UW Cinematheque | Valley of the Dolls (1967)

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
USA | 1967 | DCP | 123 min.
Director: Mark Robson
Cast: Patty Duke, Sharon Tate, Barbara Parkins

One of the top ten most popular films at the 1967 box office, Valley of the Dolls follows three aspiring actresses as they weather the Tinseltown storm of drink, drugs, infidelity, and professional backstabbing. Seen as an exercise in pure camp by many critics and audiences, this adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s widely read novel has also been appreciated as as the culmination of decades of worthy Hollywood melodrama traditions, deftly handled by old pro director Robson and a lively cast that also includes soaper veteran Susan Hayward. Support for this screening provided by the Urdang Lab at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy and the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy.