Customer Reviews

Peyton Place [VHS]

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Peyton Place is one of my favorite books and one of my favorite movies. The filming and score are beautiful. The scenery of coastal Maine is fantastic. This is one of the most popular soap operas...the term "Peyton Place" has come to mean a gossipy community.

Most of the acting is great... the only actor that does not seem right for the role is Lee Philips. He is does not see the type of guy Lana Turner would go for.

Lana Turner and Diane Varsi have some great mother daughter conflicts. Lloyd Nolan is great as the doctor caught in the moral dilemma of covering up a miscarriage (which was an abortion in the book)

The DVD adds an interesting commentary by Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore. You feel as if you are sitting with them as the watch the film. They give share stories of what it was like to be a young actor in the 1950s.

This is a great film and even better DVD. My wife and I liked the book and movie so much we named our daughter Allison after Peyton Place's main character.

Based the bestselling novel by Grace Metalious, Peyton Place is a hallmark of mid-20th century American culture and remains powerful melodrama to this day. Modern audiences in particular might notice similarities with the currently popular Dawson's Creek.

The story centers around shopowner Constance MacKenzie (Lana Turner), hiding a secret from her past; her daughter Allison (Diane Varsi), who dreams of escaping from Peyton Place and becoming a writer; Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Hope Lange), who lives literally on the other side of the tracks and suffers abuse at the hands of her drunken stepfather (Arthur Kennedy); Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), a shy, quiet student yearning to break away from his domineering mother; Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe), the playboy son of millowner Leslie Harrington (Leon Ames), who disapproves of his son's relationship with the flashy Betty Anderson (Terry Moore); and Mike Rossi (Lee Phillips), the new high school principal smitten with Constance.

Screenwriter John Michael Hayes did a magnificent job of distilling Metalious's occasionally crude story, making it acceptable to film audiences, though it can be argued that Metalious's feminist slant was lost in the process. The film was beautifully directed by Mark Robson, who's never gotten enough respect, perhaps due to his reputation as a craftsman; well, Peyton Place is a finely crafted work, solid entertainment, with majestic location work in Camden, ME, much of which will be lost in the transfer to the small screen. The cinematography is by William C. Mellor and the wonderful score is by Franz Waxman.

Peyton Place received 9 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay-Adapted, Best Cinematography, Best Actress (Lana Turner--her only nomination), Best Supporting Actress (Hope Lange, Diane Varsi), and Best Supporting Actor (Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn). 1957 was the year of The Bridge on the River Kwai, so Peyton Place lost in every category.

Peyton Place was filmed in beautiful Camden, Maine and I remember the time when it was filmed there..I was a kid growing up in Portland , Maine. It is a great piece of melodrama, and the music of course makes it such. The score alone merits attention, and you can get it on CDs and Lp if you search. Well worth it.

The film has many pluses: Lana Turner is in a new kind of role here, not so camp, but fun to witness her distress and those hands of hers moving in all directions. Also, check out her Maine accent. Where can she be from???
Diane Varsi is wonderful as Allison, and Hope Lange never better..this is one out of three or four good Hope Lange performances. All of Varsi should be seen, including Johnny Got His Gun and even Bloody Mama.When Varsi made Peyton Place she was 23 and had been married three times and had some children. Her Reveries on marriage and chastity have strange resonaces to them!

Betty Field is in this, and she oozes madness; her husband is Arthur Kennedy, who has rape written all over that face and body. And then there is David Nelson from the dreadful Ozzie and Harriet series of the 50's, acting his way out of a film career of any kind, very funny, and Barry Coe(whatever happened to him?) and the great Terry Moore, who gices a superb performance, and who has the best Maine accent ever heard in any film about Maine.

You get vetrans Leon Ames(Doris Day musicals) and the evr great and eerie Mildred Dunnock, with those cryptic lines to the class she teaches and to the alcoholic janitor, not to be forgotten. And LLoyd Nolan as Doc Swain, pontificating and gossiping about affairs and abortions.His laugh and sneer are classic here.
Then there is Lee Philips, who is the image of a small town principal; tweedy and sententious and civic-minded. Lana must be wooed by him and it is very funny to see. Lee never went anywhere at Fox or at any other studio, but he's servicable and could have done more, I think, with direction. Here, he is scary he's so authentic. Lana's interest in him is hard to belive, beciuse she always liked mobsters and he-men in real life.Good for her!
The score and the color and the CinemaScope are better served on the large screen, and DVD will help this film a great deal. Wait for its manifestation on DVD and relive the passions and power of Peyton Place.

