Book Vs Movie
Valley of the Dolls
The 1968 Jacqueline Susann Novel Vs the 1967 Camp Classic Film
“Sparkle, Neely Sparkle!”
The Margos are still enjoying the swinging 60s and what better way to celebrate than talking about the amazing Jacqueline Susann who is the first author to have three consecutive #1 books on the New York Times bestseller list. Though her work was critically panned at the time and she was considered a self-promoting hack by the literary elite (how dare they!) Susann is now an icon for fun-living women who dare to take up space.
Valley of the Dolls caused a scandal at the time with its frank discussions about sex, sexism in show business, drug use, and cancer. But Susann had a flair for publicity, had a super-sharp wit and a husband (Irving Mansfield) who promoted her work with incredible enthusiasm. This woman practically invented the book tour and became just as famous as Truman Capote and Phillip Roth but for the fun, camp set.
The movie directed by Mark Robson was rushed into production in 1967 and was seen as a bit trashy and embarrassing at the time. Today it is known as a camp classic.
In this episode, we talk about the many differences between the original book & the movie to decide which we like better. (P.S. We adore Jacqueline Susann!)
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The incredible life story of Jacqueline Susann
- The world of the 1960s and why her work caused a scandal.
- The cast of the movie including Barbara Parkins (Anne Welles,) Patty Duke (Neely O’Hara,) Sharon Tate (Jennifer North,) Tony Scotti (Tony Polar,) Lee Grant (Miriam Polar,) Susan Hayward (Helen Lawson,) and Martin Milner (Mel Anderson)
Clips Featured:
- Valley of the Dolls trailer
- BBC Interview with Jacqueline Susann (1973)
- Neely O’Hara & Helen Lawson fight
- Neely & Tony Polar “sing”
- Outro music “Theme from the Valley of the Dolls” composed by Dionne Warwick
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com [email protected]
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/