2 responses to “Scenes That I Love: Valley of the Dolls”

1. As usual, your reviews are right on target. And, also as usual, I’ll butt-in and flash my “Age License” and offer my eyewitless views of how your subject was received way back when.

   As you pointed out in your original review of Valley of the Dolls, both the book and the film made a whole lot of waves in a whole lot of places when first released. Until then, the prescription pill abuse thing was the stuff of quiet rumors. Valley of the Dolls made it a very big deal in a very big hurry.

   But wait, there’s more, … of course.

   What is not so widely known about the original novel is that the “Dolls” reference was never intended to be a euphemism for pills. In fact, pills; … depressants, stimulants, etc., weren’t even mentioned in Jacqueline Susann’s originally submitted story outline and early drafts. The pills/”dolls” idea was suggested – strongly by her publisher, in an effort to pump-up what was a weak story. Originally, “Dolls” meant what it usually did back then, … hot women.

   Some evidence of this last-minute change can be seen in some editions of the book, where many of the “dolls” text is in the final paragraphs of some chapters/sections. Easier rushed drop-ins.

   How do I know all this, you ask? Because I know all this, and I ain’t no steenkin’ name-dropper, I reply.

   LikeLike

   Reply

   • Thanks! Loved reading the comment! 🙂

     LikeLike

     Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.