“Valley of the Dolls” is a trashy melodrama film based on Jacqueline Susann’s 1966 novel of the same name. It is the story of three young women in show business and their struggles with drug addiction. Veteran director Mark Robson (“Von Ryan’s Express” 1965) could not get the low-life novel to any higher plain, and was not helped by the poorly written screenplay by Helen Deutsch and Dorothy Kingsley. He did a much better job back in 1957 with “Peyton Place.”
There was no shortage of star power for this picture: Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, Paul Burke, Susan Hayward, Martin Milner, Tony Scotti, Lee Grant, Joey Bishop, Naomi Stevens, Charles Drake, and George Jessel as the Grammy Awards host. Jacqueline Susann, Marvin Hamlisch, and Richard Dreyfuss had small or uncredited parts. John Williams received “Valley’s” sole Oscar nomination for his composition of the movie score. The song “Theme from Valley of the Dolls,” performed by Dionne Warwick, was composed by Andre and Dory Previn, and a hit for Warwick on the record charts.
Despite its shortcomings, 20th Century Fox’s “Valley of the Dolls” is so bad that it makes for fascinating viewing and is a watchable film. A footnote to “Valley of the Dolls” is that it was the most prominent appearance in film or television for Sharon Tate before her tragic murder by the Charles Manson family in 1969.
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
cinema
My Review
“Valley of the Dolls” is a trashy melodrama film based on Jacqueline Susann’s 1966 novel of the same name. It is the story of three young women in show business and their struggles with drug addiction. Veteran director Mark Robson (“Von Ryan’s Express” 1965) could not get the low-life novel to any higher plain, and was not helped by the poorly written screenplay by Helen Deutsch and Dorothy Kingsley. He did a much better job back in 1957 with “Peyton Place.”
There was no shortage of star power for this picture: Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, Paul Burke, Susan Hayward, Martin Milner, Tony Scotti, Lee Grant, Joey Bishop, Naomi Stevens, Charles Drake, and George Jessel as the Grammy Awards host. Jacqueline Susann, Marvin Hamlisch, and Richard Dreyfuss had small or uncredited parts. John Williams received “Valley’s” sole Oscar nomination for his composition of the movie score. The song “Theme from Valley of the Dolls,” performed by Dionne Warwick, was composed by Andre and Dory Previn, and a hit for Warwick on the record charts.
Despite its shortcomings, 20th Century Fox’s “Valley of the Dolls” is so bad that it makes for fascinating viewing and is a watchable film. A footnote to “Valley of the Dolls” is that it was the most prominent appearance in film or television for Sharon Tate before her tragic murder by the Charles Manson family in 1969.