IMDb RATING
7.2/10
6.6K
YOUR RATING
A peaceful New England town hides secrets and scandals.A peaceful New England town hides secrets and scandals.A peaceful New England town hides secrets and scandals.
- Nominated for 9 Oscars
- 2 wins & 17 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaImmediately after the graduation sequence, there is a quick scene showing Allison MacKenzie (Diane Varsi) at a typewriter. She is in the same pose that showed author Grace Metalious on the back of the paperback. The detail is exact, right down to the position of her body and clothing.
- GoofsAll of the women's hair styles and clothing are strictly 1957, not 1941.
- Quotes
Mr. Harrington: This job starts at 3,000 a year.
Michael Rossi: Then we're all wasting our time. That's only $5 a week more than I was making as a teacher, Mr. Harrington
Mr. Harrington: But this offers you security -- a long term contract.
Michael Rossi: Guaranteed poverty is not security.
- Alternate versions(Spoiler) Originally premiered at 162 minutes. Cut by 5 minutes, shortly after premiere, reputedly in the scene involving the murder of Arthur Kennedy's character.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years (1997)
- SoundtracksWonderful Season of Love (Theme from Peyton Place)
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Waxman
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
[Sung by chorus over closing credits]
Featured review
A Lush Melodrama That Deserves A Second Look
The Hollywood melodrama is a magical thing. You could fixate on one for a century, devouring its unrealistic rosiness and torrid, intermingling plot lines. Some directors (William Wyler, Edmund Goulding) are able to nourish them, managing to turn camp into something classier than overwrought trash. But then there are others (Douglas Sirk, Billy Wilder) who can see the fun in the fluff, commenting on the usual inauthenticity while still making a top-notch product.
Peyton Place is the granddaddy of all Hollywood melodramas, not quite self-referential but not quite forgettable. It's just right. At nearly three hours, it is everything Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful ever wanted to be. It has only three moods: romantic, stormily melodramatic, or vanilla, like Leave It to Beaver. These moods never mix together with continuity — there only seems to be room for the loudest of colors, shades and subtleties burnt to a crisp. Scenes are designed with the dramatized emphasis of a fashion magazine photoshoot, practically screaming that, yes, the film has a big-budget, and yes, it can afford to be filmed in CinemaScope.
Peyton Place isn't a smart melodrama cut from the same cloth as Written on the Wind, but thanks to shows like Twin Peaks, vintage soap has been given an entirely new edge. Instead of watching one for its unfiltered clutter, there seems to be a satirical acidity at play, even if it isn't on purpose. Landscape shots have the phony cheerfulness of a tempting postcard. Neighborhoods are decked out with white-picket fences, green grass, sunny skies, and clean-cut youths. Everything is too immaculate. You can sense that there is a lot of drama going on behind closed doors.
To explain the piling of story lines would be like patting my head and rubbing my stomach while typing; they have the same complexities as a family tree of socialites. All I will say is that Lana Turner is named Constance McKenzie (a name that was perhaps chosen by a soap opera character generator), and she, along with her daughter (Diane Varsi), acquaintances, and old-time friends, live in Peyton Place, an idyllic town stationed in rural New England. Gossip travels faster than a speeding bullet, romances begin as often as babies are born, and a scandal can destroy a person's life with more pain than a knife to the chest. I may enjoy watching tragedy happen to other people, but is it wrong to say that I would not be opposed to living in a town this exciting?
In Peyton Place, a blistery kiss or a b*tch slap to a well-endowed mug become the equivalents of a fiery explosion. It is hammier than Bette Davis eating a ham sandwich with Joan Crawford and Miriam Hopkins. There is plenty to stare at and gasp at and cry at and emote at, however ridiculous. We know that it's bad for us, but it is impossible not to consume something that wraps us up in a tweed suit and transports us into a parallel universe of cracked perfection. The youths, no matter how flawless they first appear, are either loose cannons on full throttle or suppressed lightweights waiting to blow up. The passive aggressive judgment of Peyton Place eventually sets their path and decides if they will be the talk-of-the-town for the rest of their life or the neighbor you beam at when you pass them at the grocery store.
Fittingly, the film became a hit not for its merit, not for its acting, not for its artistic capabilities, but because of a scandal possibly too jaw-dropping for the confines of Peyton Place. Long story short: At the time, Lana Turner was dating Mickey Cohen's right-hand man. One night, he flew into a rage, and, in response, her daughter came to her defense, stabbing him to death. Peyton Place had been out for months, making little money, but once the nonstop headlines began, it became the second highest grossing movie of 1958. Looking back, the Turner ordeal was and still is the kind of sh*t America feeds on with a frenzy. No one wants to admit that they enjoy some garbage here and there, but I'm sure the majority of InTouch readers indulge themselves not because they find value in celebrity gossip but because they find all the melodramatic lies to be a h*ll of a lot more entertaining than the intellect of Vanity Fair. As far as publicity goes, Peyton Place got its sharing served on a silver platter. What better suits faux soap than real soap?
Even with the unforgiving attention surrounding her, Turner has certainly never been better. Throughout the 1940s, she was mostly placed into the shoes of the sexy love interest, sometimes a femme fatale and sometimes the sweet girl you can't wait to go home to after fighting overseas. In Peyton Place, she is appealingly breathy, always ready with cocked eyebrow, perpetually p*ssed off at how her messy past affects her currently dusty one. She blows cigarette smoke as if she's late for an upcoming confrontation with an old mistake. Turner carries the weight of the film on her shoulders, working as its emotional core and its best actor. Some could declare her work as pure overacting, but on Peyton Place's terms, she comes out a champion. Few can say that murder lead to their career resurgence, but Turner is more than able.
One could accuse Peyton Place of being too preachy to be completely successful, but its influence is undeniable. It propelled the careers of talented young actors (Russ Tamblyn, Hope Lange), and lead to a popular TV spin-off in the 1960s, setting the standard for modern soap operas. As a standalone film, it works as a well-made, wildly entertaining soaper. The two-hours and 37 minutes go by with lightning speed; one could say that the film is too short, a good sign if there ever was one.
Peyton Place is the granddaddy of all Hollywood melodramas, not quite self-referential but not quite forgettable. It's just right. At nearly three hours, it is everything Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful ever wanted to be. It has only three moods: romantic, stormily melodramatic, or vanilla, like Leave It to Beaver. These moods never mix together with continuity — there only seems to be room for the loudest of colors, shades and subtleties burnt to a crisp. Scenes are designed with the dramatized emphasis of a fashion magazine photoshoot, practically screaming that, yes, the film has a big-budget, and yes, it can afford to be filmed in CinemaScope.
Peyton Place isn't a smart melodrama cut from the same cloth as Written on the Wind, but thanks to shows like Twin Peaks, vintage soap has been given an entirely new edge. Instead of watching one for its unfiltered clutter, there seems to be a satirical acidity at play, even if it isn't on purpose. Landscape shots have the phony cheerfulness of a tempting postcard. Neighborhoods are decked out with white-picket fences, green grass, sunny skies, and clean-cut youths. Everything is too immaculate. You can sense that there is a lot of drama going on behind closed doors.
To explain the piling of story lines would be like patting my head and rubbing my stomach while typing; they have the same complexities as a family tree of socialites. All I will say is that Lana Turner is named Constance McKenzie (a name that was perhaps chosen by a soap opera character generator), and she, along with her daughter (Diane Varsi), acquaintances, and old-time friends, live in Peyton Place, an idyllic town stationed in rural New England. Gossip travels faster than a speeding bullet, romances begin as often as babies are born, and a scandal can destroy a person's life with more pain than a knife to the chest. I may enjoy watching tragedy happen to other people, but is it wrong to say that I would not be opposed to living in a town this exciting?
In Peyton Place, a blistery kiss or a b*tch slap to a well-endowed mug become the equivalents of a fiery explosion. It is hammier than Bette Davis eating a ham sandwich with Joan Crawford and Miriam Hopkins. There is plenty to stare at and gasp at and cry at and emote at, however ridiculous. We know that it's bad for us, but it is impossible not to consume something that wraps us up in a tweed suit and transports us into a parallel universe of cracked perfection. The youths, no matter how flawless they first appear, are either loose cannons on full throttle or suppressed lightweights waiting to blow up. The passive aggressive judgment of Peyton Place eventually sets their path and decides if they will be the talk-of-the-town for the rest of their life or the neighbor you beam at when you pass them at the grocery store.
Fittingly, the film became a hit not for its merit, not for its acting, not for its artistic capabilities, but because of a scandal possibly too jaw-dropping for the confines of Peyton Place. Long story short: At the time, Lana Turner was dating Mickey Cohen's right-hand man. One night, he flew into a rage, and, in response, her daughter came to her defense, stabbing him to death. Peyton Place had been out for months, making little money, but once the nonstop headlines began, it became the second highest grossing movie of 1958. Looking back, the Turner ordeal was and still is the kind of sh*t America feeds on with a frenzy. No one wants to admit that they enjoy some garbage here and there, but I'm sure the majority of InTouch readers indulge themselves not because they find value in celebrity gossip but because they find all the melodramatic lies to be a h*ll of a lot more entertaining than the intellect of Vanity Fair. As far as publicity goes, Peyton Place got its sharing served on a silver platter. What better suits faux soap than real soap?
Even with the unforgiving attention surrounding her, Turner has certainly never been better. Throughout the 1940s, she was mostly placed into the shoes of the sexy love interest, sometimes a femme fatale and sometimes the sweet girl you can't wait to go home to after fighting overseas. In Peyton Place, she is appealingly breathy, always ready with cocked eyebrow, perpetually p*ssed off at how her messy past affects her currently dusty one. She blows cigarette smoke as if she's late for an upcoming confrontation with an old mistake. Turner carries the weight of the film on her shoulders, working as its emotional core and its best actor. Some could declare her work as pure overacting, but on Peyton Place's terms, she comes out a champion. Few can say that murder lead to their career resurgence, but Turner is more than able.
One could accuse Peyton Place of being too preachy to be completely successful, but its influence is undeniable. It propelled the careers of talented young actors (Russ Tamblyn, Hope Lange), and lead to a popular TV spin-off in the 1960s, setting the standard for modern soap operas. As a standalone film, it works as a well-made, wildly entertaining soaper. The two-hours and 37 minutes go by with lightning speed; one could say that the film is too short, a good sign if there ever was one.
helpful•51
- blakiepeterson
- May 2, 2015
- How long is Peyton Place?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Jerry Wald's Production of Peyton Place
- Filming locations
- Camden, Maine, USA(Exterior)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $25,600,000
- Runtime2 hours 37 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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