Peyton Place is a 1957 American
drama film directed by
Mark Robson. The screenplay by
John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling
1956 novel of the same name by
Grace Metalious.
Plot
The film is an exposé of the lives and loves of the residents of a small
New England mill town, where
scandal,
homicide,
suicide,
incest, and
moral hypocrisy hide behind a tranquil façade in the years immediately preceding and following
World War II. At the core of its plot are three women.
Constance MacKenzie is a prim and proper sexually repressed woman who had an affair with a married
New York City businessman and bore him a child out of wedlock. She has struggled to shield her daughter
Allison, a high school senior and aspiring author, from her tarnished past, leading her to believe she returned to Peyton Place with her newborn baby after her husband died.
Selena Cross, Allison's best friend, is a good girl living on the wrong side of the tracks. Her step-father (Lucas Cross) drinks and her mothertolerates this situation.
Other characters include Allison's classmate and confidant Norman Page, anxious to gain his independence; bad girl
Betty Anderson, who longs to have a relationship with wealthy
Rodney Harrington; and new school principal
Michael Rossi, who attempts to crack Constance's icy veneer.
Cast
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