By 1950, Neely has become a celebrated actress enjoying a lucrative film career and twin sons with her second husband. However, long workdays and the stress over her husband's infidelity ( with both men and women) keep her dependent on the "dolls", and she is becoming increasingly unpopular with the studio because of her tantrums and walkouts. Neely accidentally overdoses on pills, but makes a full recovery. Still, the studio fires her from the production and replaces her with the boss's young lover. Anne reconnects with Neely; Kevin suggests resurrecting Neely's career by having her sing on a televised spectacular for his brand. Neely at first refuses, but following a successful supper club performance and a run-in with a belligerent Helen, she agrees. Unable to cope with the demands of the rehearsals, she overdoses to avoid performing. To Anne's distress, Neely disappears to Europe. 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.

14 Deep Facts About Valley of the Dolls | Mental Floss 14 Deep Facts About Valley of the Dolls | Mental Floss

Actually there a lot of other parallels: the themes of reinvention through false identities, focuses on the American dream of success (note that it's becoming a stinking rich capitalist for men and a famous actress/model for women), and plots that hinge on characters doing stupid shit because of LOVE.

The book was published by Bernard Geis Associates on February 10, 1966, and "took off like a Cape Canaveral space shot". [9] All of Neely’s songs in the movie were dubbed, which disappointed Duke. “I knew I couldn’t sing like a trained singer,” she said. “But I thought it was important for Neely maybe to be pretty good in the beginning but the deterioration should be that raw, nerve-ending kind of the thing. And I couldn’t convince the director. They wanted to do a blanket dubbing. It just doesn’t have the passion I wanted it to have.” 7. GARLAND STOLE ONE OF THE MOVIE'S COSTUMES. Susann had apparently been thinking about the novel for some time. Some years earlier, she had begun Underneath the Pancake, a show-business novel, with her actress friend Beatrice Cole (c. 1910–1999). [4] Later, she considered writing a novel about drug usage in show business to be called The Pink Dolls. [5]

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

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. The wild, scandalous, fun, and depressing lives of New York's young and ambitious women trying to make it to the top. Once they get there, however, it's all but dolls from there. They jump into willful ignorance and disregard. All the attention, fame, and effort put into getting what they desire doesn't equate to the so-called glamorous and happy life. The struggle seemed to never leave, but the help of dolls brought on a way to cope. While I don't appreciate the use of words like fag and dyke, I've read that Jacqueline Susann was actually incredibly supportive of the LGBT community. She gave them a voice in Valley of the Dolls, probably one of the first forms of media to do so. According to Simon Doonan, who wrote in the foreward of the 50 year anniversary edition, "members of the gay community were thrilled to find themselves, at long last, unleashed with such gusto onto an international stage."

And then there’s Allen. OK he only showed up for like 5 minutes but he still managed to piss me off. Anne dated him for like 6 weeks (I think), even though she didn’t even like him that much. He’s an OK guy, but that’s it. And then it turned out that Allen is some kind of a millionaire and it was all fine and dandy until Allen forced Anne to marry him. Now I find this hard to believe. This Anne who never loved anyone and who only conversed with Lyon for two times?? This Anne who thinks there’s something wrong with her because she never loved anyone and who finds kissing men disgusting??? How did it happen? WHEN did it happen? DID I MISS SOMETHING. SOMEONE EXPLAIN. WHAT IS THIS INSTA LOVE NONSENSE. This book is a cult classic and I can definitely see why. There is something oddly intoxicating about it. Like it’s kind of trashy but at the same time so ahead of its time. It’s kind of ridiculous at times but still manages to convey a message to readers. 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 ] Valley of the Dolls isn't a mushy romance that sinks into an abyss of paper-tasting plastic characters, who seem to melt under a tighter scrutiny, or a glossy, emotionally simplistic, and rose-tinted fairy tale world, where predictability is a given. Instead, it actually makes you invested in the characters, although they are practically one-dimensional vehicles of psychological exploration.