Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 159: In My Place

Peyton Place is a name that I know mainly as a TV series of the 1960s however before that it was a 1956 novel which was quickly bought and turned into a film the following year. The film follows six young people who are all to graduate from Peyton Place high school and move on with their lives while also portraying their parents in different lights. Central to the film is Lana Turner's Connie McKenzie a dress maker who has returned from New York to her hometown with her daughter Allison who was later revealed to be the product of an affair she had with a married man. Allison's childhood has been quite sheltered but when she blossoms as a woman her affections turn to local outsider Norman Page who also has a parent who does allow him to grow up. Connie is pursued by new headmaster Michael Rossi who hopes to crack her hard exterior and does so briefly but she begins to worry about her daughter once the revelation of her parentage gets out. Allison's best friend is Selena Cross the daughter of the McKenzie's cleaner Nellie and whose stepfather Lucas begins to abuse her so one night she eventually snaps and kills him. Finally there is Rodney Harrington son of Peyton Place's wealthiest town member who is drawn to the promiscuous Betty Anderson a match that his father disapproves of because of her reputation in the town.

The main problem I had initially with Peyton Place was getting to the bottom of all the stories and meeting all the characters but once I did I started to enjoy it. I did though find it was far too long clocking in at over two hours and I felt the Rodney and Betty storyline could've been cut as it came to a conclusion a while before the film had finished. There are some great performances here which is evident by the fact that the film received five acting nominations including a Lead Actress nod for Lana Turner who was great as the emotionally fraught Connie. My favourite member of the cast was Hope Lange, another Supporting Actress nominee, whose Selena is initially presented as quite weak but learns to fight back after a horrific incident involving stepfather Lucas. This is at its heart a melodrama and at times the music got too much as the dramatic scenes were almost outshone by the booming score. What I did like though was the fact that a lot of people are afraid to let their true feelings come out in a town where there are far too many gossips so they keep things like illegitimacy and rape to themselves. The costumes are also well made however the hair styles could do with some work especially in the case of Lee Phillips who has some really bad grey hair dye applied to him when playing Michael Rossi. Peyton Place is a good bit of trashy fiction which is over long but well acted and unlike a lot of films in this list a deserving Oscar nominee.