Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

NC-17

7/17/19701h 49m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ This Is Not A Sequel. There Has Never Been Anything Like It! ~

Overview:

An all-girl rock band moves to Hollywood in the hope of achieving success, only to fall into a whirlpool of wickedness and decadence.

Director:

Russ Meyer

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$2,090,000.00

Revenue:

$9,000,000.00

Key words:

pop star
pop
musical
sexploitation
rock band
inheritance fight
all girl band
psychotronic
sexual liberation
socialite party
independent film
women in music

Cast

Dolly Read

~ as ~

Kelly McNamara

Cynthia Myers

~ as ~

Casey Anderson

Marcia McBroom

~ as ~

Petronella Danforth

John Lazar

~ as ~

Ronnie Z-Man Barzell

Michael Blodgett

~ as ~

Lance Rocke

David Gurian

~ as ~

Harris Allsworth

Edy Williams

~ as ~

Ashley St. Ivens

Erica Gavin

~ as ~

Roxanne

Phyllis Davis

~ as ~

Susan Lake

Harrison Page

~ as ~

Emerson Thome

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Wuchak
Written 3 year(s) ago
6
Campy apex of the "wild" late 60s

Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers and Marcia McBroom star as an all-girl rock band, who move to Los Angeles to make it in the music biz. The group is so well-received that they turn the head of eccentric rock producer Z-Man (John Lazar) who becomes their Svengali-style manager and changes their name to The Carrie Nations, all to the consternation of their small-time manager, who's a Greg Brady lookalike (David Gurian). Can the girls survive the pitfalls that come with the debauched rock lifestyle?

Directed by Russ Meyer and scripted by none other than Roger Ebert, "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" (1970) satirizes the previous melodrama from three years prior. The movie telegraphs right out of the gate that it's a joke and not to be taken seriously like the first film (at least, like they TRIED to do with the first film). The cast is killer, highlighted by the three protagonists, especially the underrated Read.

Also worthy of note besides the key players cited above are Michael Blodgett, who's character takes an interest in the singer (Read); Phyllis Davis as her hip aunt; Edy Williams as an oversexed porn star; Erica Gavin who takes a dubious interest in Myers' character; Duncan McLeod as the aunt's sleazy & greedy financial adviser; Charles Napier as her former-beau; Henry Rowland as Z-Man's employee who (I guess) likes to dress-up as a Nazi; and Harrison Page & James Iglehart who vie for the attentions of the foxy drummer (McBroom).

The best thing about "Beyond" is that it's the absolute apogee of the late 60s (being shot in '69) and everything that went with it — the overindulgence in drugs, "free" sex, libertine parties, go-go dancing, rock and general debauchedness. There are several noteworthy women, with cutie Read the arguable frontrunner. Also, some of the tunes the band plays are actually catchy. All these factors make for a fun, entertaining flick, which explains how it quickly became a cult film.

Yet its quality is brought down by needless nudity and tame sex scenes that strapped it with a NC-17 rating, thus limiting its general appeal and access to the masses, which could've been easily avoided by wisely trimming down a few scenes. There's also too much fruity twaddle for my tastes and the "story" seems to be just one "wild party" after another, which gets redundant.

Still, "Beyond" is the undeniable pinnacle of late 60's flicks, even though it can't be taken seriously for a moment, which is actually fitting.

The film runs 1 hour, 49 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-