Valley of the Dolls (film) Arbors and used as the opening theme to the 1967 documentary "Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls". 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
Jacqueline Susann by Bernard Geis on February 10, 1966, and "took off like a Cape Canaveral space shot." The story was said to be a "roman à clef", with characters in the novel reportedly based on real-life celebrities such as Judy Garland, Dean Martin, and Ethel Merman. Although "Publishers Weekly", in an advance review, called the novel "powerful and sometimes fascinating," the book received largely negative reviews. Gloria Steinem panned the book in "The New York Herald Tribune" as did the reviewer in "The New York Times". "Time" magazine called it the "Dirty Book of the Month," and said, "it might more