Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

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

1970 1h 49m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 225

ComedyDramaMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

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

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Dolly Read
Kelly McNamara
Cynthia Myers
Casey Anderson
Marcia McBroom
Petronella Danforth
John Lazar
Ronnie Z-Man Barzell
Michael Blodgett
Lance Rocke
David Gurian
Harris Allsworth
Edy Williams
Ashley St. Ivens
Erica Gavin
Roxanne

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Russ Meyer
Writers: Roger Ebert, Roger Ebert, Russ Meyer
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

56 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Russ Meyer, shot by Fred J. Koenekamp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stu Phillips. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dann Cahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dolly Read and Cynthia Myers and Marcia McBroom carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This Is Not A Sequel. There Has Never Been Anything Like It!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Russ Meyer directs. Fred J. Koenekamp behind the camera. Stu Phillips scores. Dann Cahn cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 4.3× over at the box office.
356 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Russ Meyer, shot by Fred J. Koenekamp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Stu Phillips. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Dann Cahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Dolly Read and Cynthia Myers and Marcia McBroom carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "This Is Not A Sequel. There Has Never Been Anything Like It!".
9IMDB entry: tt0065466 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "pop star", "pop", "musical", "sexploitation".

The technical file

Cinematography: Fred J. Koenekamp
Original score: Stu Phillips
Editing: Dann Cahn
Costume design: David Hayes
Makeup / hair: William Buell
Stunt coordinator: Paul Stader
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,090,000
Box office: $9,000,000
Return: 431% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NC-17
IMDB: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Also by

Russ Meyer

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-05-30
★ 6/10
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-

Production companies