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renamed
* SexySweaterGirl: Curvy, flirtatious Betty wears several tight sweaters.
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* SweaterGirl: Lana Turner was the TropeNamer for SweaterGirl but in this film it's curvy, flirtatious Betty who wears several tight sweaters.
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Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (Betty Field), housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=], and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson (Terry Moore), rich boy Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe) who likes her, while Rodney's father Leslie (Leon Ames) categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi (Lee Phillips), a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
Creator/LorneGreene, a couple of years before his big break with ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', appears towards the end as a prosecutor. ''Peyton Place'' achieved franchise status when the film was followed by a PrimeTimeSoap series in the 1960s, which was immensely popular and more or less CoveredUp both book and movie in the public consciousness.
Creator/LorneGreene, a couple of years before his big break with ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', appears towards the end as a prosecutor. ''Peyton Place'' achieved franchise status when the film was followed by a PrimeTimeSoap series in the 1960s, which was immensely popular and more or less CoveredUp both book and movie in the public consciousness.
to:
Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (Betty Field), housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=], and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson (Terry Moore), rich boy Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe) who likes her, while Rodney's father Leslie (Leon Ames) categorically forbids Rodney to marry from marrying a lower-class girl. The And the new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi (Lee Phillips), a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
Creator/LorneGreene, a couple of years before his big break with ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', appears towards the end as a prosecutor. ''Peyton Place'' achieved franchise statuswhen after the film was followed by a PrimeTimeSoap series on Creator/{{ABC}} in the 1960s, which was immensely popular and more or less CoveredUp largely [[AdaptationalDisplacement displaced]] both book the novel and movie in the public consciousness.
Creator/LorneGreene, a couple of years before his big break with ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', appears towards the end as a prosecutor. ''Peyton Place'' achieved franchise status
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The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place, where it seems that a lot of the residents have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] (Diane Varsi) doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
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The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place, where it seems that a lot of the residents have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] (Diane Varsi) doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), (Creator/RussTamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
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* ConvenientMiscarriage: One of the most unfortunate consequences of the bowdlerization. In the book Dr. Swain gives Selena an abortion. In the book she asks him for one but he refuses, pronouncing it "against the laws of God and man." Instead she trips and falls while running away from her abusive stepfather, and suffers a miscarriage.
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* ConvenientMiscarriage: One of the most unfortunate consequences of the bowdlerization. In the book Dr. Swain gives Selena an abortion. In the book movie she asks him for one but he refuses, pronouncing it "against the laws of God and man." Instead she trips and falls while running away from her abusive stepfather, and suffers a miscarriage.
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Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (Betty Field), housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=], and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson (Terry Moore), rich boy Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe) who likes her, and Rodney's father Leslie (Leon Ames), who categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi (Lee Phillips), a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
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Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (Betty Field), housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=], and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson (Terry Moore), rich boy Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe) who likes her, and while Rodney's father Leslie (Leon Ames), who Ames) categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi (Lee Phillips), a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
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* DuringTheWar: The film begins in 1941, prior to America's entry into UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, then proceeds into 1942 and 1943 with a few "home front" issues getting touched on.
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Selena wasn’t wearing pantyhose in 1941.
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* EarnYourHappyEnding: After all the melodrama--rape, murder, running away from home, ParentalMarriageVeto, war--three of the four couples end up happy. Connie and Mr. Rossi get together, Norman comes home to the prospect of a future with Allison, and Ted stands by Selena after her acquittal. The only unhappy ending is for Betty, as Rodney is killed in the war.
to:
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After all the melodrama--rape, murder, running away from home, ParentalMarriageVeto, war--three of the four couples end up happy. Connie and Mr. Rossi get together, Norman comes home to the prospect of a future with Allison, and Ted stands by Selena after her acquittal. The only unhappy ending is for Betty, as Rodney is killed in the war.war (at least Rodney’s father appears to have regretted his earlier disdain for Betty, and he asks her to help ‘keep what’s left of the family together’).
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* {{Skinnydipping}}: Curvaceous Betty tempts Rodney to go skinnydipping and naturally he follows along. Leads to a major plot development when mean old Marion confuses that pair of teenagers with another pair of teenagers, Allison and Norman, and calls Allison's mom.
* StockingFiller: Selena is shown putting on pantyhose in the cramped shack her family lives in, which is both a bit of fanservice, and a character moment when the camera shows her disgusting pig stepfather Lucas leering at her.
