FILM 2133: VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967)
FILM 2133: VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967)
TRIVIA: Judy Garland was originally cast in the role of Helen Lawson. She was fired because of her drinking and behavior and was replaced by Susan Hayward. Other actors considered as replacements were Tammy Grimes and Bette Davis.
This is the first of composer John Williams' 50 Oscar nominations (as of 2017). Williams is currently the most Oscar-nominated living person. The novel begins during a heat wave in New York City at the end of WWII whereas the film opens in the middle of winter with lots of snow. This occurred because the producers were anxious to get the film into production and didn't want to wait for the warmer weather; a fact which infuriated the book's author Jacqueline Susann. The film version was also updated so that instead of taking place from 1945 through the 1950s, the storyline ran from the mid to late 1960s.
Raquel Welch screen-tested for the role of Jennifer North. When she was then offered it she turned it down and was suspended by 20th Century-Fox as a result. Sharon Tateeventually took the part.
Patty Duke took the role of Neely O'Hara as an opportunity to transition into more adult roles in film, and because she saw the role as the most dynamic in the script, allowing her to act, sing and dance. When she learned that despite her preparations her vocals were dubbed for the film, she was furious.
Despite its strong box office performance, the general consensus was that audiences had difficulty accepting the clean-cut Patty Duke in the role of a pill-popping prima donna. The irony was that Duke in real life had become addicted to drugs because her guardians fed them to her to help her with her acting.
This film is listed among The 100 Most Amusingly Bad Moves Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE® MOVIE GUIDE.
Judy Garland was gifted the sequined pantsuit she was to wear in the movie after she was fired from the film, along with her salary. Since Garland was more petite than Susan Hayward, who replaced her, the other costumes were re-worked to fit Hayward. Travilla said of Hayward "she made me take everything out - the lining, the pads, everything. That way, she thought she'd look thinner. I argued that the gowns would fall out of shape. In the end, I had no choice but take it all out; only the beads stayed." Garland liked her sequined pantsuit so much that she commissioned costume designer Travilla to make her additional copies-one in white and one in red, at a cost of $1,500 apiece. The Hayward pantsuit later showed up worn by Kay Medford in the "Murder at Sea" episode of "Starsky and Hutch."
According to her autobiography, Helen Mirren auditioned for the role of Neely O'Hara.
Jacqueline Susann, who had been a struggling starlet before becoming a best-selling author, had a clause inserted in Fox's contract purchasing screen rights to her novel that obligated the studio to cast her in a minor role. In Dolls, she has a brief cameo as a reporter.
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