Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

1970

Action / Comedy / Drama / Music

32
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 76% · 29 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 72% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.1/10 10 13189 13.2K

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Plot summary

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

Top cast

Dolly Read as Kelly Mac Namara
Pam Grier as Fourth Woman
Sebastian Brook as Art Director
Susan Reed as Fashion Model
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
783.15 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
TV-MA
23.976 fps
1 hr 49 min
Seeds 6
1.64 GB
1920*800
English 2.0
TV-MA
23.976 fps
1 hr 49 min
Seeds 20

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Wuchak 6 / 10

_**Campy apex of the "wild" late 60s**_ Dolly

_**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-
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Reviewed by susansweb 6 / 10

To me - a fun movie, To my wife - not much fun

I liked this movie but I was prepared, having read about it extensively before seeing it. From the soundtrack to the camera and editing tricks to the performances, I liked it all. My only problem was the middle part of the movie which concentrated on the personal troubles of the band, sort of dragged. Only when John Lazar came back did the movie pick up and I guess I'm in the minority because I liked the ending. Mainly, because it took the outrageous flavor from the beginning and went even farther. The casting was especially noteworthy. Normally, people who can't act really bother me but watching all of the Playboy playmates trying to act serious while spouting out hilariously clichéd dialogue (I can only hope that Roger Ebert and Russ Meyer weren't trying to write authentic dialogue) was very funny. Special note must be given to the drummer trying to pretend that she could really play. Only Lazar came off as a real actor and he tackled his role with gusto. It is a shame to see that he has never really done anything worthy of his talents after this. Having seen this film only once I don't know how it would hold up after repeated viewings but I can say it is worth seeing at least once.

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