Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Director:

Russ Meyer

Writers:

Roger Ebert (screenplay)
Roger Ebert (story) ...

Release Date:

17 June 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

This time... they've really gone

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian | Drugs | Sex | Band | Beheading

Cast

Dolly Read	...	Kelly Mac Namara
Cynthia Myers	...	Casey Anderson
Marcia McBroom	...	Petronella Danforth
John Lazar	...	Ronnie 'Z-Man' Barzell (as 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
James Inglehart	...	Randy Black (as Jim Iglehart)
Charles Napier	...	Baxter Wolfe
Henry Rowland	...	Otto
Princess Livingston	...	Matron

Also Known As:

Orgissimo (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Blumen ohne Duft (West Germany) [de]
De Volta ao Vale das Bonecas (Brazil) [pt]
De vallei der verdorven zeden (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Hollywood Vixens (France) (reissue title) [fr]
La vallée des débauchés (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Lungo la valle delle bambole (Italy) [it]
Más allá del valle de las muñecas (Venezuela) [es]
Nukkelaakson amatsonit (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Nukkelaakson tuolla puolen (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Pera ap' tin koilada me tis koukles (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | UK:18 (2003 re-rating, uncut) | UK:X (cut) | France:-16 | Singapore:R21 | West Germany:18 | Australia:R | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | USA:NC-17 (re-rating) (1990) | USA:X | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-18 (2004)

Filming Locations:

Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In the original script, the Susan Lake and Baxter Wolfe characters were called Anne Welles and Lyon Burke.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Ronnie picks up an extension phone when Kelly is in the middle of dialing her friends for help. The phones used are 500 series Western Electric business phones. Because of the way rotary dial phones work, picking up an extension would prevent any phone on the same circuit from being able to dial.

Quotes:

Susan Lake: I guess liquor's considered pretty square.
Petronella Danforth: Same as grass. Depends on how you use it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Soundtrack:

Come With The Gentle People

Eccentric??? .Maybe a little

Ever since I showed interest and sympathy for the more bizarre efforts in cult cinema, people have been recommending me to check out the oeuvre by director Russ Meyer. This peculiar director and scriptwriter is often named the maestro of American Cult cinema.Unfortunately, his movies are pretty hard to find (at least where I'm from) and they rarely ever receive a decent release on DVD. After finally having purchased Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, I can fully second the statement that Russ Meyer truly is one of a kind and certainly a director to check out entirely. Perhaps the weirdest thing about this film is that it was co-written by the respected and Pulitzer price-winning critic Roger Ebert! This - usually - very harsh critic joins the Meyer-madness here gladly.

I doubt Meyer's typical style will appeal to many people but for the more developed cult-fans, his colorful tale of 'Hollywood Vixens' is a true joy to observe! You might as well call it the definition of cult! It has everything: from bizarre and extremely eccentric characters over subtle (and less subtle) humor to explicit violence, sexual images and drug abuse. Wild parties are thrown in this film and offensive orgies are held.you can't imagine it yourself wild enough and Meyer adds it to his movie. Some of the biggest taboos are taken care of here shamelessly, like Nazis, drag queens, lesbians, unfaithful behavior and even abortion!! Keeping in mind this film was shot in 1970, this is a pretty remarkable achievement to say the least. BTVOTD also has a terrific soundtrack and pretty likeable acting performances. The leading girls do a pretty good job in making themselves believable, even though they're rather inexperienced. Needless to say they're stunning beauties in the first place.Especially Cynthia Meyers in the role of Casey! She's a true cult-Goddess and a wet dream for many men.yours truly included. BTVOTD ends with a truly absurd and explosive finale that easily can be considered as one of the weirdest twists in cinema history ever! Yet, I'm very careful in recommending this film to a large public. chances are that you'll be very disgusted by this movie or even loath it terrible. Therefore, I only recommend it if you're used to seeing quite an amount of weirdness already and you're not too quickly offended.