Copyright 15 December 1967 by Red Lion Productions. Released through 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening simultaneously at the Criterion and the Festival: 15 December 1967. U.S. release: 15 December 1967. U.K. release: 11 February 1968. Australian release: 1 August 1968. Sydney opening at the Plaza. 11,086 feet. 123 minutes. Censored by approximately 90 seconds in Australia.
SYNOPSIS: Filled with innocent enthusiasm, Anne Welles arrives in New York from New England and lands a secretarial job with a leading theatrical law firm. On her first day, she is present at a Broadway rehearsal when a hard-boiled musical comedy star, Helen Lawson, sacks a talented newcomer named Neely O'Hara because she threatens to steal the show from her. Although disillusioned, Anne stays with her job because of Lyon Burke, an associate in the law firm. Lyon gets Neely a spot on a TV show which catapults her to instant stardom in Hollywood.
NOTES: Location scenes filmed in New York and New England. On 21 July 1967, shortly after shooting on "Valley of the Dolls" was completed, producer David Weisbart, 52, died of a stroke he suffered while playing golf with Mark Robson, the film's director.
The role of Helen Lawson was originally slated for Judy Garland. After 20th Century-Fox claimed that she "withdrew for personal reasons" (a statement denied by Miss Garland), both Bette Davis and Tammy Grimes were announced as her replacement. When Susan Hayward was ultimately signed for the part, arrangements were made for Margaret Whiting to do the dubbing for Miss Hayward's one song number.
With gross rentals of $20 million, this movie was equal 4th at U.S./Canadian ticket-windows for 1968. On the other hand, the movie did not figure on either British or Australian top-success lists at all!
COMMENT: The womenfolk may dote on this slickly-produced parade of souped-up emotions and super-charged clichés. For us men, however, it's a somewhat disappointing affair. We see almost nothing of Hollywood at work. The book was a sensational best-seller because it reputedly lifted the lid off the private lives of some well-known stars. But all this has been deleted in the film. There is some resemblance between the Patty Duke character and Judy Garland, between Barbara Parkins and Suzy Parker, while Sharon Tate's Jennifer North seems to have originally been a combination of Marilyn Monroe and Anita Ekberg.
Alas, even these superficial resemblances in the original novel scarcely exist any more in the film version. All we are left with is a soap-opera plot straight out of a daytime television serial. True, the direction is slick, and the acting very capable (with the one exception of Miss Parkins, who is unable to surmount some very unattractive hair styles).
Other assets include lavish production values (though Daniels' color photography, as usual, looks washed-out); exciting special effects incorporating a slice of a French "art" film and an incredibly tasteless TV commercial — evidently intended as a satire, it was taken perfectly straight by the predominantly female audience at the session I attended, — and a few excellent montages of the New England countryside (accompanied by the pleasant singing of Dionne Warwick).
SYNOPSIS: Filled with innocent enthusiasm, Anne Welles arrives in New York from New England and lands a secretarial job with a leading theatrical law firm. On her first day, she is present at a Broadway rehearsal when a hard-boiled musical comedy star, Helen Lawson, sacks a talented newcomer named Neely O'Hara because she threatens to steal the show from her. Although disillusioned, Anne stays with her job because of Lyon Burke, an associate in the law firm. Lyon gets Neely a spot on a TV show which catapults her to instant stardom in Hollywood.
NOTES: Location scenes filmed in New York and New England. On 21 July 1967, shortly after shooting on "Valley of the Dolls" was completed, producer David Weisbart, 52, died of a stroke he suffered while playing golf with Mark Robson, the film's director.
The role of Helen Lawson was originally slated for Judy Garland. After 20th Century-Fox claimed that she "withdrew for personal reasons" (a statement denied by Miss Garland), both Bette Davis and Tammy Grimes were announced as her replacement. When Susan Hayward was ultimately signed for the part, arrangements were made for Margaret Whiting to do the dubbing for Miss Hayward's one song number.
With gross rentals of $20 million, this movie was equal 4th at U.S./Canadian ticket-windows for 1968. On the other hand, the movie did not figure on either British or Australian top-success lists at all!
COMMENT: The womenfolk may dote on this slickly-produced parade of souped-up emotions and super-charged clichés. For us men, however, it's a somewhat disappointing affair. We see almost nothing of Hollywood at work. The book was a sensational best-seller because it reputedly lifted the lid off the private lives of some well-known stars. But all this has been deleted in the film. There is some resemblance between the Patty Duke character and Judy Garland, between Barbara Parkins and Suzy Parker, while Sharon Tate's Jennifer North seems to have originally been a combination of Marilyn Monroe and Anita Ekberg.
Alas, even these superficial resemblances in the original novel scarcely exist any more in the film version. All we are left with is a soap-opera plot straight out of a daytime television serial. True, the direction is slick, and the acting very capable (with the one exception of Miss Parkins, who is unable to surmount some very unattractive hair styles).
Other assets include lavish production values (though Daniels' color photography, as usual, looks washed-out); exciting special effects incorporating a slice of a French "art" film and an incredibly tasteless TV commercial — evidently intended as a satire, it was taken perfectly straight by the predominantly female audience at the session I attended, — and a few excellent montages of the New England countryside (accompanied by the pleasant singing of Dionne Warwick).