Watched: 08/14/2026
Format: TCM
Viewing: First
Director: Mark Robson
This movie was not for me. I did not enjoy it.
I imagine in 1967 this was quite a thing, and I can understand the cultural moment and the reason why people cared. Young women engaging with foul language, occasional partial nudity and frank depictions of sexual relationships. It's the earliest I can remember a studio movie being this blunt about sex, drugs and Hollywood.
Like much of the 1960's, it feels weirdly naive and you can't shake the feeling you're just watching a lot of dumb people making bad decisions. And that can be a movie. And, indeed, it was.
The movie follows three women. Patty Duke plays a girl who gets discovered, becomes a star of screen and stage, and gets hooked on pills - which she calls "dolls". Sharon Tate plays a woman who is hot but untalented, and who marries a guy and has to put up first with his sister/ manager, and then his chronic condition. And then Barbara Parkins plays a good New England girl who becomes a secretary, then just seems to hang around her former agent as his girlfriend.
The movie is mostly about why taking a bunch of pills is a bad idea, why letting an older guy use you is a bad idea, and why porn as a career is maybe not ideal.
I didn't like a single character nor care what happened to them. That's not true - Susan Hayward uses her middle-aged-crankiness to good effect as an aging actor who hates Patty Duke.
It just feels like a very long soap opera, but was probably revelatory at the time.
I *think* that what I wanted to see was the quasi-sequel, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, which famously is written by Roger Ebert and directed by Russ Meyers and sounds like a fever dream that took the brown acid.
This movie was so tedious, it took me four viewings to finish it. But finish it I did. Why? I kept thinking something good would happen. And it didn't.
I was mostly bored to tears.
I just wish Patty Duke's cousin had also been in this movie.
I had nearly the same reaction when I watched this one. I thought it would be interesting watching Patty Duke play a "bad girl", but, nope, she's portrayed as being suckered into the drug scene. I also thought Susan Hayward's character was the highlight.
ReplyDeleteI guess that, unlike you, I knew this wasn't Beyond the Valley. However, I had a misconception that this was part 1 and was required viewing. It's not. Beyond is its own thing and an incredible feaver dream. If that's you're bag (it's mine), then I think it's worth it.