Grace Metalious’ scandalous best-seller about the sordid life of a small New England town is given the high-gloss Hollywood treatment in Peyton Place (1957), a hugely successful melodrama produced by Jerry Wald and directed by Mark Robson, with John Michael Hayes providing the screenplay. A cast led by established star Lana Turner (then suffering her own real-life melodrama) is also studded with terrific performances from relative newcomers including Diane Varsi, Hope Lange, Lee Philips, and Russ Tamblyn. Further highlighted by an extraordinary score from Franz Waxman.