Do not forget Return To Peyton Place: this is the bad sequel, but the real good part of this film are the performances of Mary Astor and Eleanor Parker, especially Mary Astor who steals the film and shows everyone how to act on screen. Carol Lynley's career at Fox eneded with this film. She plays Allison, and she is beyond comment, but, hilarious in every way, and she means to be serious. Jose Ferrer directs so badly I expect always to see him lynched at the end of the film, but, again, there are bonuses: you get Rosemary Clooney(then Jose's wife) signing the Peyton Place theme with lovely lyrics, and she is in splendid voice.

These two films are rare things, and they come out of the 50's and early 60's when naivete and experience were just touching bases with each other. These films are still trying to bypass James Dean, Brando, and Newman's talents and insights..a last gasp of Romanticism with those glittering musical themes sweeping across landscapes meant for lovers.

Get the DVD when they come out..Where are they???

I already had a beautiful copy of this movie--the outrageously priced ($49.95) laserdisc set put out by Fox Home Video sometime in the 90s--but the selling point for me this time around was the promised audio commentaries by Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore. I wasn't disappointed! I've always considered Tamblyn one of the unsung heroes of moviedom (his credits read like a list of the best films ever made--"Gun Crazy," "Father of the Bride," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "West Side Story," and this gem among others) and I'm certain that those viewers only familiar with his remarkable dancing and acrobatics in musicals would be surprised by his sure handling of a complex character in this film. The performance earned him a well-deserved Oscar nomination--a feat not shared by the majority of his musical colleagues. Tamblyn comes off as a very likable, unassuming guy in his audio commentary, and his memory of the long-ago events is pretty sharp--even to the point of remembering that a double for Lana Turner did a couple of the shots in the last scene rather than the actress herself. Along the way he has plenty of interesting stories about the other actors, the location shoot, and what was going on in his life at the time. Terry Moore is also very engaging in her commentary, although she's clearly less familiar with the movie itself--e.g., she registers surprise at the fate of Betty Field's character the same way a first-time viewer would. But Ms. Moore also has some intersting recollections, such as roasting in her winter coat while surrounded by fake snow in the blazing California sunshine. And her obvious respect for the story's themes and its characters (as significantly altered and arguably improved for the film adaptation) is very endearing, particularly if you're as enamored of the film as this viewer.

Long before David Lynch was fascinated with the notion of wholesome-looking small towns hiding dark underbellies, "Peyton Place" examined the same theme. In fact, "Peyton Place" took the idea one step further: the dark doings under the surface of a "nice" town were one thing, but equally damaging was the fear that one's mistakes, misfortunes, and private business would "get out" and everyone would know about them. That fear, in turn, made it very difficult- at least in this story- to face up to and correct the initial misstep or problem, and thus a vicious circle was created.

So, while "Peyton Place" can definitely be called a soap opera (as every possible over-the-top soap opera situation confronts its many characters), it's a pretty sophisticated soap opera that has something serious to say about adults needing to act like adults and stop being such gossips and busybodies.

I just discovered "Peyton Place" and was surprised how entertaining and well crafted it is. In addition to the film's involving storyline (many storylines, actually), there's a great Franz Waxman score and some incredible scenery. The DVD offers a clean, sharp widescreen print of the film and an interesting and entertaining commentary by members of the original cast. Do yourself a favor and check this movie out

