The most outrageous, campy & beloved film of the 1960'S: VALLEY OF THE DOLLS!

No 60's film was as heavily promoted, so attacked by critics as VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Yet audiences overruled the critics & lined up for blocks to experience this cinema insanity! Dolls were pills btw.

The character of Neely O'Hara was partially based on Judy Garland's own history (with pills, alcohol, and failed marriages). Judy Garland was originally cast in the role of Helen Lawson. She was fired because of her drinking and behavior and was replaced by Susan Hayward. Other actors considered as replacements were Tammy Grimes and Bette Davis. Judy Garland complained about the press writing about her behavior on this film. She said: "The studio hadn't even built the set yet, and the tabloids had me walking off it".

I have always suspected that Judy Garland was hired to play a character based on herself and then set up to be fired to keep her from suing over the thinly veiled plotline based on her.

By 1967 the gay community had brought the concept of camp to straight audiences. From BATMAN to CASINO ROYALE ( with Woody Allen), many attempted camp forgetting that it was unintended camp that was the purest form ( gays had first discovered Ed Wood and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE). The best camp, wasn't from John Waters, it was from people who had no idea they were making it.

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS was a massive success - at the box office. Twice! But critics were appalled. Over acting, corny show business is evil stay home thinking, over the top situations made the film a target. But the public ignored the press and went to see the film the two times it was released.

Gays began going to the film as a party. They delighted in trying to figure who the real life entertainers were the film was based on, so while straight America loved the film, it was the gays who recognized the film was delightfully campy. And their love for the film would later pass to the hip film world, making it one of the best so-called bad movies ever made. By the 1980's, everyone got the joke.

No one could have guessed in 1967 that years after the film was released and re-released Patty Duke would travel with the film to show and discuss it to sold out crowds around the country. Proving the film had passed from "bad" to "beloved". People love VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.

People who had read the massive best-selling book never thought Hollywood could make it into a movie.

Here is a 1967 documentary on novelist Jacqueline Susann and her book "Valley of The Dolls." This documentary features a lot of 1967 New York and Los Angeles, along with interviews with Susan Hayward, Judy Garland, Patty Duke, Earl Wilson and Susann's husband Irving Mansfield:

Raquel Welch screen-tested for the role of Jennifer North. When she was then offered it, read it and she turned it down and was suspended by 20th Century-Fox as a result. Sharon Tate eventually took the part.
Click this link here to watch VALLEY OF THE DOLLS

The Helen Lawson character was based loosely on Ethel Merman and the Neely O'Hara character is a mixture of Betty Hutton, Judy Garland, and Frances Farmer. Ethel Merman actually ordered a musical number cut during previews of the show "Panama Hattie" before it opened on Broadway. The singer of that number was Betty Hutton, who was creating quite a sensation with her performance of the song. Just like in "Valley of the Dolls", the producer of the show took Hutton to Hollywood and made her a star to make up for her treatment in the show. (Betty Hutton starred in the film version of Annie Get Your Gun (1950), adapted from the Broadway show starring Ethel Merman.) The character of Jennifer is based largely on Marilyn Monroe but also on Carole Landis, while Jacqueline Susann later admitted that Tony Polar was inspired by Dean Martin.

For the first time, the complete Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage is available to watch! This rare 1967 promotional documentary follows the maiden voyage of the ocean liner Princess Italia from Italy to California for the premiere of Valley of the Dolls. Featuring interviews with stars Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, Patty Duke, and Susan Hayward, the documentary captures the glamour and excitement surrounding the film’s international debut. The voyage included a screening on board en route to the Canary Islands, with stops in Miami and Los Angeles for red-carpet events. This is the first time the full documentary has been shared online. Enjoy this rare piece of Hollywood history!

Patty Duke hated the film so much she avoided speaking about it for many years. She began to notice people would come up to ask her about it and say how much they loved the movie. But she still didn’t understand. Then movie theaters began showing the film, and they sold out. She would eventually accept people’s love for the movie and would tour with it sharing her production stories.

Sharon Tate emerged from the film as the only star praised in the film. It looked like she was headed for bigger films, but it was not to be.

Director Mark Robson had a very combative relationship with all his actresses, particularly singling out Sharon Tate for his harsh treatment. Patty Duke hated working with him and, years later, after his death, still called him "a mean son of a bitch".
Censorship restrictions at the time prevented some of the more colorful instances from the book making it into the film, such as Sharon's experimentation with lesbianism, Ted Casablanca's homosexuality and Tony's predilection for anal sex.

Click this link here to watch VALLEY OF THE DOLLS

Dionne Warwick's Scepter rerecording of the movie theme would peak at number two on "Billboard"'s Hot 100 chart in February 1968. Dionne's 45 held the second slot for a month:

Original screenwriter Harlan Ellison, today considered a true great in script writing, had his name removed from the credits because he vehemently disagreed with the tacked-on "happy" ending that the studio insisted upon inserting.

Susan Hayward was considered difficult on the set, yet her performance does shine in the film.
In the scene in the bathroom when Patty Duke's character fights with Susan Hayward and rips off the latter's wig only to reveal a head of white hair that the actress had been hiding, Susan Hayward insisted on dyeing her own hair white for the scene as opposed to wearing a white wig as the studio had requested. Hayward, in a testament to her professionalism and commitment to the character, insisted on dyeing her own hair as she felt it would not only look realistic, but add more to the already tense scene.

Click this link to watch VALLEY OF THE DOLLS:

Click this link here to watch VALLEY OF THE DOLLS!

Behind the paywall: THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)