Rating: 
Summary: One of the very best of its kind!!
Review: 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???
Rating: 
Summary: Racy and exciting melodrama - but Lana's miscast
Review: The filmed version of the famously shocking and successful bestseller is a little tamer than its literary parent, but still very racy and excting viewing. Even today the frankness of some of the stories is astounding - and all the moreso because this film was made in the '50s.
Firstly, the photography is sublime. The Maine locations are beautiful and the natural perfection of the town is an excellent and jolting counterpoint for the seedy storylines in which the town's participants are involved. All of the film's exteriors (except, very joltingly, for Lana Turner's scenes) was shot on location. The fact that Turner's scenes were obviously shot on a soundstage when the rest of the film was not is one of the few aspects that does date this film.
Single mom Lana Turner (in goregeous costumes and looking glamorously radiant throughout - in fact, far too glamorous for the part) is having problems with her clever but sexually curious teenage daughter Diane Varsi, who is involved with the hunky but smothered mommy's boy Russ Tamblyn. The daughter's best friend, lovely Hope Lange, daughter of Lana's cleaner, comes from the wrong side of the tracks and has her own problems, not least of which is her lecherous stepfather (Arthur Kennedy). Like most of the characters, Turner has a secret from her past, which initially inhibits her relationship with an unvconventional school principal.
"Peyton Place" is a long but riveting soap operatic film, still compulsively watcheable today. The only flaw is the lovely Lana, who, despite her own sordid private life which assured the film its great success, is simply too glamorous and thus miscast as a small-town single mother. Her inclination toward artifice was used to great effect in "Imitation of Life" a few years later, but in this particular part Lana is plainly ineffective with her Hollywood gloss and her "big" acting style.
The younger actors are all excellent and there are many moments to commend this interesting and visually goregeous film.
Rating:
Summary: Peyton Place: A Tale Of Passion, Scandal And Hypocrisy
Review: The novel "Peyton Place", by Grace Metalious has over time become "infamous", for its frank depiction of sex in all its raw forms under the outwardly respectable facade of life in a prosperous New England Town. The movie version of the novel while necessarily diluted to have been able to get onto the screen in 1957 still retains a great deal of that original material which is handled in an intelligent and most often surprisingly honest way. Considering the restrictions on what could, and could not be depicted on screen in the late 1950's it is doubly amazing that the film could be so honest about depicting previously taboo topics as teenage pregnancy, rape and extra marital affairs. Obviously by today's movie standards "Peyton Place", seems very tame and at times almost quaint, however it is an intelligently written and honestly acted melodrama that holds your attention for its lengthy two and a half hour running time. "Peyton Place", marked a big comeback in the career of legendary screen Goddess Lana Turner after a lean period of mediocre films in the mid 1950's. Here we see her at the beginning of a new period of stardom where she played more mature sophisticated women often involved in emotional dilemmas. Turner plays Constance Mackenzie, a dress shop owner in the beautiful town of Peyton Place and she is one of the many residents who beneath their outwardly respectable facade is hiding a dark secret from her past. She has one daughter Alison ( a radiant Diane Varsi),a High School graduate who dreams of becoming a writer. During the course of the film we are introduced to the others who make up the Peyton Place community. Firstly there is the School's new Principal Michael Rossi (Lee Philips), who has progressive ideas about education and develops a passion for Constance despite her unexplained remoteness toward him. Other memorable characters are the tragic Selena Cross (Hope Lange), Allison's best friend who is a poor girl trapped in a terrible homelife of abuse, care of her step father Lucas (Arthur Kennedy) and who around much of the sordid side of the story revolves. Also present are Allison's friends Norman (Russ Tamblyn) who is eager to escape his domineering mother and flashy girl about town Betty Anderson (Terry Moore) who marries local wealthy boy Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe) against the wishes of his high profile father (Leon Ames),only to see him killed during active duty in World War Two. The film takes us through the trials and tribulations of the real life being led behind closed doors in Peyton Place. Constance is revealed to have been the mistress of a prominent businessman in New York. The revelation of her true background and circumstances of her birth drives Allison away where she seeks a new life for herself in the City away from her mother. In a major story development Dr. Swain (Lloyd Nolan), battles professional ethics when he is forced to cover up a forced termination of Selena's unborn child that resulted from her rape by her drunken step father. This secret comes back to haunt him later when Selena is put on trial for her step father's murder and this one piece of secret evidence proves to be the only thing that will save her from a death sentence. Big Shot Leslie Harrington also learns a sharp lesson in human tolerance when after his son's death he finally begins to see the real value in former good time girl Betty who beneath her extroverted exterior is a sincere and caring girl who despite her reputation only ever truly loved his son. Directed with suitable directness by Mark Robson and nominated