Valley of the Dolls

PG-13

Released Dec 15, 1967

2h 3m

Drama

List

33%

40 Reviews

Tomatometer

58%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In New York City, bright but naive New Englander Anne Welles (Barbara Parkins) becomes a secretary at a theatrical law firm, where she falls in love with attorney Lyon Burke (Paul Burke). Anne befriends up-and-coming singer Neely O'Hara (Patty Duke), whose dynamic talent threatens aging star Helen Lawson (Joey Bishop) and beautiful but talentless actress Jennifer North (Sharon Tate). The women experience success and failure in love and work, leading to heartbreak, addiction and tragedy.

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Critics Consensus

Trashy, campy, soapy, and melodramatic, Valley of the Dolls may be a dud as a Hollywood expose, but has nonetheless endured as a kitsch classic.

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Matthew R

Iconic. Camp classic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/21/23

Full Review

Russ

A film you watch to see if it's as bad as its reputation, and the answer is: "Not a lot worse than other Hollywood films of its era." The three principle actresses do a fair job given the limitations of the screenplay, which is choppy, to say the least. Things progress in an orderly manner, then drop off the cliff at almost exactly the halfway mark, at the pool scene between Martin Milner and Patty Duke. There's no exposition as to how she became a pill-popping diva. My most serious criticism is reserved for the producer or casting director for roping an aging Susan Haywood into this train wreck. Did she need a paycheck bad enough to be humiliated?

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/12/23

Full Review

Taylor L

For all the fame that Sharon Tate has maintained since her untimely death, she was involved in shockingly few films that could be called popular; Valley of the Dolls is probably her most substantial project, but even this is known more for its satirical follow-up. Just another film about the poisoned nature of show business and fame, but told without power or nuance. For some reason the story splits itself across different characters just to show different paths to ruin - substance abuse, debauchery, whatever - rather than committing to a single, unified arc; this is apparently a holdover from the novel, which had the room to be more substantial. The stories are just silly bits of over-the-top melodrama, tons of theatrics that are just dolloped into the film like a gallon of whipped cream on top of a very small slice of pie; I'm sure some people could relate to the rise and fall narrative sincerely, but with all the talk of genetic diseases, cancer diagnoses, and spins in the asylum, this is really a movie that can only be enjoyed for its crowd-pleasing excess and unintentional humor than anything it does deliberately. Nice costuming and a good visual experience of showbiz in the '60s, but really just a stupid story masquerading as something more profound; Patty Duke literally has her hands up in the air calling out to God by the end. Mostly a sensationalized, oversexed version of A Star is Born or one of the other classic 'small town girl goes to Hollywood' scripts. (2/5)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Cindy L

In its day it was a scandalous drama, a soap opera. It touched on 3 women's trials in fame & fortune, sex, sexuality, drugs & alcohol in Hollywood. Beautiful Sharon Tate was in this film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/22/22

Full Review

deke p

Actually a good cast! Including Joey Bishop & Georgie Jessel. SUSAN HAYWARD! & memorable theme music sung by DIONNE WARWICK & conducted by JOHN WILLIAMS. Saw the whole thing for the first time 7-17-2022. I may have seen it in 1967 when it came out but in a drive-in theater but the inside of my windshield was so foggy & we weren't paying attention to what was on the movie screen so Vaguely remember it but it certainly did 'pass the time'. Never much cared for Patty Puke (who became a drugged out starlet herself) but worth watching for SHARON TATE before she was murdered by the Manson gang. On my telly again 7.17.2022

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Way underrated , it is a good movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

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Mark Robson

Director

Barbara Parkins

Anne Welles

Patty Duke

Neely O'Hara

Sharon Tate

Jennifer North

Paul Burke

Lyon Burke

Tony Scotti

Tony Polar

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Anne Cohen

Refinery29

A must-watch even if the movie had nothing else going for it, which happily, it does.

Jul 22, 2019

Full Review

TIME Staff

TIME Magazine

The cliche of show business as a dream world may have been wide-eyed and saccharine. But Novelist Susann's view of Hollywood as nightmare Valley merely adds up to the old naivete in reverse.

Mar 27, 2019

Full Review

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Senses of Cinema

Valley of the Dolls rose from the ashes to become a so-bad-it's-good cult film of the highest order.

Aug 27, 2018

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

I can’t remotely claim this is a good movie, but I sure did enjoy terrible moments like the duet in a sanitarium.

Rated: C-

Aug 30, 2022

Full Review

Eve Tushnet

Patheos

The cliches in the addiction storyline land with a real clunk because of the decision to call speed pills “dolls.”

Jul 14, 2022

Full Review

Roland Forte

Call and Post (Cleveland)

Sitting through two and a half hours of this sickening and tragic pill party gives a theater-goer a case of acute nausea.

Mar 29, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

In New York City, bright but naive New Englander Anne Welles (Barbara Parkins) becomes a secretary at a theatrical law firm, where she falls in love with attorney Lyon Burke (Paul Burke). Anne befriends up-and-coming singer Neely O'Hara (Patty Duke), whose dynamic talent threatens aging star Helen Lawson (Joey Bishop) and beautiful but talentless actress Jennifer North (Sharon Tate). The women experience success and failure in love and work, leading to heartbreak, addiction and tragedy.

Director: Mark Robson
Screenwriter: Helen Deutsch, Jacqueline Susann
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox, Red Lion
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual Content|Partial Nudity|Language|Substance Abuse|Thematic Elements)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 15, 1967, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 18, 2012
Runtime: 2h 3m
Sound Mix: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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