Peyton Place is a
1957The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue
...
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
directed by
Mark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
. The screenplay by
John Michael HayesJohn Michael Hayes was an American screenwriter, who scripted some of Alfred Hitchcock's best remembered films.Hayes was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to John Michael Hayes Sr. and Ellen Mabel Hayes. Hayes Sr...
is based on the bestselling
1956 novel of the same namePeyton Place is a 1956 novel by Grace Metalious. "Peyton Place" has become an expression to describe a place whose inhabitants have sordid secrets....
by
Grace MetaliousGrace Metalious was an American author, best known for her controversial novel Peyton Place.-Early life:...
.
The film is an exposé of the lives and loves of the residents of a small
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
mill town, where
scandalA scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed. A scandal may be based on true or false allegations or a mixture of both....
,
homicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing a human being. A common form of homicide, for example, would be murder. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
,
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
,
incestIncest is any sexual activity between close relatives irrespective of the ages of the participants and irrespective of their consent, that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo...
, and
moralMorality has three principal meanings.In its first, descriptive usage, morality means a code of conduct or belief concerning matters of what is moral or immoral...
hypocrisyHypocrisy is the act of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy is thus a kind of lie. Hypocrisy may come from a desire to hide from others actual motives or feelings....
hide behind a tranquil façade in the years immediately preceding and following
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At the core of its plot are three women.
Constance MacKenzieConstance MacKenzie was a fictional character in the 1956 novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. In the subsequent film adaptation, she was played by Lana Turner; in the sequel Return to Peyton Place, by Eleanor Parker; in the primetime television series, by Dorothy Malone ; and in daytime soap...
is a prim and proper sexually repressed woman who had an affair with a married
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
businessman and bore him a child out of wedlock.
Peyton Place is a
1957The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue
...
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
directed by
Mark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
. The screenplay by
John Michael HayesJohn Michael Hayes was an American screenwriter, who scripted some of Alfred Hitchcock's best remembered films.Hayes was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to John Michael Hayes Sr. and Ellen Mabel Hayes. Hayes Sr...
is based on the bestselling
1956 novel of the same namePeyton Place is a 1956 novel by Grace Metalious. "Peyton Place" has become an expression to describe a place whose inhabitants have sordid secrets....
by
Grace MetaliousGrace Metalious was an American author, best known for her controversial novel Peyton Place.-Early life:...
.
Synopsis
The film is an exposé of the lives and loves of the residents of a small
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
mill town, where
scandalA scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed. A scandal may be based on true or false allegations or a mixture of both....
,
homicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing a human being. A common form of homicide, for example, would be murder. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
,
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
,
incestIncest is any sexual activity between close relatives irrespective of the ages of the participants and irrespective of their consent, that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo...
, and
moralMorality has three principal meanings.In its first, descriptive usage, morality means a code of conduct or belief concerning matters of what is moral or immoral...
hypocrisyHypocrisy is the act of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy is thus a kind of lie. Hypocrisy may come from a desire to hide from others actual motives or feelings....
hide behind a tranquil façade in the years immediately preceding and following
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At the core of its plot are three women.
Constance MacKenzieConstance MacKenzie was a fictional character in the 1956 novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. In the subsequent film adaptation, she was played by Lana Turner; in the sequel Return to Peyton Place, by Eleanor Parker; in the primetime television series, by Dorothy Malone ; and in daytime soap...
is a prim and proper sexually repressed woman who had an affair with a married
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
businessman and bore him a child out of wedlock. She has struggled to shield her daughter
AllisonAllison MacKenzie is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the novel Peyton Place, its sequel Return to Peyton Place, the subsequent film adaptations of both, and the primetime television series and daytime soap opera they inspired....
, a high school senior and aspiring author, from her tarnished past, leading her to believe she returned to Peyton Place with her newborn baby after her husband died. Selena Cross, Allison's best friend, is a good girl living on the wrong side of the tracks. She murders her stepfather
LucasLucas Cross is a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place, and its film adaptation. In the movie, he was played by Arthur Kennedy.-In the novel:...
after sexual abuse and her trial is the focus of the latter part of the film.
Other characters include Allison's classmate and confidant Norman Page, anxious to gain his independence; bad girl
Betty AndersonBetty Anderson was a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place, written by Grace Metalious as well as the subsequent movies and TV series based on the novel...
, who longs to have a relationship with wealthy
Rodney HarringtonRod Harrington is a fictional character on the television drama Peyton Place. He was portrayed by Ryan O'Neal. He was also a character on the 1957 film adaption. In this version, he was portrayed by Barry Coe.-Film version:...
; and new school principal
Michael RossiMichael Rossi, is a fictional book character from Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. Set in a small New England town whose peaceful facade hides love and passion, scandal and hypocrisy. Michael Rossi, a teacher, becomes the love interest of Constance MacKenzie, a woman with a hidden past, is now...
, who attempts to crack Constance's icy veneer.
