You might think that Peyton Place is a picturesque New England town and on the surface, you'd be right. The reality is the citizens aren't as shallow as the surface.
The film has numerous characters and while Lana Turner has top billing as Constance MacKenzie, it is truly an ensemble piece. The turning point of the film comes far into the movie, but as this film takes place in 1941 and was still filmed under the Hays Code so there is a lot of sexual frustration and tension before the turning point when shopgirl Selena Cross (Hope Lange) murders his lecherous, drunk stepfather, Lucas (Arthur Kennedy) and then hides the body and now she's on trial for murder. This brings Allison MacKenzie (Diane Varsi) back into town to testify in Selena's defense and gets the town conscience Dr. Matthew Swain (Lloyd Nolan) to betray Selena's trust, revealing the truth, that her stepfather raped and impregnated her several months earlier (as every time characters have unprotected sex in films, regardless of consent, she becomes pregnant) and while Lucas left town, it drove his wife (Betty Field) to madness, committing suicide while she was working in the MacKenzie house. Naturally, this testimony changes the entire course of the trial and yes, the film has a happy ending, thank goodness for all involved as all the characters, with maybe the exception of the gossipy Marion (Peg Hillias), they are all truly good people despite having and keeping their secrets.
Now, while the film is trite and overly wrought and far too melodramatic at times, it is still solid and forces you to peer beyond the surface and not judge your neighbor as you don't know what's really going on with them nor understand their true motivations behind their actions. Still, there is plenty of realistic character growth throughout and the performances are truly great. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-There did need to be a lot more development as to the dysfunctional relationship between Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), also the name of my great-uncle, and his overprotective mother. Ironically, he doesn't want to live until his life is in danger from jumping out of airplanes.
-Selena didn't want the truth about her rape to come out due to her rock-solid relationship with Ted Carter (David Nelson), who wants to become a lawyer. But he doesn't care and stands by her after the verdict is read.
-Terry Moore is also great as Betty Anderson who is known as the class flirt, but she also has substance.
-It is a shame that Ms. Thornton (Mildred Dunnock) isn't given the high school principal job and instead give it to the newcomer Michael Rossi (Lee Phillips) and somehow manage to scrounge up two thousand more dollars yearly for his salary, something which I don't understand.
-Nowadays Nellie's disturbing ramblings would be interpreted as a cry for help but back then, it was an annoyance for Connie so she left, leaving Nellie alone to hang herself, and Allison was the one who discovered the body, going into shock afterward.
-Times have changed since this film. No longer does being illegitimate have the stigma it did back then.
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