
Jacqueline Susann : Reporter #1 at Jennifer's suicide
Robert Viharo : Film director
Joey Bishop
: MC at Cystic Fibrosis telethon
George Jessel
: MC at Grammy Awards

Award nominations

Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment (John Williams)
Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female (Sharon Tate
)
Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture (André Previn)

Plot

The book and film tell the story of three young women who meet when all are embarking on the beginning of their careers. Neely O'Hara is a plucky kid with undeniable talent who is working in a Broadway play which stars the legendary actress Helen Lawson. Jennifer North, a beautiful blonde with limited talent is appearing in the chorus. Anne Welles has recently arrived from New England with hopes of success in New York City and she is working for an agency that represents Helen Lawson. The three women become fast friends, and share a bond of ambition and the tendency to be involved with the wrong men.

In the film version, O'Hara becomes a major success and goes to Hollywood where a lucrative film career follows, but almost immediately falls victim to the "dolls" of the title - drugs, particularly Seconal and tranquilizers. Her career is shattered by her erratic behaviour and she finds herself in a sanitarium. Meanwhile Jennifer has followed her to Hollywood and married a singer, but he is afflicted with a degenerative disease and his care results in mounting medical expenses. Having learnt that she has only ever been regarded for her body, Jennifer finds herself working in "art movies" to pay the medical bills (in the book her marriage to the singer ends in divorce and then she heads to Europe to have a successful career in french arthouse films). Anne has fared the best of all three, having become a highly successful model. She too falls under the allure of the "dolls" and uses them to escape the reality of her relationship with her unfaithful lover. Jennifer tries to turn her back on her "art movie" career, but when diagnosed with breast cancer, commits suicide with an overdose of "dolls". Neely is given one more chance to straighten up and resume her career, but the attraction of the "dolls" is too strong and she seems to spiral into a final decline. Only Anne manages to escape and abandons both her unfaithful lover and the "dolls" to return to New England (none of this is in the book, where Anne stays with Lyon after his affair with Neely and under the influence of the dolls).

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