Valley of the Dolls

[lovegod]

I was thinking that Sharon Tate must be one of the dolls.... but I was wrong ... the term dolls refers

to little red pills..... downers !



Made way back in 1966... Barbara Parker was lovely, Sharon Tate was lovely.... but what was the film all about ?

there was no real climax to the story.



A bit of an inside .... show biz... story with some nice scenes of New York ... some nice snow scenes

of New England ...... some pool scenes of LA ... it was all very well filmed and acted... but one is left a bit short changed

.... give me Dr Zhivago any time .



The book .. Valley of the Dolls... sold 30 million copies (wonder who got past the first chapter ? )







.

[will.15]

name='lovegod' date='28 July 2010 - 01:18 AM' timestamp='1280276331' post='457189']





The book .. Valley of the Dolls... sold 30 million copies (wonder who got past the first chapter ? )







.

I did, readable trash.

[Kitty Whiskers]

Valley of the Dolls is one of my all time guilty pleasures (along side Mommie Dearest - they make a perfect double bill ).



It's very similar (some would say too similar) to the novel/film Best of Everything with Hope Lange, Stephen Boyd and the magnificent Joan Crawford, but Valley of the Dolls ramps it up to the rooftops. And if you can outdo Crawford, you are truely a force of nature.



The true brilliance of this film is that it is a total rollercoaster ride. There's no climax, but there's the dialogue (Jenny: "Gee Honey, that old witch oughtta be boiled in oil"), the performances (Neelie: "I'm Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelie!! Neeeeeeeelie O'Harrrrrrra!", the show-stopping sets and tunes (Susan Hayward's mindblowing "I'll Plant My Own Tree" - surely one of the worst songs ever written - in a psychedelic Mechano set accompanied by a bongo player on Meth) and the fun of guessing who people are based on (hint: Helen Lawson is Ethel Merman).



It's got everything!



But having said that, the book is quite different to the film.

[Rick C]

....and to think that the director of "Valley of the Dolls" (Mark Robson)was none other than the same director of the saintly Ingrid Bergman drama "Inn of the Sixth Happiness"!



Maybe the idea was to come up with "GIN of the Sixth Happiness"



The trailer for the first VOD (there were two with the sequel even MORE bizarre) is, or was until recently, lodged on Youtube. Too rushed this minute to find the link on there.

[narabdela]

name='will.15' date='28 July 2010 - 01:23 AM' timestamp='1280276624' post='457191']

I did, readable trash.

Agreed. Trash indeed, but a much better read than anything Dan Brown could ever churn out.

[Steve Crook]

name='narabdela' date='28 July 2010 - 07:09 AM' timestamp='1280297386' post='457218']

Agreed. Trash indeed, but a much better read than anything Dan Brown could ever churn out.

The telephone directory is a better read than anything Dan Brown could ever churn out



Steve

[Gerald Lovell]

name='Steve Crook' date='28 July 2010 - 09:20 AM' timestamp='1280305207' post='457251']

The telephone directory is a better read than anything Dan Brown could ever churn out



Steve

I remember Else Garnett quietly reading through all the volumes of the London Telephone Directory throughout a series of TILL DEATH US DO PART, so she'd probably agree.

[Kitty Whiskers]

name='Steve Crook' date='28 July 2010 - 08:20 AM' timestamp='1280305207' post='457251']

The telephone directory is a better read than anything Dan Brown could ever churn out



Steve

Thank goodness someone else feels like this. I tried to read The Da Vinci Code when it was all the rage and couldn't get past the second chaper. What a pile of tripe.



Further Valley of the Dolls trivia I have up my sleeve (I just love this film, like I say): The chap playing Tony Polar in the film went on to co-create Scotti Brothers Records (who can forget his great scene singing in the wheelchair at the sanitorium). Richard Drefus had his first line onscreen at the end. Judy Garland was meant for the Helen Lawson part, but her own real-life issues with dolls got her sacked. There is a great recording of her doing "I'll Plant My Own Tree" with an even crazier bongo player which turns up on a few compliation CDs.



There is a brilliant little film on Jackie Susann called Isn't She Great with Bette Midler, Stockard Channing and Nathan Lane that is so worth watching. It's so much fun.

[lovegod]

A few caps from the movie with Sharron Tate and Barbara Parkin