"Peyton Place" is the 50s big budget, widescreen precursor to all 60s television soap operas. It's teeming with adultery and bald faced lies set against the backdrop of a small mid-west America town - a place where everybody knows your name and nobody is above a good scandal or torrid piece of gossip. Lana Turner headlines as Constance MacKenzie, the prudish mother of upright and proper teenager, Allison (Diane Varsi). Constance?s neurotic fear of sex masks her own checkered past, one that eventually drives her daughter to distraction. Sensitive to her own values, Allison befriends introvert and sexually repressed, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn). The two develop a lasting friendship that is temporarily put on ice when a rumor circulates that Norman and Allison were skinny dipping in a nearby lake ? imagine that! Meanwhile, newly appointed high school principal, Mike Rossi (Lee Philips) is in hot pursuit of Constance?s affections. Though Constance thwarts Mike?s initial advances with all the tact and remedy of an ice pick, she can?t help but eventually warm to the heat of desire that exists between them.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, or at least the flee bitten dilapidated shack of Nellie (Betty Field) and Lucas (Arthur Kennedy) Cross; Selena Cross (Hope Lange) struggles to ward off the drunken advances of her maniacal stepfather. Selena?s procurement of work in Constance?s dress shop seems like a step in the right direction. Her mother is Constance?s housekeeper. However, Lucas? jealous rage over a budding romance between Selena and Ted Carter (David Nelson) leads to her rape and impregnation. When Selena suffers a miscarriage, also by Lucas? hand, Nellie puts two and two together, come up with four and commits suicide by hanging herself in Allison?s closet. Doc Swain (Lloyd Nolan), the kindly physician who tended to Selena?s miscarriage exiles Lucas from Peyton Place with a signed confession that he threatens to turn over to the authorities. But Lucas can?t help himself. He returns one snowy and unsuspecting eve to ravage Selena again. But this time Selena is ready for him. She murders Lucas and buries the body in the back yard.

There?s plenty more sin on tap in town, between fast and easy Betty Anderson (Terry Moore) and Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe), the heir to a textile industry presided over by Rodney?s father (Leon Ames). Mr. Harrington tries everything to thwart their illicit romance, even fabricating an interest on Allison?s part which results in a disastrous graduation dance for all concerned. Eventually, Rodney acquires enough conviction to oppose his father and marry Betty.

The movie, considered something of a censorship breakthrough at the time of its general release, is a complete sanitization of the original sin soaked pages from Grace Metalious' novel which included, among other things, incest and sexual perversion. Considered something of a Benedict Arnold in her own home town, Metalious? real life ended tragically at the age of 36 when alcohol addiction caught up with her. Nevertheless, the film still packs one heck of a wallop. Several months following its release, Lana Turner?s own life mirrored the film?s narrative when her daughter, Cheryl Crane murdered her lover, Johnny Stompanado ? the right hand thug of racketeer, Mickey Cohen.

In keeping with Fox?s usual quality in their ?Studio Series?, the anamorphic 2:35:1 Cinemascope picture has been rendered with rich and saturated colors and minimal film grain. Occasionally rear projection shots give themselves away, being slightly blurry and exhibiting a different color scheme than other shots in the film. There is also a hint of edge enhancement and pixelization for a picture that, while smooth, occasionally draws attention to itself. There?s also one gigantic tear in the original negative that intrudes on the scene where the graduating class has gathered for a party in the high school gymnasium. The audio is 5.1 and nicely remixed to celebrate the richness of the original six-track stereo elements. Extras include a brief BACKSTORY episode from AMC that chronicles the making of the movie. There?s also an audio commentary in which Terry Moore incorrectly remembers Peyton Place as being the first Cinemascope movie ever made.

As other reviewers have discussed the film in good detail, I will just say I have always enjoyed Peyton Place. It is one of the few instances where the film rises over the material presented.

However, I found the special features on the DVD to be very disappointing. The extra audio track is Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore discussing the film (unfortunately most of the other stars are dead, so this is the best they could do). They are obviously not in the same room, so there is no interaction between them. Tamblyn's comments are okay, but Moore is constantly reminding us of the few high points of her so-so career.

The other special feature is the show done by AMC's Hollywood Backstory on the film - and like other Backstory's, overly dwells with sensational tidbits (especially Lana Turner's ordeal when her daughter killed her mob boyfriend).

Get the DVD for a good quality presentation of a favorite film, but not to learn anything substantive about it.

They just don't make them like this any more! This is a great movie--shocking for its time (1957) but tame by today's standards. Everything blends together so well here--the writing, the direction, the visuals (a picturesque New England town that also hides some dirty secrets). I also find the musical score to be excellent--"haunting" is the word that comes to mind, perfectly matched to the emotional mood of the movie. Outstanding performances from first-rate actors. Yes, it is the quintessential "soap opera." But it is absolutely the BEST of its genre! A "must-see."

This film Peyton Place was filmed in Maine, USA. It has very strong subject matter even by todays standards. It mainly is about the incest rape of teen age girl.

I always enjoyed this movie when I was quite younger so when it came out in a DVD, I bought it. It is hard to find a good drama these days that has the input of some of the older movies. It is great and my relatives like it too. We have a movie night and and enjoy these movies.