Valley of the Dolls (film)

Valley of the Dolls is a 1967 American drama film based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Jacqueline Susann. ("Dolls" was a slang term for downers, originally short for dolophine, it quickly came to refer to any barbiturates such as Nembutal, used as sleep aids). It was produced by David Weisbart and directed by Mark Robson.

The film stars Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke, Sharon Tate, Paul Burke, Martin Milner and Susan Hayward.

Upon release it was a commercial success, though panned by critics. The film has gained a cult following in subsequent years. It was re-released in 1969 following the murder of Sharon Tate, and again proved commercially viable. Co-star Parkins, attending a July 1997 screening of the film at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, told the sold-out crowd, "I know why you like it...because it's so bad!" Years later, Valley of the Dolls was included as one of the choices in the book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time.

The movie was remade in 1981 for television as Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls.