Peyton Place
by Mark Robson
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DVD details
Actor: Arthur Kennedy, Lana Turner, Lee Philips, Lloyd Nolan, Russ TamblynDirector: Mark Robson
Cinematographer: William C. Mellor
Editor: David Bretherton
Producer: Jerry Wald
Writer: Grace Metalious
Writer: John Michael Hayes
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 157 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Peyton Place
DVD Review: A big screen soap that does little to improve on the small screen variety
Summary: 3 Stars
The youngsters of a small town called Peyton Place chafe under the stifling conservatism and parochialism of their parents' generation.
The performances are stiff (with the exception of the always dependable Arthur Kennedy) and the narrative plods along from one contrived shock to the next, but I must admit it held my interest much of the time. In this film, you are never far away from a murder, an abortion, or a tragic misunderstanding. Franz Waxman composed an evocative score that often manages to communicate the longing and hopefulness of frustrated youth with little help from John Michael Hayes's screenplay. It amazes me that this film was nominated for nine Oscars, but my faith in the Academy is marginally restored by the fact that it lost in every category (although Kennedy may well have deserved a supporting actor award).
DVD Review: A Story about Small Town Life
Summary: 4 Stars
The film opens on a seashore town while the credits roll. The leaves on the trees says Autumn. There is snow, then spring. Time is told by seasons. A horse-drawn plow furrows the field. There is trouble in a small farm family. The newspaper says the year is 1941. The local textile mill got a government contract for uniforms; more people will move to town. Scenes show this small town. [No New England accents?] The School Board wants a new man as Principal, not the local experienced teacher. But Rossi wants a fair wage, and gets it. [This teaches a lesson.] The owner of the textile mill runs the school board as well. The janitor gives his views on society. Rossi shows his skill to Miss Thornton.
Allison is attracted to local society, the well-to-do who have plenty of money and time. [Is there danger here?] Was Allison's mother right about that party? Will Principal Rossi start a class in sex education? Mrs. McKenzie is surprised at home. Does Peyton Place have low standards? What will Allison do? We see the many churches in town. Also a family squabble. Norman and Allison wander into the woods. A book in a "plain wrapper"? Do they have overly-protective single parents? Is their conversation too cute? Is there too much gossip in Peyton Place? Local standards are described to Rodney Harrington. He will obey his Father. Betty shows her appreciation for Rodney's gallantry. [Could Ted Cotter become a lawyer's clerk and learn on the job, as many did in older times?] Allison is the valedictorian for the Class of 1941.
That summer Allison writes stories. Principal Rossi recommends college, but Allison wants to learn by doing, and writes for the local newspaper. Selena confesses, Doctor Swain takes action to solve a problem. Selena falls, and has an "appendectomy". There is a Labor Day Parade, then a speech by the mill owner. Their prosperity comes from government contracts (taxes or deficit spending for non-productive functions). Life is carefree. Couples go to the lake. Will people gossip? Will this make trouble for Allison and Norman? Is there a secret that Mrs. McKenzie has never revealed? Will tragedy strike their home? Then Pearl Harbor changes their world. Life goes on in Peyton Place.
Lucas gets an unexpected hard welcome when he returns home. Will there be another scandal? What kind of respectability is there in Peyton Place? Will Selena tell the whole story? The trial of Selena brings out the facts and the truth. Dr. Matthew Swaine testifies about the past. Do young people leave Peyton Place because of gossip? Or for better jobs in a dynamic community?
I wonder what was changed in adapting the novel to a movie? Was part of this based on Grace Metalious' personal experience? Did life in Peyton Place reflect the Great Depression? Were the events common in many small towns of that era? Or today?
DVD Review: Just okay
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm sure Peyton Place was a novel for it's time, especially with all its talk about teenage sex, domestic rape and a few other shocker thrown in, but it doesn't stand up to the test of time for this viewer. I kept one eye on the clock most of the time because it felt incredibly slow. A good part of that because this was orginally a television series and not a straight movie. The series does manage to get the nuisances of a small town down but to be honest I just wasn't riveted by this. So again I'm the odd woman out on this. View at your own risk.DVD Review: Great Film, Actor Commentary So-So
Summary: 5 Stars
While I've read the book and think it is much better than the film, I still love this film a lot for the great acting, music, and filmography. The DVD reproduction is much clearer than the VHS version.
I was a little disappointed in the commentary with Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore. Both rambled on about personal items not relevant to the movie and a lot of silent gaps. While part of the commentary was enjoyable, I think maybe since so many years have passed they might have forgotten more than they remembered.
I always like the extras with the DVD versions, but this one was lacking in extras. Overall it is worth having this movie on DVD because it is a classic. The picture and audio quality is superb and worth the price. It's too bad Lana Turner died before the production of this DVD. Her commentary would have been priceless.
Unfortunately they don't make great movies like this anymore!
DVD Review: classic romance
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband & I were married at the White Hall Inn in Camden, Maine. The movie was shot at that location. I purchased this for an anniversary present for us and as a momentum for our wedding memories. There are many clips and photos while making this film there."Scandal in a New England Town."That's were it all took place.It is truley, a classic romance!
Description of Peyton Place
Peyton Place is the sensitive and poignant story of coming of age in a small New England village whose peaceful facade hides love and passion, scandal and hypocrisy.Nominated for nine Academy Awards in 1957, Peyton Place has become synonymous with torrid soap opera. Though the novel by Grace Metalious is even more sensational, the movie provides plenty of tantalizing story turns--secrets, adultery, rape, bitter parents, frustrated teenagers, suicide, and murder. Multiple storylines deftly interweave: Allison MacKenzie (Diane Varsi), an ambitious young girl struggling with the neurotic fears of her mother (Lana Turner, in a career-reviving performance) and the neurotic fears of the boy she loves (Russ Tamblyn), while her best friend Selena Cross (Hope Lange) fights off the brutal advances of her drunken stepfather. The movie had to sanitize the novel's New England town in order to get some of the more unsavory plot turns past the censors; ironically, the glossy "normal" surface makes these events all the more shocking, paving the way for David Lynch's Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. --Bret Fetzer
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