Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Three girls come to Hollywood to make it big, but find only sex, drugs and sleaze.

Director:

Russ Meyer

Writers:

Roger Ebert (screenplay), Roger Ebert (story)

Stars:

Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dolly Read	...	Kelly Mac Namara
Cynthia Myers	...	Casey Anderson
Marcia McBroom	...	Petronella Danforth
John Lazar	...	Ronnie (Z-Man) Barzell (as John La Zar/John LaZar)
Michael Blodgett	...	Lance Rocke
David Gurian	...	Harris Allsworth
Edy Williams	...	Ashley St. Ives
Erica Gavin	...	Roxanne
Phyllis Davis	...	Susan Lake
Harrison Page	...	Emerson Thorne
Duncan McLeod	...	Porter Hall (as Duncan Mc Leod/Duncan McLeod)
James Iglehart	...	Randy Black (as Jim Iglehart)
Charles Napier	...	Baxter Wolfe
Henry Rowland	...	Otto
Princess Livingston	...	Matron

Storyline

This film is a sequel in name only to Valley of the Dolls (1967). An all-girl rock band goes to Hollywood to make it big. There they find success, but luckily for us, they sink into a cesspool of decadence. This film has a sleeping woman performing on a gun which is in her mouth. It has women posing as men. It has lesbian sex scenes. It is also written by Roger Ebert, who had become friends with Russ Meyer after writing favorable reviews of several of his films.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | satire | cult film | drugs | band | 

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Taglines:

This is not a sequel. There has never been anything like it!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

NC-17

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frequently touted as Pam Grier's film debut. She received an on-screen credit and a photo of her in a party scene was prominently featured in a 1970 Playboy layout on the film. Her role is very brief; she can't even be seen as an extra. Marcia McBroom was roommates with her at the time and got her a role when she was cast in the film.

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Goofs

During the Carrie Nation's performances, horns can be heard in the music. There is no horn section in the band.

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Quotes

Lance Rocke: The chick's been sleepin' with *me*, you got it?
Ronnie (Z-Man) Barzell: Knowing you, I'm sure she has. Have you run an audit on her books yet? Or are you still... screwing on faith?

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: Disclaimer: THE FILM YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "VALLEY OF THE DOLLS." IT IS WHOLLY ORIGINAL AND BEARS NO RELATIONSHIP TO REAL PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD. IT DOES, LIKE "VALLEY OF THE DOLLS" DEAL WITH THE OFT-TIMES NIGHTMARE WORLD OF SHOW BUSINESS BUT IN A DIFFERENT TIME AND CONTEXT.

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Alternate Versions

The British Board of Film Classification have cut the UK video release by 53 seconds. New opening credits were required for this release, as the BBFC would not allow a montage shot of a gun being pushed into the mouth of a sleeping woman, a scene that also reappears in full at the end of the movie (and was also cut). Ironically, the film has been broadcast uncut several times on UK network TV, by Channel 4.

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Connections

Spoofed in South Park: Cherokee Hair Tampons (2000)

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Soundtracks

A Girl From The City
by Paul Marshall
Performed by The Strawberry Alarm Clock (uncredited)

User Reviews

Brilliantly bad!

Based on a lot of the reviews posted here, it's obvious that satire isn't truly understood by many. This is surprising when it comes to "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls," because this film is way over the top when it comes to mocking the ridiculous, "tell-all" melodramas like "Peyton Place" and "Valley of the Dolls," which were so popular in the late 1950's and 60's. Just the plot alone is absurd - a "shocking" morality tale about an all girl rock band making it big in Hollywood and facing corruption by drugs, fame, and sexual predators of the lesbian and transsexual variety. Couple this outrageous story with a script sparkling with the cliched "hip lingo of 1960's youth" (penned by a young Roger Ebert, who must have gotten a huge kick out of having his characters use phrases like `You're a groovy boy, I'd like to strap you on sometime' and utter words like `groovy' and `dig' with heart rending earnestness), a ridiculously fetching sound track (I happily own one of the very few surviving copies on CD - only 1000 were ever made), a bevy of buxom, big-haired, Playboy bunnies who can barely act, and the uniquely stylistic camera work of soft-core porn master Russ Meyer, and what we have is a film that is so intentionally bad that it defies fantastic. This movie is supposed to be bad, it was designed that way. That's where the genius lies. There has never been and can never, ever be a film as phenomenal as "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." This isn't just my opinion - it's a fact!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 June 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1