Peyton Place (film)
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| Peyton Place | |
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 original film poster |
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| Directed by | Mark Robson Hal Herman (Ass't) |
| Produced by | Jerry Wald |
| Written by | Grace Metalious (novel) John Michael Hayes (screenplay) |
| Starring | Lana Turner Lee Philips Arthur Kennedy |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Cinematography | William C. Mellor |
| Editing by | David Bretherton |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | December 13, 1957 |
| Running time | 162 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Peyton Place is a 1957 American motion picture drama based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Grace Metalious. Despite the fact that the script had been extensively reworked to accommodate contemporary mores, Peyton Place was nevertheless viewed as a shocking repudiation of stereotypical small-town American morality at the time of its release.
Peyton Place is a story about the lives and loves of the residents of a small New England town in the years immediately preceding and following World War II. Behind the town's tranquil façade hides scandal, homicide, suicide, sexual deviance, and moral hypocrisy. At the core of its plot are three women: Constance Mackenzie, a moralistic woman who has shielded her tarnished past from daughter Allison (an aspiring author and alter ego of Metalious), and Selena Cross, a "good" girl living on the wrong side of the tracks, and who hides a terrible secret. Peyton Place was filmed in Camden, Maine and the surrounding New England countryside.
A major box office hit, Peyton Place was the second highest grossing film of 1958.
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[edit] Plot
Coming-of-age story set in a small New England village whose peaceful facade hides love and passion, scandal and hypocrisy. Allison, a beautiful high school student and aspiring writer, struggles to grow up under the thumb of her emotionally crippled single mother. The mother, Constance MacKenzie, a woman with a hidden past, is now aroused by the temptations of the new high school principal. On the other side of town, Allison's best friend Selena lives in a shack with an abusive stepfather. As the seasons change, so do Allison and her friends, as they struggle to mature in the stifling small town. Finally, Allison leaves Peyton Place, but she returns to help Selena, now accused of murdering her stepfather. The trial will expose the town's bankrupt moral standards and finally bring its citizens together.[1]
[edit] Primary cast:
- Lana Turner : Constance MacKenzie
- Lee Philips : Michael Rossi
- Arthur Kennedy : Lucas Cross
- Lloyd Nolan : Dr. Matthew Swain
- Russ Tamblyn : Norman Page
- Terry Moore : Betty Anderson
- Hope Lange : Selena Cross
- Diane Varsi : Allison MacKenzie
- David Nelson : Ted Carter
- Barry Coe : Rodney Harrington
- Betty Field : Nellie Cross
- Mildred Dunnock : Miss Elsie Thornton
- Leon Ames : Mr. Harrington
- Lorne Greene : Prosecutor
Award nominations:
- Academy Award for Best Picture
- Academy Award for Directing – (Mark Robson)
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures – (Mark Robson)
- Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay – (John Michael Hayes)
- WGA for Best Written American Drama – (John Michael Hayes)
- Academy Award for Best Actress – (Lana Turner)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – (Diane Varsi)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – (Hope Lange)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - (Hope Lange)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - (Mildred Dunnock)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – (Arthur Kennedy)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – (Russ Tamblyn)
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography – (William C. Mellor)
[edit] Quotes
- Constance MacKenzie: All men are alike. The approach is different; the result is always the same.
- Michael Rossi: I kissed you. You kissed me. That's affection, not carnality. That's affection, not lust. You ought to know the difference.
- Michael Rossi: Guaranteed poverty is not security.
- Mrs. Thornton: A person doesn't always get what she deserves. Remember it. If there's anything in life you want, go and get it. Don't wait for anybody to give it to you.
[edit] Trivia
- This film was almost a box office flop. It performed poorly in its first few weeks in release. Then news broke out about star Lana Turner's infamous scandal: her affair with mobster Johnny Stompanato, and his death at the hands of Turner's daughter. The ongoing national coverage of the subsequent murder trial turned the film into a box office smash. Ironically, Turner had initially feared the press swirling around the trial would end her career.[2]
[edit] Goofs
- Selena's lawyer informs her that the prosecutor in her murder trial is being sent from Portland. The prosecutor would in fact have been sent from Augusta, the State capital. (Although the book was set in New Hampshire, the film is set in Maine.)
- "You'll Never Know" wasn't introduced until 1943 (by Alice Faye in Hello Frisco Hello), but is played here at a 1941 Graduation ceremony.
- Mike Rossi and Dr. Swain are driving in a car and they come to a stop sign. The sign is red. All stop signs were yellow (with little round glass reflectors in the letters) in the 1940s (the time of this picture) and stop signs were not changed to red until the mid 1950s.
- Allison plays classical music on an LP (33 1/3) record changer. The LP was not developed until 1949.[3]
