Wednesday 17 June 2020

this is my happening and it freaks me out!

Co-written by film critic Roger Ebert (*1942 – †2013) and director Russ Meyer (*1922 – †2004) and originally intended as a sequel to the 1967 cinematic adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls, the property’s earlier rejection lead the project to be revived as a satirical pastiche of the commercially successful though critically panned first instalment, the X-rated Beyond the Valley of the Dolls had its premiere in Los Angeles on this day in 1970.
Applying the same formula as the original screenplay, telling the heroes’ journey of three young women coming to Hollywood to seek fortune and fame—either finding redemption or not, its parody and exploits extend beyond the protagonists’ dreams and aspirations to lampoon conventions of show business and the creative industry in general. The musical melodrama was unflinching with the first screenings continuing even with the recent murder of Sharon Tate by the Manson Family who had starred in the original film, whose unwillingness to reprise her role—along with that of co-star Patty Duke—caused the development to shift direction in the first place. Lynn Carry, was led signer for the fictitious group the Carrie Nations and wrote some of the songs but no band members actually performed on screen. Below is the opening sequence, Come with the Gentle People, with the full movie plus supplemental material available at this link.