* StockingFiller: Selena is shown putting on pantyhose in the cramped shack her family lives in, which is both a bit of fanservice, and a character moment when the camera shows her disgusting pig stepfather Lucas leering at her.
to:
* {{Skinnydipping}}: Curvaceous Betty tempts Rodney to go skinnydipping and naturally he follows along. Leads to a major plot development when mean old Marion confuses that pair of teenagers with another pair of teenagers, Allison and Norman, Norman (who are wearing tan swimsuits that look like “nothing at all” from a distance), and calls Allison's mom.
* StockingFiller: Selena is shown putting onpantyhose her stockings in the cramped shack her family lives in, which is both a bit of fanservice, and a character moment when the camera shows her disgusting pig stepfather Lucas leering at her.
* StockingFiller: Selena is shown putting on
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Creator/LorneGreene, a couple of years before his big break with ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', appears towards the end as a prosecutor. ''Peyton Place'' achieved franchise status when the film was followed by a primetime TV series in the 1960s, which was immensely popular and more or less CoveredUp both book and movie in the public consciousness.
to:
Creator/LorneGreene, a couple of years before his big break with ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', appears towards the end as a prosecutor. ''Peyton Place'' achieved franchise status when the film was followed by a primetime TV PrimeTimeSoap series in the 1960s, which was immensely popular and more or less CoveredUp both book and movie in the public consciousness.
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''Peyton Place'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Mark Robson, based on the wildly successful [[Literature/PeytonPlace potboiler novel]] by Grace Metalious.
The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place, where it seems that a lot of the residents have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=]) and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson, rich boy Rodney Harrington who likes her, and Rodney's father Leslie, who categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi, a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place, where it seems that a lot of the residents have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=]) and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson, rich boy Rodney Harrington who likes her, and Rodney's father Leslie, who categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi, a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
to:
''Peyton Place'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Mark Robson, based on the wildly successful [[Literature/PeytonPlace potboiler novel]] novel of the same name]] by Grace Metalious.
The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place, where it seems that a lot of the residents have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] (Diane Varsi) doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie(housekeeper (Betty Field), housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=]) [=MacKenzies=], and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson, Anderson (Terry Moore), rich boy Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe) who likes her, and Rodney's father Leslie, Leslie (Leon Ames), who categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi, Rossi (Lee Phillips), a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place, where it seems that a lot of the residents have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] (Diane Varsi) doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie
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''Peyton Place'' is a 1957 film directed by Mark Robson.
It is an adaptation of the wildly successful potboiler novel ''Literature/PeytonPlace'' by Grace Metalious. The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place. It seems that a lot of people in Peyton Place have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
It is an adaptation of the wildly successful potboiler novel ''Literature/PeytonPlace'' by Grace Metalious. The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place. It seems that a lot of people in Peyton Place have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
to:
''Peyton Place'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Mark Robson.
It is an adaptation ofRobson, based on the wildly successful [[Literature/PeytonPlace potboiler novel ''Literature/PeytonPlace'' novel]] by Grace Metalious. Metalious.
The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of PeytonPlace. It Place, where it seems that a lot of people in Peyton Place the residents have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
It is an adaptation of
The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton
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Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=] and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson, rich boy Rodney Harrington who likes her, and Rodney's father Leslie, who categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi, a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
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Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=] [=MacKenzies=]) and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson, rich boy Rodney Harrington who likes her, and Rodney's father Leslie, who categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi, a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/peyton_place_1957_poster.jpg]]
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''Peyton Place'' is a 1957 film directed by Mark Robson.
It is an adaptation of the wildly successful potboiler novel ''Literature/PeytonPlace'' by Grace Metalious. The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place. It seems that a lot of people in Peyton Place have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=] and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson, rich boy Rodney Harrington who likes her, and Rodney's father Leslie, who categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi, a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
Creator/LorneGreene, a couple of years before his big break with ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', appears towards the end as a prosecutor. ''Peyton Place'' achieved franchise status when the film was followed by a primetime TV series in the 1960s, which was immensely popular and more or less CoveredUp both book and movie in the public consciousness.
----
!!Tropes:
* TheAlcoholic: Lucas Cross, a mean drunk, who's apparently drunk all the time. He carries a hip flask when he's working at the school as a janitor.
* AsYouKnow: Connie complains about Allison's habit of always kissing her father's portrait, which causes her to reply "It's not my fault he died when I was two!" (The audience later learns that matters are a bit more complicated than that.)
