Sex and drugs and rock and roll!! That about sums up BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, a lightning-fast paced Russ Meyer extravaganza covering the end of the decadent 60’s with a BANG… literally! The movie was originally intended to be a sequel to 1967’s soapy and sappy VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, but Meyer and screenwriter Roger Ebert (yes, THAT Roger Ebert!) changed course and concocted this satirical, surrealistic saga that skewers Hollywood, rock music, the sexual revolution, and anything else that got in its way.
Like the original, the story concerns three nubile young ladies trying to make it out in La-La Land (that’s Los Angeles, folks), only this time they’re a Midwestern rock power trio named The Kelly Affair. Kelly (Dolly Read, former Playmate and soon-to-be wife of comedian Dick Martin), Pet (model/actress Marcia McBroom), and Casey (Playmate Cynthia Meyers), along with Kelly’s boyfriend and band manager Harris (David Gurian), hit the big city, where Kelly’s sexy Aunt Susan (Phyllis Davis of VEGA$ fame) bequeaths a third of her fortune to her only living relative, much to the displeasure of slimy lawyer Porter Hall (Duncan McLeod).
The trio attend a hipster party thrown by record producer and scenemaker Ronnie “Z-Man” Barzell (a completely over-the-top John LaZar). The promoter digs their sound and look, rechristens them The Carrie Nations, and they zoom to the top of the pop charts. Kelly’s ego gets the best of her, and soon she demands half of Susan’s dough, thanks in part to hustler Lance Rocke (Peter Fonda lookalike Michael Blodgett), who worms his way into her, uh, good graces, leaving Harris out in the cold. Porn star Ashely St. Ives (the immortal Edy Williams!), who gets horny when the wind blows, then sets her sights on Harris’s fresh meat, and what Ashley wants, Ashley gets!
Drummer Pet (and why is the drummer always black in rock films?) hooks up with earnest law student Emerson (Harrison Page, later of TV’s SLEDGE HAMMER!), but strays with World Heavyweight Champion Randy Black (Blaxploitation/Exploitation fixture James Iglehart). Bassist Casey quickly gets hooked on booze and downers, ends up pregnant by Harris, has a (then) illegal abortion, and falls into the arms of designer Roxanne (Meyer vet Erica Gavin). All these shenanigans wind up in a private party at Z-Man’s, where the peyote-laced wine takes things from love-in to freak-out as Z goes psycho and starts a bloody killing spree…
This delightfully demented cautionary tale moves at breakneck speed, and there’s never a dull moment as we follow the band on their sordid rise to the top. It’s funny right up until things take a dark turn as Z-Man reveals his true nature and, his mind blown from all the drugs, starts chopping off heads and blowing people’s brains out! Ebert’s script is a psychedelic trip through the sleazy side of Hollywood, filled with in-jokes (Porter Hall was a 30’s-40’s character actor specializing in weasels), thinly disguised characters (Z-Man= Phil Spector, Randy Black = Muhammed Ali), and nods to classic film genres. Rated X when first unleashed, BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS contains plenty of nudity but no explicit sex scenes. The rating was bestowed more for the bombastic, gore-filled ending, coming so soon after the Tate-LaBianca Manson murders that scandalized the country.
The Carrie Nations aren’t the only rock band featured here. The psychedelic sounds of Strawberry Alarm Clock can be heard playing at the party, including their #1 smash “Incense and Peppermints”. The band had also appeared in AIP’s hippie drama PSYCH-OUT, a Dick Clark Production, making them the only rock band in history to hold the distinction of working for both Clark and Russ Meyer! Folky singers The Sandpipers (of “Gunatanamera” and “Come Saturday Morning” fame) warble the title song, while blues rocker Lynn Carey (daughter of actor Macdonald Carey) dubs Kelly’s vocals. Composer Stu Phillips (known for his TV scores on THE MONKEES, GET CHRISTIE LOVE!, and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, among others) fills the film with groovy period music, and The Carrie Nations’ songs were written by Bob Stone (Cher’s “Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves). I really dug the hard rocking “Sweet Talkin’ Candy Man”!
BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS probably isn’t for everybody, but it’s a delicious treat for many, especially Grindhouse fans. It’s a wild ride to Hollywood’s dark side, filled with sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll, and for my money you can’t beat that!
BONUS! Here’s Strawberry Alarm Clock doing their hit, “Incense and Peppermints”!
cracked rear viewer 