Production
Less than a month after the book's release in 1956, producer
Jerry WaldJerry Wald was an Academy Award-winning American producer and screenwriter for motion pictures and radio shows....
bought the rights from author Grace Metalious for $250,000 and hired her as a story consultant on the film, although he had no intention of actually allowing her to contribute anything to the production . Her presence in Hollywood ensured the project additional publicity, but Metalious soon felt out of place in the film capital. Horrified by the sanitized adaptation of her book by screenwriter John Michael Hayes, who was forced to contend with the Hays Code, and his suggestion
Pat BooneCharles Eugene Boone , known professionally as Pat Boone, is an American singer, actor and writer who was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and starred in more than 12 Hollywood movies...
be cast as Norman Page, she returned to her home to
Gilmanton, New HampshireGilmanton is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,060 at the 2000 census. Gilmanton includes the village of Gilmanton Iron Works.-History:...
. She eventually earned a total of $400,000 in profits from the film, which she hated.
The film was shot primarily in
Camden, MaineCamden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,254 at the 2000 census. Home to Camden Hills State Park, the town is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, with additional exteriors filmed in
BelfastBelfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,381. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River on Penobscot Bay, Belfast is the county seat of Waldo County...
and
RocklandRockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,609. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...
in Maine and
Lake PlacidLake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638. Lake Placid is named after nearby Lake Placid....
in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It premiered in Camden two days before going into general release in the US on December 13, 1957.
Peyton Place was the second-highest grossing film of 1958, although in the first few months of its release it did not do well at the box office, until a real-life tragedy gave it an unexpected boost. On April 4, 1958, star
Lana TurnerLana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
's daughter
CherylCheryl Crane is the daughter, and only child of the actress Lana Turner and her second husband, actor-restaurateur Stephen Crane ....
killed her mother's abusive lover, mobster
Johnny StompanatoJohnny Stompanato, Jr. also known as "Handsome Harry", "Johnny Stomp", "John Steele", and "Oscar" was a former United States Marine who became a bodyguard/enforcer for gangster Mickey Cohen. He was also the boyfriend of actress Lana Turner.-Early years:John "Jackie" R...
, and was placed in Juvenile Hall. The press coverage of the subsequent investigation boosted ticket sales by 32%, and the film eventually grossed $25,600,000 in the US. A
coronerA coroner or forensics examiner is an official chiefly responsible for investigating deaths, particularly some of those happening under unusual circumstances, and determining the cause of death. Depending on the jurisdiction, the coroner may adjudge the cause himself, or act as the presiding...
's inquest ruled the murder justifiable homicide, and the district attorney chose not to charge Cheryl with the crime, although he declared her a ward of the state and placed her in the custody of her grandmother. Turner feared the negative publicity would end her career, but it led producer
Ross HunterRoss Hunter was a Hollywood film producer.-Biography:After serving in Army intelligence during World War II, Hunter signed a movie contract with Columbia Pictures and acted in a number of B-movie musicals...
to cast her in the 1959 film
Imitation of LifeImitation of Life is a film directed by Douglas Sirk, adapted from Fannie Hurst's novel Imitation of Life, produced by Ross Hunter and released by Universal Pictures. Starring Lana Turner, it is a remake of the 1934 Imitation of Life, the film also stars John Gavin and features Sandra Dee, Dan...
.
The film inspired a
popular primetime television seriesPeyton Place is an American prime time soap opera which aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964 to June 2, 1969.Based upon the 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious, the series was preceded by a 1957 film adaptation. A total of 514 episodes were broadcast, in...
that aired from September 1964 until June 1969.
Principal cast
- Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
..... Constance MacKenzieConstance MacKenzie was a fictional character in the 1956 novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. In the subsequent film adaptation, she was played by Lana Turner; in the sequel Return to Peyton Place, by Eleanor Parker; in the primetime television series, by Dorothy Malone ; and in daytime soap...
- Diane Varsi
Diane Marie Antonia Varsi was an American film actress best known for her performances in Peyton Place – her film debut, and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award – and the cult film Wild in the Streets...
..... Allison MacKenzieAllison MacKenzie is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the novel Peyton Place, its sequel Return to Peyton Place, the subsequent film adaptations of both, and the primetime television series and daytime soap opera they inspired....
- Hope Lange
Hope Elise Ross Lange was an American stage, film, and television actress.-Early life:Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut...
..... Selena Cross
- Lee Philips
Lee Philips was a prolific actor and director.-Biography:Philips acting career started on Broadway, and peaked with a starring role as Michael Rossi in the film adaptation of Peyton Place opposite Lana Turner...
..... Michael RossiMichael Rossi, is a fictional book character from Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. Set in a small New England town whose peaceful facade hides love and passion, scandal and hypocrisy. Michael Rossi, a teacher, becomes the love interest of Constance MacKenzie, a woman with a hidden past, is now...
- Arthur Kennedy
John Arthur Kennedy was an American actor.-Early life:Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Kennedy graduated from Worcester Academy and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. An award in Kennedy's honor is now presented every year to a deserving actor at Carnegie Mellon.-Career:Kennedy got his break when...
