Valley of the Dolls

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Neely is seventeen when she becomes a star, and of course, it gets to her head. She becomes tempermental and moody. Signs of a genius, they call it, until it becomes too much for them. She becomes addicted to the dolls - to maintain her figure, to help her sleep, to stay sane. Her first marriage to the doting Mel fails because of her vanity and infidelity. Her second to Ted, because of his. Throughout the story, despite her childish behaviour, in spite of her tantrums, I never hated Neely. She came up through pure talent, and that was rare. She did stupid things. She had nervous breakdowns. I liked her through it all. Until. Until she performs her last act of ultimate betrayal. And thusly, she was made a caricature. A caricature of a talented Hollywood superstar whose personal life is in a complete shambles, who turns out to be a total stereotype.

Valley Of The Dolls by Jacqueline Susann | Waterstones

Following the lives of Anne, Jennifer, and Neely, from 1945-1965, the novel covers their struggles and triumphs...and their responses to the inevitability of aging. Don't bother coming up with complex motivations for when you need your characters to do stupid, destructive shit: just pin it on love. Medved, Harry (1978). The Fifty Worst Movies of All Time (and How They Got That Way) (1sted.). Angus & Robertson. pp.272–274. ISBN 9780207958915. Sprinkle in some homoerotism. Only for the flavor or the titillation, don't be doing any real treatment on the topic, it will doom the novel to the "genre" ghetto.Valley of the Dolls is the first novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann. Published in 1966, the book was the biggest selling novel of its year. [1] As of 2016, it has sold more than 31 million copies, [2] making it one of the all-time best-selling fictional works in publishing history. [3] Plot [ edit ]

50 years of Valley of the Dolls - The Guardian

In January 1967, columnist Dorothy Manners reported that Oscar nominated actress Elizabeth Hartman had been cast in the role of Neely O'Hara, beating out some more famous Hollywood actresses. Hartman had allegedly made a successful screen test that "floored" director Mark Robson and producer David Weisbart, the former already enthralled with her performance in Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now. However, the following month, it was announced that Duke had signed on to play Neely instead, albeit against her agent's advice. Duke's universally panned "over the top" performance almost ruined her career. a b c d e Rebello, Stephen (2020). Dolls! Dolls! Dolls!: deep inside Valley of the dolls, the most beloved bad book and movie of all time. [New York, New York]. pp.285–289. ISBN 978-0-14-313350-6. OCLC 1127541604. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) If that was being said today by my boyfriend about my best friend, I’d rethink my whole life and punch him in the face. I’d let no man disrespect my best friend by calling them names like a petty 6 year old. To promote the film, the studio hosted a month-long premiere party on a luxury liner. At a screening in Venice, Susann said the film “appalled” her, according to Parkins. She also thought Hollywood “had ruined her book,” and Susann asked to be taken off the boat. At one point she reportedly told Robson directly that she thought the film was “a piece of sh*t.” 2. BARBARA PARKINS WAS “NERVOUS” TO WORK WITH JUDY GARLAND. I was most fascinated with Anne and Lyon Burke. Their relationship was so interesting. I loved the way she talked about him in the beginning of the novel. She was so in love with him.

Anne was just a small town girl living in the lonely world who took the midnight train going to New York. She and her friends Neely and Jennifer are just three girls trying to make it in '40s New York. Anne, educated at Radcliffe, is an all-American girl, who starts off as a secretary, but becomes the face of a cosmetics line. Neely, fresh-faced and nervous, who by her talent rises to become one of Hollywood's greatest stars. Jennifer, gorgeous, is defined by her beauty rather than by who she is as a person. Would have worked too, had Susann not decided to make caricatures of her characters. Susann doesn't know when to stop, and that seems to be this book's biggest problem. She takes perfectly good characters and makes you hate them with such seething passion, you begin to question your hatred of pretty much everything else. She had, in this book, an opportunity to step away from stereotypes and deliver something real, but she didn't, and somehow, I'm disappointed that she didn't. In a way, I was glad for Jennifer's untimely death because at least her story didn't get stretched to a point that made no sense.

The ‘camp trash’ that became a classic - BBC Culture The ‘camp trash’ that became a classic - BBC Culture

It's a very tragic book and I do not know if it's a book I would like to read again, but and I'm glad I read the book. Valley of the Dolls is well-written and interesting and it feels timeless. Seaman, Barbara. Lovely Me: The Life of Jacqueline Susann. 2nd ed. (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1996), p. 197. Sheesh, the philistines I have to deal with daily! Just makes ya need somethin' to relax with: say, a handful of benzodiazepines, a mug of ice cream and The Captain, the latest issue of The Baffler, and some Esquivel on the Hi-Fi. Rebello, Stephen (2020). Dolls! Dolls! Dolls!: deep inside Valley of the dolls, the most beloved bad book and movie of all time. [New York, New York]. pp.xi–xiv. ISBN 978-0-14-313350-6. OCLC 1127541604. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) Another important difference is that the film is clearly set in the mid-to-late 1960s and the events unfold over the course of a few years, whereas in the book the story begins in 1945 and develops throughout two decades.This book took me on a wild adventure and I loved every second of it. It was fascinating going on a journey with the three girls. They all started off so naive and sweet and then things took a turn for them and they became so hardened. In an interview with Roger Ebert, Susann offered her thoughts on why Garland was let go. “Everybody keeps asking me why she was fired from the movie, as if it was my fault or something,” she said. “You know what I think went wrong? Here she was, raised in the great tradition of the studio stars, where they make 30 takes of every scene to get it right, and the other girls in the picture were all raised as television actresses. So they’re used to doing it right the first time. Judy just got rattled, that’s all.” 5. PATTY DUKE PARTIALLY BLAMES THE DIRECTOR’S BEHAVIOR FOR GARLAND’S EXIT.