Those Damn Dolls!

The other day I finally watched my Netfilx which had been laying about for some time. I took in the cinematic delights that make up The Valley of the Dolls, a 1967 film starring, notably, Patty Duke (pictured above with a bottle of Dolls) and a pre-Manson, Polanski-loving Sharon Tate.

I love camp, so I really enjoyed the movie. There are enough 60s freeze shots, montages of photo shoots and scenes of women screaming and throwing things to satisfy. I thought that the wardrobe wasn't as strong as I would have liked for a late sixties era film, but there is an awesome All About Eve-like relationship between two Broadway (way square, right)stars (one addicted to Dolls, thanks to California) which ends in a wig-pulling scene of awesome proportions.

I've seen Russ Meyer's genius explosion of bosoms and drugs known as Beyond the Valley of the Dolls a bunch of times which definitely lessened the impact of this one a bit. If you've never seen either, I would recommend watching them in their release order. But please, watch them. Meyer's film is definitely my favorite movie to show people for the first time. Really, it has everything you could ever want from a movie, including transvestites, Nazis, and the Strawberry Alarm Clock.

But this recent viewing really reinvigorated my relationship with Netflix. (As well as with this blog). It had been languishing for quite some time as anyone who is my friend on Netflix could tell you. Pitiful really for a cinema studies student. But I'm fully committed again - committed in the same way that I am to finally finishing Buffy and Angel as well. I think the next one will continue with the swinging sixties in the form of Georgy Girl. That title song is great, so the movie has to be as well!