* AutoErotica: Subverted. Betty is miffed after Rodney dumped her, but she still gets in his car. They start wrestling in the front seat and Betty even says "Are you going to make love to me?", this in 1957 when the meaning of that phrase was starting to change. Then moments later she grabs her purse, whacks him upside the head with it, exits the car, and tells him to get lost.
* BludgeonedToDeath: Selena hits her father with a log, sending him to his knees. A second swing of the log puts him on the floor. Then she swings the log a bunch more times.
* {{Bowdlerize}}: The film, while still more salacious than most anything in American cinemas in the late 1950s, was toned down a ''lot'' from the book. In the novel Dr. Swain gives Selena an abortion while in the movie it's a ConvenientMiscarriage. Book Betty really is slutty while Movie Betty is basically faking it; in the book Rodney knocks Betty up but in the film they get married. In the book Ted Carter is a heel who dumps Selena when she gets in trouble; in the movie he's a loving, faithful boyfriend.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The film opens with Paul Cross, who's finally had enough of his mean drunk of a stepdad, storming out of the house and driving into the town of Peyton Place. The whole scene leads a viewer to believe that Paul will be a main character. Instead, after the camera follows him into town and starts introducing other characters, Paul Cross is never seen again. He doesn't even show up for his sister's murder trial.
* CoolTeacher: Mr. Rossi, a cool guy who cares about his students, encourages Allison to pursue her writing dreams, and chops wood on the weekend.
* ConvenientMiscarriage: One of the most unfortunate consequences of the bowdlerization. In the book Dr. Swain gives Selena an abortion. In the book she asks him for one but he refuses, pronouncing it "against the laws of God and man." Instead she trips and falls while running away from her abusive stepfather, and suffers a miscarriage.
* DrivenToSuicide: Nellie Cross, realizing how badly she's failed her children after her evil drunk of a husband drove her son off and then raped her daughter, hangs herself.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After all the melodrama--rape, murder, running away from home, ParentalMarriageVeto, war--three of the four couples end up happy. Connie and Mr. Rossi get together, Norman comes home to the prospect of a future with Allison, and Ted stands by Selena after her acquittal. The only unhappy ending is for Betty, as Rodney is killed in the war.
* FalseWidow: Connie was never married. She was the mistress of a man named [=MacKenzie=] and she simply changed her name to his after Allison was born.
* GossipyHens: Marion, a meanspirited older lady who likes to talk badly about people. After mistakenly thinking she saw Allison and Norman skinnydipping (it was actually Betty and Rodney), she spitefully calls their parents, provoking the vicious fight between Allison and Connie.
* {{Melodrama}}: Heightened emotions, big dramatic plot twists, adultery, rape, murder, lots of crying. Note how Allison says that if she can't find a job in New York she'll "live off some man like you did!", followed by a big dramatic musical crescendo as Connie weeps on the stairs.
* MyBelovedSmother: Norman's mom, who has a vise-like grip on his life. Later Norman tells Allison that he joined the paratroopers just so he could get away from his mom.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Connie has a moment like this, when she stops and thinks about how her insistence that Selena should tell the police about her stepfather's death has resulted in Selena being on trial for murder.
* MythologyGag
** In a brief shot right after the graduation, Allison is shown bent over a keyboard typing. This is a recreation of the photo of Grace Metalious on the back cover of the book, right down to the clothing.
** Allison tells Mr. Rossi that she is writing stories inspired by people in the town, but she doesn't use real names. Grace Metalious actually ''did'' use a real name in her book, naming the principal character "Tomas Makris" after a Laconia, NH teacher who was a co-worker with her husband. Makris sued for libel, forcing later printings of the book (and thus the movie) to name the character "Michael Rossi".
* {{Narrator}}: Allison is heard from time to time narrating the goings-on in the town and her life.
* ParentalIncest: Selena Cross's brutal stepfather rapes her. After he comes back and tries to do it a second time, she kills him.
* RapeAsDrama: Lucas rapes and impregnates his stepdaughter Selena.
* RapeDiscretionShot: Lucas pins Selena on the bed, she screams at him to get off, and the film cuts to the next scene.
* RomanAClef: Allison tells Mr. Rossi that she's been writing stories inspired by people from her hometown, but "They were only fiction. I didn't use real names." Infamously, the ''Peyton Place'' novel was a RomanAClef based on real life people that the author knew. The Selena story was inspired by a 16-year-old girl who killed her sexually abusive father.
