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Nov 09, 2016mswrite rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Deliriously sixties camp classic, adapted from Jackie Susann's gleefully trashy "Hollywood insider" novel. (The main characters were supposedly loosely based on real-life legends Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and, uh.... Ethel Merman.) Susan Hayward does the Merm-like turn as Helen Lawson, the brassy, beloved and aging Broadway diva threatened by vibrant newcomer Neely O'Hara, played by Patty Duke. This is an odd twist given that Neely was reportedly conceived as a "young Judy"-type and the great Judy herself was originally cast as Helen. The fragile Garland, undermined by drugs, alcohol, and constant money worries, probably found the whole Helen-Neely dynamic too close for comfort. She fell apart not long into the filming and was replaced by Hayward. I forget who Anne Welles, the cool and classy New Englander played by brunette beauty Barbara Parkins is supposed to be. Rumor has it author Susann wrote Anne as an (extremely) idealized version of herself. And the marvelous Lee Grant--what on earth is she doing in this mess? Eh, it doesn't matter. Nor do the "Valley of the Dolls" men--Paul ("The Naked City") Burke, Martin ("Adam-12") Milner, and Tony Scotti, (whose acting career disappeared without a trace after the release of the movie)--it's all about the dolls. The most memorable doll is the radiantly lovely Sharon Tate, quite poignant as the tragic starlet Jennifer North. Jennifer, Monroe-like, dies not knowing her true beauty and self-worth and it is impossible to watch her story line without thinking of Tate's horrible real-life fate. She was butchered--there is no other way to describe what happened to her and her unborn son--by the deranged Charles Manson and his wretched "Family" in August of 1969. (The grisly crime, and the eventual capture and trial of the Manson Family, is chronicled in prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's gripping "Helter Skelter.") This 2-disc set includes a number of special features, notably a dishy commentary track provided by the ever-elegant Parkins (who reveals she might have been one of the ill-fated house guests on the night of the Manson murders but happened to be on her way to London when she got the invite from Sharon) and the arch E! News correspondent Ted Casablanca, who cheerfully admits he took his name from the character in the movie. Worth a look, if you're in the proper mood for it. Check out the documentary, "Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: Sex, Dolls, and Showtunes" for some enlightening and very entertaining perspective. A definite plus is the haunting Andre and Dory Previn love theme movingly sung by the peerless Dionne Warwick, "Theme From the Valley of the Dolls."