Valley of the Dolls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Valley of the Dolls | |
 Paperback book cover |
|
| Author | Jacqueline Susann |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Romantic novel |
| Publisher | Cassell |
| Publication date | 1966 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 442 pp (hardback edition) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | Every Night, Josephine! |
| Followed by | The Love Machine |
Valley of the Dolls is the title of a best selling novel by Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. It is widely considered one of the most commercially successful novels of all time.[citation needed] The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, mood altering drugs.
Valley of the Dolls was an instant success when it was first published. Since then it has sold more than 30 million copies. As the first roman à clef by a female author to achieve this level of sales in America, it led the way for other authors such as Jackie Collins to depict the private lives of the real-life rich and famous under a veneer of fiction.
In 1967 it was adapted into a dramatic film of the same name which was directed by Mark Robson, and stars Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, and Patty Duke. The novel was adapted again for television in 1981 and in 1994 a late-night, syndicated television soap opera ran for one season using the name and a loose adaptation of the premise.
[edit] Plot summary
The novel begins immediately after the end of World War II and chronicles the story of three young women who embark on careers that bring them to the dizzying heights of fame and eventual self-destruction. The three characters are brought together by a Broadway play called Hit The Sky. Anne Welles has recently arrived from Lawrenceville, Massachusetts with hopes of changing her life in New York City. She lands a job with an agency that represents legendary Broadway star Helen Lawson, who stars in Hit the Sky. Neely O'Hara (aka Ethel Agnes O'Neil) is a plucky kid with an undeniable talent and a background in vaudeville. Neely lives downstairs from Anne and uses her friendship with Anne to get a role in the chorus of the play. Jennifer North, a beautiful blonde showgirl with limited talent who is squired around by rich men, appears in the play as well. The three women become fast friends, and share a bond of ambition and the tendency to be involved with the wrong men.
Jennifer's mother constantly hounds her for money via reverse-charge telephone calls from Ohio. Like Grace Kelly, Jennifer has married a European prince, but then discovered he had no money except what he could earn through advertising and wanted her to sleep with the advertising executives to get contracts. Returning to America, Jennifer takes up with nightclub singer Tony Polar. Believing his childish behavior is caused by his overprotective half-sister/manager Miriam, Jennifer eventually persuades Tony to elope, then goes to Hollywood with him as he pursues his career. Shortly thereafter, she becomes pregnant. On finding Tony's been unfaithful she decides to leave, but keep the child. Tony's half-sister Miriam finally explains that Tony has a congenital brain condition that causes seizures, mental retardation and will culminate in total insanity. Jennifer decides to have an abortion.
In contrast to the film version (where Jennifer finds herself working in "art movies" to pay Polar's medical bills), Miriam pays Tony's hospital expenses out of his own savings. Jennifer decides independently to perform in French art house films, since she is only highly regarded for her body and is desperate for money owing to her mother's unceasing demands. Jennifer's real ambition is to have children upon whom she will lavish the approval and affection she was denied by her family. Stress and smoking make her an insomniac, and she uses titular "dolls" (barbituates) sparingly as sleep aids.
Jennifer returns to the United States after years in Europe, where she gains moderate success as an actress. She meets and falls in love with a young senator who has Presidential ambitions. However, she is diagnosed with breast cancer and told she must have a mastectomy and should not have children. In bed, her lover unwittingly mentions that he loves her breasts, becoming overly enthusiastic about it to the point that she believes he, like all men, loves her only for her body. She commits suicide with an overdose of "dolls". (In the film, she does this so that Tony, whom she never divorced, can have her life insurance money for medical care.)
Neely becomes famous on the Broadway scene, and moves to Hollywood to work in movies, and becomes a superstar in Hollywood's musical movies, even winning an Oscar. She eventually earns a reputation as demanding, spoiled, and difficult to handle. Despite that fact that her movies earn high returns at the box office, they consistently lose money due to her behavior and long shooting periods. She becomes addicted to the dolls that Jennifer introduced her to, using "uppers" (Dexedrine) to lose weight and be able to wake herself up in the morning, and barbiturates (Seconal, Nembutal)to sleep. Her addiction grows to a serious and dangerous point. After numerous suicide attempts, a year long black list from the entertainment world and two failed marriages, Anne has Neely committed to a psychiatric hospital. Upon release she works with agent Lyon Burke to revitalize her career and quickly returns to her vicious, arrogant behavior. She begins a relationship with Lyon, despite the fact that he is married to her close friend Anne. Her attraction to the dolls is too strong, and she seems to spiral into a final decline.
Anne fares the best of all three, becoming a highly successful model after a stint as a secretary. Even in her administrative job, her beauty and class are obvious to everyone. Shortly after she arrives in New York, millionaire Allen Cooper falls for her after only six weeks of dating, and demands her hand in marriage. Anne, not ready to settle down so quickly, repeatedly refuses. Allen does not take no for an answer. During an out of town trip for the debut of Hit the Sky, Anne realizes that she is in love with handsome and charming Lyon Burke, a lawyer at the agency. When she tells Allen, he angrily breaks off the relationship, much to Anne's relief; but Lyon is not ready for a serious relationship with her. She remains in love with him for years, even when she is a successful model in a relationship with an older man. When she meets Lyon again their passion is quickly rekindled. She and Lyon are married, and Anne has a baby, whom she names Jennifer after her now deceased friend. Lyon continues to have affairs, including one with Anne's close friend Neely. In the book, Anne stays with Lyon, falling under the allure of the dolls and using them to escape the reality of her life. In the film, Anne leaves Lyon and returns to Lawrenceville, which is described as the one place she found real happiness. This was a last-minute change in the script, so out of keeping with Anne's established character that original screenwriter Harlan Ellison took his name off the film.
[edit] Background
Much of the narrative is drawn from the author's experiences and observations as a struggling actress in the Hollywood of the early forties. The character of Neely O'Hara with her excess of talent coupled with her self-destructive alcoholism and dependency on prescription drugs, is said to be based upon Judy Garland, although her powerfully energetic stage and screen image are closer to those of Betty Hutton. Helen Lawson, the aging stage actress who befriends and uses Anne, is based closely on Ethel Merman, whom Susann had known personally and reportedly had been sexually involved with. Garland was originally cast in the movie as Lawson, until Garland's unpredictable behavior led to her dismissal and Susan Hayward replaced her.
O'Hara's treatment in the sanitariums is a milder version of the fate that befell actress Frances Farmer. The tragic character of Jennifer North is said to be based upon actress/pin-up girl Carole Landis, who had been romantically involved with Susann in their Hollywood days. Like Jennifer, Landis was seen as an ambitious blonde with little real talent, and after a series of failed relationships and a career that had quickly stagnated, she committed suicide with an overdose of barbiturates. Certain aspects of her personality resemble those of Marilyn Monroe, particularly her actual yet often overlooked intelligence. Her involvement with Senator Adams is comparable to Monroe's rumored affair with John F. Kennedy. The character of Tony Polar is rumored to be based on Frank Sinatra, but Susann herself was quoted in her biography saying that she got the idea for Polar when she tried to interview Dean Martin after one of his shows; he was too engrossed in a comic book to pay attention to her.
