Valley of the Dolls The screenplay was written by Helen Deutsch ("National Velvet") and Dorothy Kingsley ("Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"), and produced by Robson and David Weisbart. Reviews were scathing, but the film was an enormous box-office hit, becoming the sixth most popular of the year with $44 million at the domestic box office. Susann, who had a cameo as a news reporter, hated the film, reportedly telling director Robson that it was "a piece of shit." The novel was adapted for television in 1981 as "Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls", a mini-series executive-produced by Susann's widower Irving Mansfield and directed by
Jacqueline Susann seller list, and was the third highest-selling novel of its year. Reviews were not favorable; one reviewer in the "New York Times" compared the book to "popcorn... a kernel of an idea... exploded into bite-sized nothingness," while "Time" magazine complained that the book "lacks Valley's primitive vigor. Film rights were sold to Columbia Pictures for a then-record $1.5 million. Directed by Jack Haley, Jr., the film adaptation was released in 1971, starring Dyan Cannon, Robert Ryan, and John Phillip Law. Despite the fact that Irving Mansfield was executive producer, the movie was a critical and commercial flop. Susann, who had