..... Lucas CrossLucas Cross is a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place, and its film adaptation. In the movie, he was played by Arthur Kennedy.-In the novel:...
- Lloyd Nolan
Lloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
..... Dr. Matthew SwainMatthew Swain, M.D. was a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place as well as the movie and TV series of the same name. In the movie, he was played by actor Lloyd Nolan and in the television series, he was played by actor Warner Anderson....
- Russ Tamblyn
Russell Irving "Russ" Tamblyn is an American film and television actor, who is arguably best known for his performance in the 1961 movie musical West Side Story as Riff, the leader of the Jets gang....
..... Norman Page
- Terry Moore
Terry Moore is an American actress.-Early life:Born January 7, 1929, in Glendale, California, as Helen Luella Koford, Moore grew up in a Mormon family in Los Angeles, California. She worked as a child model before making her film debut in Maryland...
..... Betty AndersonBetty Anderson was a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place, written by Grace Metalious as well as the subsequent movies and TV series based on the novel...
- David Nelson
David Oswald Nelson is an American actor, director, producer, and son of bandleader/TV actor Ozzie Nelson and singer Harriet Hilliard.-Career:...
..... Ted Carter
- Barry Coe
Barry S. Coe is an American actor who appeared in film and on television from 1956-1978. Many of his motion pictures parts were minor, but he co-starred in one series, Follow the Sun, which aired on ABC during the 1961-1962 season, and also played the recognizable "Mr...
..... Rodney HarringtonRod Harrington is a fictional character on the television drama Peyton Place. He was portrayed by Ryan O'Neal. He was also a character on the 1957 film adaption. In this version, he was portrayed by Barry Coe.-Film version:...
- Betty Field
Betty Field was an American film and stage actress.Field was born in Boston, MA. She began her acting career on the London stage in Howard Lindsay's farce, She Loves Me Not. Following its run she returned to the United States and appeared in several stage successes, before making her film debut in...
..... Nellie Cross
- Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dunnock was an American theater, film and television actress.-Early life:Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Dunnock was a school teacher who did not start acting until she was in her early thirties...
..... Miss Elsie Thornton
- Leon Ames
Leon Ames was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Ames was born Leon Wycoff in Portland, Indiana to Russian immigrants. He is most widely remembered for playing a number of fatherly figures in such titles as Meet Me in St...
..... Leslie HarringtonLeslie Harrington was a fictional character in the novel and movie Peyton Place as well as its TV Series of the same name. In the movie, Leslie was played by actor Leon Ames.Leslie was the richest man in the community of Peyton Place, New Hampshire...
- Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green O.C., LL.D., a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the long-running western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the original science fiction TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
..... District Attorney
- Scotty Morrow ..... Joey Cross (uncredited)
Critical reception
While
Peyton Place was "an enormous critical and commercial hit," most critics made note of the fact that the most salacious elements of the Metalious novel had been laundered or eliminated completely. In the
New York Times,
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters...
remarked, "There is no sense of massive corruption here."
VarietyVariety is a weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the Daily...
noted, "In leaning backwards not to offend, producer and writer have gone acrobatic. On the screen is not the unpleasant sex-secret little town against which Grace Metalious set her story. These aren't the gossiping, spiteful, immoral people she portrayed. There are hints of this in the film, but only hints."
TV GuideTV Guide is a North American weekly magazine about television programming.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews. Some issues have also featured horoscope listings and crossword puzzles.-Annenberg/Triangle era: The...
said, "This is the kind of hypertensive trash that gives
melodramaThe theatrical genre of melodrama uses theme-music to manipulate the spectator's emotional response and to denote character types. The term combines "melody" and "drama" . While the use of music is nearly ubiquitous in modern film, in most cases it is used within a fairly rigid structure...
a bad name, cynically tempering its naughty bits with smug moralizing. The fact that the film won an "A" rating from the
Catholic Legion of DecencyThe National Legion of Decency was an organization dedicated to identifying and combating objectionable content, from the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, in motion pictures...
, meaning it was deemed "acceptable to all," is a dead giveaway."
Nominations
The film received nine Oscar nominations, including four honoring supporting performances, which set a record for that time. It would later be matched by
Tom JonesTom Jones is a 1963 British comedy film. It is an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling , starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, winning four Academy Awards...
,
The Last Picture ShowThe Last Picture Show is a 1971 film drama directed by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1966 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry....
, and
The Godfather Part IIThe Godfather Part II is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo...
.
- Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible...
- Academy Award for Best Director
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
- Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Lana Turner)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Diane Varsi and Hope Lange)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Arthur Kennedy and Russ Tamblyn)
- Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture....
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
Directors Guild of America is the labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
- Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers around New York City....
Award for Best Written American Drama
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....
(Hope Lange and Mildred Dunnock)
Post-release
Celebrations were held in 1998 in some of the Maine towns in which the town was shot on the film's 40th anniversary, attended by Hope Lange.