for an amazing nine Academy Awards including Best Picture,"Peyton Place", is a stunning film to enjoy on all levels from the fine performances by Lee Philips and especially Lana Turner, who was nominated for the only time in her career for the Best Actress Oscar, to the often truly remarkable work achieved by the younger cast members. It is these junior cast members that lead most of the dramatic action in "Peyton Place". Hope Lange as the tragic Selena probably delivers her finest performance ever and her rape scene and where she murders her step father are truly harrowing even by modern movie standards. Terry Moore another fifties starlet as Betty also shows new depths to her acting and her later scenes with Leon Ames as her disapproving father in law are top rate. Veteran Stalwarts, Ames, Mildred Dunnock, Lorne Green and especially Lloyd Nolan also add to the dramatic impact in their respective roles. Boasting a magnificent musical score by Franz Waxman and breathtaking onlocation photography in New England, these very superb credentials give the film a very handsome look and create an interesting contrast to the often sordid nature of much that goes on behind the white picket fences of Peyton Place. Obvious Soap Opera "Peyton Place", may be dismissed as however you would be hard pressed in this genre to find a more finely crafted production that tells it's story in a more straight forward manner. So successful was this film that it spawned a sequel "Return To Peyton Place", and a long running television series in the 1960's. Lana Turner fans wont be disappointed by her more mature acting here, however full credit goes to the entire cast no matter what level their acting experience as they all succeed in realistically bringing to life the often murky side of life in a "respectable picture postcard town". Definately recommended viewing by those that love well written human dramas.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent movie
Review: 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."
Rating:
Summary: A must see movie
Review: This is my all time favorite movie. I scene it for the first time, when it came out in 1957 while stationed in the Air Force in Japan, and have scene it many times since. It has everything that and excellent movie should have, I thought Gone With The Wind was the greatest show until I scene Peyton Place, and you might know that it is put out by Fox Studios who seem to be the slowest studio for putting any movie on DVD Enough for the complaints on Fox, If you want to see a super movie, set down grab your popcorn and coke and enjoy 2hrs and 37mins of great entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Peyton Place is the Ultimate Soap Opera!
Review: This movie is great! The acting by Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Lloyd Nolan, and Arthur Kennedy is fantastic, the direction is imaginative (the scene with Lee Philips driving to Peyton Place, the rape scene, and the courtroom scenes are all especially riveting), the sweeping music score by Franz Waxman is appropriately haunting, and the beautiful New England photography all combine to make a remarkably entertaining film. Even people who may not usually care for this genre (I'm talking about men!) will likely enjoy this movie, as it keeps the viewers interest even with it's long running time.
Rating:
Summary: Rises above it's written source
Review: This movie is worth watching just for the cinematography and musical score alone. William C. Mellor's opening sequence paints a picture of New England as a dreamy, wistful and idyllic wonderland (filmed on location in Camden, Maine). Franz Waxman's children say this score was his favorite and clearly his best work. It is hauntingly beautiful. Hope Lange, Diane Varsi, Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn, Betty Field and Lana Turner all turn in excellent performances. The story moves along briskly and credibly - until the last 20 minuutes. The final courtroom scenes with Lorne Greene and Lloyd Nolan are too hokey, preachy and totally unrealistic. By then it doesn't matter because you have already enjoyed a beautiful ride through a classic Hollywood 1950's soap.
Rating:
Summary: Important film for New England and beyond!
Review: This video is an important storyline to the New England cultures. This is a story that undoes the stereotypes of "pure" pastoral vs. corrupt "city." The underlying story is one which Metalious as a writer, and the film brings to the screen, of the inner workings of small town life as it really is and a major service is done to the national psyche in cracking the illusions.
Rating:
Summary: Sensitive Turner performance, beautiful movie
Review: Turner received an Oscar nomination for her performance in "Peyton Place" and she deserved it. No other actress could have played the sad, vulnerable, enigmatic Constance MacKenzie as convincingly as she did. One of the best dramatic sequences in the film is Turner's tender and remorseful scene with Allison when the girl confronts her mother with the past she has hidden from her daughter for so long. Turner's breakdown in court is also very effective and presages her later performance in "Madame X." The plot's similarities with tragic events in Turner's personal life give her performance an added dimension. The memorable score, the nostalgic depiction of small town life, the beautiful cinematography, and the heartfelt performances--particularly of Turner and Diana Varsi--elevate this melodrama. Its depiction of 1950s mores make it a milestone in popular culture and a significant addition to the "women's pictures" genre in American filmmaking. A wonderful film, particularly for Turner fans.
Rating:
Summary: This flick is so fifties, you can smell the bad perfume.
Review: White girl gets abortion.
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