Peyton Place

A small town in New England. From outside it looks orderly: clean streets, a church, a school pageant. Inside there is another arrangement. Constance MacKenzie lies to her daughter about her father. Selena Cross lives with her stepfather's violence. The new headmaster becomes a target the moment he questions the town's habits. In the end it all comes out in a courtroom. The film arrives with the harshest parts of the 1956 novel softened, and under the censorship of the period some matters are only implied; even so it is unusually outspoken for its year. The real subject is not crime but a town where everyone knows what everyone does and nobody says anything. Mark Robson directed, from Grace Metalious's novel. Lana Turner plays Constance, with Diane Varsi, Hope Lange, Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan and Russ Tamblyn in the cast. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won none, including best picture, director, adapted screenplay and cinematography. The multiple supporting nominations are usually said to have split the vote. Who it is for: anyone who likes fifties widescreen melodrama and small-town stories. Who it is not for: anyone wanting directness. The film sands down the novel, runs long, and the courtroom section ties everything up too neatly.