* {{Schoolmarm}}: The elderly teacher who is referred to as ''Miss'' Elsie Thornton. She's a minor character in the film.
* {{Skinnydipping}}: Curvaceous Betty tempts Rodney to go skinnydipping and naturally he follows along. Leads to a major plot development when mean old Marion confuses that pair of teenagers with another pair of teenagers, Allison and Norman, and calls Allison's mom.
* StockingFiller: Selena is shown putting on pantyhose in the cramped shack her family lives in, which is both a bit of fanservice, and a character moment when the camera shows her disgusting pig stepfather Lucas leering at her.
* SweaterGirl: Lana Turner was the TropeNamer for SweaterGirl but in this film it's curvy, flirtatious Betty who wears several tight sweaters.
* TrainStationGoodbye: A Bus Goodbye as Selena runs for a short time along with the bus taking Allison out of town.
* UnderTheMistletoe: It's out of season (spring!), but Rodney has some mistletoe and he's holding it over his head as he and Betty dance.
* WrongSideOfTheTracks: It's pretty obvious that the Cross family lives on the wrong side of the tracks--it's a tar-paper shack, after all--but the movie makes it more of a LiteralMetaphor by repeatedly playing the sound of a train whistle over the soundtrack in scenes at the Cross home.
It is an adaptation of the wildly successful potboiler novel ''Literature/PeytonPlace'' by Grace Metalious. The setting is 1941 and the quiet New England seaside town of Peyton Place. It seems that a lot of people in Peyton Place have secrets. Class valedictorian Allison [=MacKenzie=] doesn't have any secrets, but her mother Connie (Creator/LanaTurner), a widow who owns a dress shop, has a big one. Allison is sweet on another member of the high school graduating class, Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), but Connie gets violently angry at the prospect of Allison losing her virginity and Norman's mom is just generally a domineering shrew.
Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Creator/HopeLange) lives in a tumbledown shack with her weary mother Nellie (housekeeper to the [=MacKenzies=] and her violent drunken lout of a stepfather, Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other students in the graduating class of 1941 include the vaguely slutty Betty Anderson, rich boy Rodney Harrington who likes her, and Rodney's father Leslie, who categorically forbids Rodney to marry a lower-class girl. The new principal of Peyton Place High School is Michael Rossi, a handsome CoolTeacher who starts paying a lot of attention to beautiful single mom Connie.
Creator/LorneGreene, a couple of years before his big break with ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', appears towards the end as a prosecutor. ''Peyton Place'' achieved franchise status when the film was followed by a primetime TV series in the 1960s, which was immensely popular and more or less CoveredUp both book and movie in the public consciousness.
----
!!Tropes:
* TheAlcoholic: Lucas Cross, a mean drunk, who's apparently drunk all the time. He carries a hip flask when he's working at the school as a janitor.
* AsYouKnow: Connie complains about Allison's habit of always kissing her father's portrait, which causes her to reply "It's not my fault he died when I was two!" (The audience later learns that matters are a bit more complicated than that.)
* AutoErotica: Subverted. Betty is miffed after Rodney dumped her, but she still gets in his car. They start wrestling in the front seat and Betty even says "Are you going to make love to me?", this in 1957 when the meaning of that phrase was starting to change. Then moments later she grabs her purse, whacks him upside the head with it, exits the car, and tells him to get lost.
* BludgeonedToDeath: Selena hits her father with a log, sending him to his knees. A second swing of the log puts him on the floor. Then she swings the log a bunch more times.
* {{Bowdlerize}}: The film, while still more salacious than most anything in American cinemas in the late 1950s, was toned down a ''lot'' from the book. In the novel Dr. Swain gives Selena an abortion while in the movie it's a ConvenientMiscarriage. Book Betty really is slutty while Movie Betty is basically faking it; in the book Rodney knocks Betty up but in the film they get married. In the book Ted Carter is a heel who dumps Selena when she gets in trouble; in the movie he's a loving, faithful boyfriend.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The film opens with Paul Cross, who's finally had enough of his mean drunk of a stepdad, storming out of the house and driving into the town of Peyton Place. The whole scene leads a viewer to believe that Paul will be a main character. Instead, after the camera follows him into town and starts introducing other characters, Paul Cross is never seen again. He doesn't even show up for his sister's murder trial.
