7. Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970)
Kelly, Casey and Petronella perform in a band called The Kelly Affair managed by Harris, Kelly's boyfriend. They set off to Los Angeles to find Kelly's aunt Susan who has just inherited a fortune. Susan is pleased to see them and promises Kelly one third of her fortune (although her sleazy lawyer isn't happy with this). Susan introduces the girls to Z Man, a record producer, and when he hears them play, he is so impressed he renames them The Carrie Nations and promises them great success. Kelly drifts away from Harris and has an affair with a hustler called Lance who has his radar set firmly on her inheritance. Harris descends into drug and alcohol abuse and impregnates Casey after a one night stand. Lance beats up Harris and Kelly dumps him. Casey, distraught at having an abortion, gets into a lesbian relationship with a fashion designer named Roxanne. Petronella gets into a love triangle. Despite their torpid private lives, the Carrie Nations continue to tour and make records. Harris attempts suicide but it leaves him paraplegic. Z Man invites some of the leading characters to a drugs fuelled psychedelic party where it is revealed that he is a woman in drag. He tries to seduce Lance but is rejected, Z Man then goes crazy - killing the party goers. A desperate call from Casey to Kelly sends the rest of the gang to Z Man's place where they subdue him after a wild melee. The ending of the film is deeply cheesy but fits in with the tone of the movie. With a script written by Roger Ebert, of all people, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was Meyer's big studio film - financed by Fox - who were expecting a sequel to the syrupy Valley of the Dolls, and when they saw the film they didn't know what to do with it. Ebert and Meyer had created a wild and crazy film which they wanted to be an over the top melodrama, a comedy, a satire on Hollywood, a skin picture, a violent exploitation movie and also a vessel for moralising. One thing Meyer really loved was getting on his soapbox and moralising in his films, which comes across in his movies as corny rather than didactic. Beyond The Valley of the Dolls is an assault on the viewer because it is absolutely crammed to the rafters with action, Meyer is firing at his usual all guns blazing pace and you might have to watch Beyond the Valley of the Dolls a couple of times to appreciate its humour and bizarre plot twists. It is a fabulously inventive and entertaining film which is unlike anything you will ever see again. Inimitable Russ Meyer. Upon its release the MPAA classified it as X. It was given an NC-17 rating in 1990. This has been proven to be no handicap for the film as it has made $40 million worldwide since its release from a $900,000 budget. Growing in critical stature all the time, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls has a huge cult following which it highly deserves.