Costume designer William Travilla had to assemble outfits for the four leading actresses. Then I sat down with my feelings and captured their feelings, too. In an interview with Roger Ebert , Susann offered her thoughts on why Garland was let go. Here she was, raised in the great tradition of the studio stars, where they make 30 takes of every scene to get it right, and the other girls in the picture were all raised as television actresses.
During an event at the Castro Theatre, Duke discussed working with Garland. The director decided that some guy from some delicatessen on 33rd Street should talk to her, and she crumbled. And she was fired. They wanted to do a blanket dubbing. And we knew we had a hit. Because of the size of the audience—the book would bring them in.
It was Garland's real-life pill addiction that contributed to her leaving this film. The novel and by extension this film adaptation are loosely based on novelist Jacqueline Susann 's experience as an actress from the late s to the late s. When her acting career never took off, she settled for her second career of choice which was writing novels.
Judy Garland complained about the press writing about her behavior on this film. She said: "The studio hadn't even built the set yet, and the tabloids had me walking off it". Feature film debut of Richard Dreyfuss. He has a brief uncredited appearance as a stage hand.
Original screenwriter Harlan Ellison had his name removed from the credits because he vehemently disagreed with the tacked-on "happy" ending that the studio insisted upon inserting.
Some ads for the film featured photos of the female leads, along with taglines about each individual character and her pill color of preference "This is so-and-so; she took the red pills. Raquel Welch screen-tested for the role of Jennifer North. When she was then offered it she turned it down and was suspended by 20th Century-Fox as a result. Sharon Tate eventually took the part.
This film proved to be a big break for then up and coming actress Sharon Tate even though she herself admitted that she wasn't at all keen on the book or the resulting film. She hated the novel when first reading it, and the script as well, but auditioned for the film anyway, having known that the film would be a success and boost her career. Ethel Merman actually ordered a musical number cut during previews of the show "Panama Hattie" before it opened on Broadway.
The singer of that number was Betty Hutton , who was creating quite a sensation with her performance of the song. Just like in "Valley of the Dolls", the producer of the show took Hutton to Hollywood and made her a star to make up for her treatment in the show.
Patty Duke took the role of Neely O'Hara as an opportunity to transition into more adult roles in film, and because she saw the role as the most dynamic in the script, allowing her to act, sing and dance. When she learned that despite her preparations her vocals were dubbed for the film, she was furious. Neely's Grammy dress was the most expensive costume constructed for the film. Upon its release the picture was roundly scorned and condemned by critics.
Re-released in after the murder of Sharon Tate in her memory. The film was once again financially successful. Despite its strong box office performance, the general consensus was that audiences had difficulty accepting the clean-cut Patty Duke in the role of a pill-popping prima donna. The irony was that Duke in real life had become addicted to drugs because her guardians fed them to her to help her with her acting. Dionne Warwick was under contract to a different record label than 20th so the theme on the soundtrack album was sung by Dory Previn , who also wrote the lyrics.
Margaret Whiting dubbed Susan Hayward but she was also under contract to a different label, so veteran voice double Eileen Wilson sings "I'll Plant My Own Tree" on the soundtrack album. The novel the film is based on was the top selling novel of It has sold over ten million copies. Judy Garland was originally cast as Helen Lawson but was fired when she showed up on set drunk.
She was replaced by Susan Hayward at the last minute. Patty Duke later claimed that director Mark Robson deliberately kept Garland waiting in her dressing room all day, knowing that when he finally allowed her on the set, that she would be drunk by then. Judy Garland was gifted the sequined pantsuit she was to wear in the movie after she was fired from the film, along with her salary. Since Garland was more petite than Susan Hayward , who replaced her, the other costumes were re-worked to fit Hayward.
Travilla said of Hayward "she made me take everything out - the lining, the pads, everything. That way, she thought she'd look thinner. I argued that the gowns would fall out of shape. In the end, I had no choice but take it all out; only the beads stayed. As explained in the novel, Neely O'Hara is not the character's birth name but a stage name. Her birth name is Agnes Ethel O'Neil, a name that she disliked. Her stage name comes from a corruption of her last name to form Neely, while O'Hara comes from the film Gone With the Wind , of which she was a big fan of.
Robert Viharo Director as Director. Mark Robson. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. Anne Welles, a bright, brash young New England college grad leaves her Peyton Place-ish small town and heads for Broadway, where she hopes to find an exciting job and sophisticated men.
During her misadventures in Manhattan and, later, Hollywood, she shares experiences with two other young hopefuls: Jennifer North, a statuesque, Monroe-ish actress who wants to be accepted as a human being, but is regarded as a sex object by all the men she meets, and Neely O'Hara, a talented young actress who's accused of using devious means by a great older star Helen Lawson to reach the top, pulling an "All About Eve"-type deception in order to steal a good role away from her.
The nation's most startling and hotly discussed best-seller now on the screen with every shock and sensation intact. Rated PG for thematic elements involving substance abuse, some sexual content, partial nudity and language.
Did you know Edit. Trivia Judy Garland was originally cast in the role of Helen Lawson. She was fired because of her drinking and behavior and was replaced by Susan Hayward. Other actors considered as replacements were Tammy Grimes and Bette Davis. Goofs When Neely is tap dancing on the table, shown by her shadow on the wall, there is clearly no pony tail on the shadow, but when she jumps down she has a pony tail.
Quotes Neely O'Hara : Boobies, boobies, boobies. User reviews Review. Top review. Oscar Time! One of the great landmarks in the history of American cinema. Oh yeah, the wigs and gowns are fab, too, especially that sequined poison-green trapeze minidress Patty Duke is too trashed to get into towards the end.
There is a kind of sublime awfulness about the performances that elevates every sentence in the screenplay to some scriptural stratum of indelible elegance.
Especially when you find yourself compulsively watching it over and over and over again The montage sequences are unbelievably powerful. Get the soundtrack and use the jingle composed by master artiste Andre Previn on your answering machine.
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