DVD Release Date: March 2, 2004

Cast: Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Russ Tamblyn, Arthur Kennedy, Diane Varsi

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By Lisa Origlieri

Lana Turner stars as Constance MacKenzie, a single mother hell-bent on shielding her daughter from sex and the “low standards” of their hometown. The teetotaling prude is a far cry from the roles that Lana “Sweater Girl” Turner played in MGM’s popular “women’s pictures.” This role presented Turner a truly dramatic stage on which she could showcase her range as an actress and earned Turner a Best Actress nomination at the 1957 Oscars.

Newcomer Diane Varsi holds her own opposite Turner as Constance’s 17-year-old daughter Allison. The remarkable ensemble cast that make up the gossip and scandal-surrounded inhabitants of Peyton Place include Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Russ Tamblyn, and Hope Lange.

Produced in an era where the Hayes office and its code of ethics ruled over just about every scene shot in Hollywood at the time, it’s a miracle just how much was allowed to remain when adapted from book to screen. For those like myself who’ve read the book, some distinct changes have been made so that the story could be suitable for 1950’s audiences. Certainly less shocking now that they were then, there are still plenty of subjects addressed in these two-and-a-half hours that will surprise viewers when taken in context of the time in which the story was written and filmed.

Like The Diary of Anne Frank DVD, which came out last month, Peyton Place is another of 20th Century Fox’s Studio Classics. And like Anne Frank this CinemaScope picture (shot both in Maine and California) is a beautiful recreation of another time period. The innocence and simplicity of Peyton Place’s façade belies and provides a perfect contrast to the lives of the people within it. The reason Peyton Place is so relevant nearly 50 years later is that, while it is an escape to a time we can now only be homesick for, its real. There is no sugarcoated idea of what the 1940s were like. Aside from the setting, this story could just as easily happen today.

A timeless classic and yet a so-so presentation. Again, like the other 20th Century Fox Studio Classic I’ve reviewed, The Diary of Anne Frank, this film suffers from an understated DVD release. A few still images of Constance MacKenzie and school principal Michael Rossi (played by Lee Philips) grace the front and back covers. More still images and no sound are the backdrops for the DVD’s few menu pages.

Most notable among the bonus features on this double-sided disc is the commentary track with actors Russ Tamblyn (Norman Page) and Terry Moore (Betty Anderson). Perhaps there was no way to coordinate these two people’s schedules but it might have been a lot nicer if the two could have recorded a commentary track together. As it is, however, the two were recorded separately and later cut together. It’s hard to get a true ensemble commentary together as most of the cast has, as Terry Moore puts it in her track, “crossed over.” But there are a few more people still around. Barry Coe who played Rodney Harrington, David Nelson who was Ted Carter, or even Scotty Morrow who played young Joey Cross. In one of her comments Moore says that she and Tamblyn are the only ones who still turn out to Peyton Place screenings and other such fan-sponsored events. She also mentions Hope Lange, which leads me to assume that this track was recorded several months ago. What a shame 20th Century Fox couldn’t get all these people together, including Lange, to get a more substantial commentary laid down before Lange’s passing this past December.

For the most part the actors talk about their experiences with the film over the years, its popularity, who they were in touch with, etc. It’s a sweet commentary with a few memorable production anecdotes.

The other big bonus feature, and the most significant, is an “AMC Backstory” episode about Peyton Place. This documentary follows the story from Grace Metalious’ idea, through production, and to the screen. Interviews with Metalious gave me my first real glimpse at the woman behind the saga who, ironically enough, when asked if anyone will remember Peyton Place even 25 years after the film emphatically responded, “Oh heavens, no.” There’s also more of the cast interviewed here as well. Hope Lange does show up in this documentary, as do Tamblyn, Moore, and a few Peyton Place historians.

Other bonuses include two trailers and two Movietone News reels: one about the Peyton Place premiere and the other covering the Photoplay Magazine Awards. Among the cast of the film, you’ll see footage of other 1950s-era Hollywood names like Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, and Jayne Mansfield.

Peyton Place is an extraordinary story both on screen as well as in context of its production. The film is beautifully shot, acted, and transferred to DVD. My major complaint, again, lies with 20th Century Fox’s carelessness in its presentation. Two-sided discs are so casual, so sloppy, so insulting. If you’re going to call it a Classic, treat it like one. This is a great film. But it’s packaged as if it were “some old movie 20th Century Fox doesn’t really care about anymore.” If we were to judge the DVD by its cover, I’m sure many people would overlook this landmark film. Don’t do that. It may be, as Allison or Norman would say, “in a plain wrapper” but what’s inside is classic. Thank God, 20th Century Fox c. 1957 treated it with a little more dignity than 20th Century Fox c. 2004.

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