* CoolTeacher: Mr. Rossi, a cool guy who cares about his students, encourages Allison to pursue her writing dreams, and chops wood on the weekend.
* ConvenientMiscarriage: One of the most unfortunate consequences of the bowdlerization. In the book Dr. Swain gives Selena an abortion. In the book she asks him for one but he refuses, pronouncing it "against the laws of God and man." Instead she trips and falls while running away from her abusive stepfather, and suffers a miscarriage.
* DrivenToSuicide: Nellie Cross, realizing how badly she's failed her children after her evil drunk of a husband drove her son off and then raped her daughter, hangs herself.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After all the melodrama--rape, murder, running away from home, ParentalMarriageVeto, war--three of the four couples end up happy. Connie and Mr. Rossi get together, Norman comes home to the prospect of a future with Allison, and Ted stands by Selena after her acquittal. The only unhappy ending is for Betty, as Rodney is killed in the war.
* FalseWidow: Connie was never married. She was the mistress of a man named [=MacKenzie=] and she simply changed her name to his after Allison was born.
* GossipyHens: Marion, a meanspirited older lady who likes to talk badly about people. After mistakenly thinking she saw Allison and Norman skinnydipping (it was actually Betty and Rodney), she spitefully calls their parents, provoking the vicious fight between Allison and Connie.
* {{Melodrama}}: Heightened emotions, big dramatic plot twists, adultery, rape, murder, lots of crying. Note how Allison says that if she can't find a job in New York she'll "live off some man like you did!", followed by a big dramatic musical crescendo as Connie weeps on the stairs.
* MyBelovedSmother: Norman's mom, who has a vise-like grip on his life. Later Norman tells Allison that he joined the paratroopers just so he could get away from his mom.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Connie has a moment like this, when she stops and thinks about how her insistence that Selena should tell the police about her stepfather's death has resulted in Selena being on trial for murder.
* MythologyGag
** In a brief shot right after the graduation, Allison is shown bent over a keyboard typing. This is a recreation of the photo of Grace Metalious on the back cover of the book, right down to the clothing.
** Allison tells Mr. Rossi that she is writing stories inspired by people in the town, but she doesn't use real names. Grace Metalious actually ''did'' use a real name in her book, naming the principal character "Tomas Makris" after a Laconia, NH teacher who was a co-worker with her husband. Makris sued for libel, forcing later printings of the book (and thus the movie) to name the character "Michael Rossi".
* {{Narrator}}: Allison is heard from time to time narrating the goings-on in the town and her life.
* ParentalIncest: Selena Cross's brutal stepfather rapes her. After he comes back and tries to do it a second time, she kills him.
* RapeAsDrama: Lucas rapes and impregnates his stepdaughter Selena.
* RapeDiscretionShot: Lucas pins Selena on the bed, she screams at him to get off, and the film cuts to the next scene.
* RomanAClef: Allison tells Mr. Rossi that she's been writing stories inspired by people from her hometown, but "They were only fiction. I didn't use real names." Infamously, the ''Peyton Place'' novel was a RomanAClef based on real life people that the author knew. The Selena story was inspired by a 16-year-old girl who killed her sexually abusive father.
* {{Schoolmarm}}: The elderly teacher who is referred to as ''Miss'' Elsie Thornton. She's a minor character in the film.
* {{Skinnydipping}}: Curvaceous Betty tempts Rodney to go skinnydipping and naturally he follows along. Leads to a major plot development when mean old Marion confuses that pair of teenagers with another pair of teenagers, Allison and Norman, and calls Allison's mom.
* StockingFiller: Selena is shown putting on pantyhose in the cramped shack her family lives in, which is both a bit of fanservice, and a character moment when the camera shows her disgusting pig stepfather Lucas leering at her.
* SweaterGirl: Lana Turner was the TropeNamer for SweaterGirl but in this film it's curvy, flirtatious Betty who wears several tight sweaters.
* TrainStationGoodbye: A Bus Goodbye as Selena runs for a short time along with the bus taking Allison out of town.
* UnderTheMistletoe: It's out of season (spring!), but Rodney has some mistletoe and he's holding it over his head as he and Betty dance.
* WrongSideOfTheTracks: It's pretty obvious that the Cross family lives on the wrong side of the tracks--it's a tar-paper shack, after all--but the movie makes it more of a LiteralMetaphor by repeatedly playing the sound of a train whistle over the soundtrack in scenes at the Cross home.
