Valley of the Dolls (film) Valley of the Dolls (film) Valley of the Dolls is a 1967 American drama film based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Jacqueline Susann. It was directed by Mark Robson, produced by Robson and David Weisbart, and stars Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke, Sharon Tate, and Susan Hayward. Three young women meet when they embark on their careers. Neely O'Hara (Duke) is a plucky kid with undeniable talent who sings in a Broadway show, of which legendary actress Helen Lawson (Hayward) is the arrogant star, while Jennifer North (Tate), a beauty with limited talent, is in the chorus.
Jacqueline Susann loathed the film version of "Valley", believed this adaptation was even worse. Susann's third novel, "Once Is Not Enough", was published by Morrow on March 20, 1973. "Once" is the story of January Wayne, daughter of a famous film and stage producer, who is hospitalized in Switzerland for three years. When she returns home to New York City, she finds that the world is far different from the one she had left. January contends with the social upheavals of the late 1960s and early 1970s in a graphic, driving story. Susann was candid about the theme of the book, stating