|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
This '50s big budget,
widescreen precursor to all '60s television soap
operas is 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 hometown, 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 is 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. |
