Valley of the Dolls [Special Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A cinematic take on a 1960s best-seller, Valley of the Dolls traces the ups and downs of three young women as fame, booze, pills, and men consume their lives. Well-bred, small-town Anne Welles (Peyton Place star Barbara Parkins) arrives in New York eager for fame but settles for a job assisting theatrical attorney Henry Bellamy (Robert H. Harris). The job leads her to cross paths with Helen Lawson (Hollywood veteran Susan Hayward), the grand dame of Broadway musicals, and Neely O'Hara (sitcom star Patty Duke), an up-and-coming performer whom Lawson unceremoniously boots from her latest show. Neely lands on her feet thanks to a series of nightclub gigs, and soon she and Anne befriend Jennifer North (Sharon Tate), a buxom starlet. As Neely becomes a huge star of stage and screen and Jennifer appears topless in a string of European "art" films, Anne becomes a wealthy cosmetics spokeswoman and suffers though a passionate but failed affair with aspiring writer Lyon Burke (Paul Burke). As the pressures of fame and failed romance take their toll on all three women, they take refuge in food, sex, liquor, and pills -- especially Neely, who becomes downright monstrous (the titular "dolls" are the uppers and downers to which she becomes hopelessly addicted). Although the film's characters are fictitious composites, Neely most closely resembles Judy Garland; Garland herself was originally cast as Lawson, but she was replaced after only a few days by Hayward. Although the film's trailer played up the story's titillating subject matter, the script for Valley of the Dolls actually toned down Jacqueline Susann's novel. And despite the fact that Dionne Warwick can be heard singing "(Theme From) The Valley of the Dolls" twice during the film, contractual snags kept her from releasing the soundtrack version; a different arrangement later became a number two pop hit in 1968. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Subtitle: Eng/Fre/Spa
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Letterbox for TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • Audio commentary by actress Barbara Parkins and E!'s Ted Casablanca
  • Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: sex, Dolls and Showtunes documentary
  • The Divine Ms. Susann Featurette
  • Hollywood Backstories; Valley of the Dolls featurette
  • Valley of the Dolls - A World premiere voyage documentary featuring rare footage
  • Jacqueline Susann and Valley of the Dolls documentary featuring rare footage
  • Still galleries
  • Trivia Overdose: A Pill-popping guide to Valley of the Dolls You've Got Talent Karaoke - Follow the Bouncing Doll on Three Songs!
  • Screen tests of the stars and more!

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Adapted Score - 1967 (John Williams)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated New Star of the Year - Female - 1967 (Sharon Tate)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Barbara Parkins - Anne Welles
       Patty Duke - Neely O'Hara
       Paul Burke - Lyon Burke
       Sharon Tate - Jennifer North
       Tony Scotti - Tony Polar
       Martin Milner - Mel Anderson
       Charles Drake - Kevin Gillmore
       Lee Grant - Miriam Polar
       Naomi Stevens - Miss Steinberg
       Robert H. Harris - Henry Bellamy
       Jacqueline Susann - First Reporter
       Robert Viharo - Director
       Joey Bishop - Telethon Host
       George Jessel - Host at Grammy Awards
       Alexander Davion - Ted Casablanca

• Director:

  Mark Robson

• Producer:

  David Weisbart

• Screenwriter:

  Jacqueline Susann

• Book Author:

  Jacqueline Susann

• Screenwriter:

  Dorothy Kingsley, Helen Deutsch

• Cinematographer:

  William H. Daniels

• Songwriter:

  Andre Previn

• Composer (Music Score):

  John Williams

• Songwriter:

  Dory Previn

• Editor:

  Dorothy Spencer

• Production Designer:

  Philip M. Jefferies

• Art Director:

  Richard Day, Jack Martin Smith

• Set Designer:

  Raphael Bretton, Walter Scott

• Costume Designer:

  William Travilla

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Don Bassman, David Dockendorf

• Makeup:

  Ben Nye, Sr.

• Special Effects:

  L.B. Abbott, Art Cruickshank, Emil Kosa, Jr.

• First Assistant Director:

  Eli Dunn, Robert J. Koster

• Choreography:

  Robert Sidney

• Casting:

  Joe Scully

• Production Manager:

  Chico Day

• Musical Performer:

  Dionne Warwick

• First Assistant Camera:

  Thomas del Ruth

• Production Assistant:

  Edward Folger

• Hair Styles:

  Kaye Pownall, Kenneth

• Publicist:

  Regina Gruss