MY DREAM CAME TRUE- "Peyton Place" on DVD this May from Shout! Entertainment!!

Mark,
Glad you are posting again !!!
That long rumored PP PILOT !!!!
Well I read last summer, and if you are a PP fan, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it "INSIDE PEYTON PLACE" great book all about Grace Metalious and her book !!!
A third was planned and she died before it was completed.  The pilot is mentioned in the book.
And I remember, believe it or not reading about in the paper as a kid.  There was a photo Mia Farrow and Gyl Roland in the paper, talking about it coming in the fall and their respective roles as Allison and Selena.  The series arrives sans Selena.  Thus, I have been curious ever since.  Reading the book the unaired HOUR pilot is basically the film done as a TELEVISION series. The director and his name escapes me at the moment. Was told when ABC viewed it the CROSS family were too unsavory for television.  And Mike Rossi was moved from Principal to
Town Doctor. And Matt Swain was moved from Doctor to Newspaper editor, when the series arrived on television.  William Self I believe was the creator for television and reportedly he did not want to let the CROSS family out of the series.  However, ABC ruled and the were gone.
They brought in a veteran Soap Opera writer to get the series off the ground Irna Phillips, that created "AS THE WORLD TURNS" and others........ Maybe someone like Charles has more info.
He has a great photo with the PILOT townspeople from the unaired pilot with the CROSS FAMILY in it.  The ANDERSONS are not in that photo only Betty.  Maybe Charles has more info on the pilot ???

Check post# 28 in this thread for the photo I sent of Gyl Roland with Farrow and Malone.  Veteran soap writer Sam Hall, who worked on Dark Shadows, One Life to Live and Another World served as an uncredited story consultant briefly during the show's first year.  Mind you, even then there was a big change in the writers (around the time of the shows in the second DVD set!) as the Elliot Carson character caught on and it was decided to keep him on and change some of the storylines to accomodate him.

Charles you are right.
You should post the photo with the entire cast, which includes Lucas and Nellie Cross,
that is a great shot in front of town hall.  Several others that are in the photo that did not
make it into the final series as well.  It is an excellent shot of what might have been if Irna Phillips had not trashed the pilot.............She was one of the main culprits according to the book "Inside Peyton Place"

Peyton Place the pilot that never made it.  Alan thanks again I am very lucky to be here to post. The surgery was difficult but the 2 month recovery is not a bad trade off for what it could of been. I also know many of you have your own health issues so I will shut up. I do not want this forum to be updates on Marks health. Just one more time I look in and all your comments help my spirt thanks all of you!!

Jack how is the Masters coming???  I tried to read Pilgrams Progress Martin Peytons book he bought for Rod.  I put it down for "The Lost Symbol" 

Charles where should we go from here with Shout and Fox!!  You are the Father of this thread I bet all want to hear your wisdom and what we should do.

Alan more on that pilot it intrigues me.

Sue Ellen I cannot wait to hear your great words on anything Peyton Place.

Hey  welcome to two newcomers Bucky 12  and Travis R great to have you on board lets hear more

Tim I love how you had described the show I sense we have a fan who has much more to say .  

We soon will have 400 Posts who would of thought lets keep the Dream Charles had going and show Shout we want that show!!!   

Mark 

Great to have you back Mark... The masters is fine- just got home from a class tonight!

I too am grateful for all the folks here on the thread-  The information gleaned is tremendous!

If anyone on here is a "PP" fan and I think we all ARE !!!

Get your hands on a used copy of "INSIDE PEYTON PLACE" the book offers so much insight to the characters and it author.  There is a story about Mike Rossi's name change from the book to the film and it is quite interesting !!!
And that is just one tidbit !!!
A few considered for Constance's role was Jane Wyman and Olivia Dehavilland.

Peyton Place fans listen to Alan as usual he is right on target! I think I mentioned this book a long time ago on this thread to Charles. The book bares repeating for all our new fans thankyou Alan!! "Inside Peyton Place" can be found at Amazon. There is another book which logs in with all the soaps. Amzon does have it but it is to costly for me. The book is called "Prime Time Network Serials" by Bruce B Morris. There is some talk on this thread about how to find episode guides and dates for Peyton Place I was told a long long time ago that it does cotain episode guides for Peyton Place by a very commited fan. Check around Amazon is not the only book seller on the web. There is Albris and in the Borders and Barnes Nobles and A&b books web sites I believe.

If you read the original novel, you know very well that the Cross characters were way, way too salacious for 1960s television (LOL). There was a rape and incest storyline going on with them, and the mother was dying of "the clap." I often wonder if they could do a modern version that's closer to the book. Now, they certainly can get away with those darker storylines in today's media, but is the book actually kind of out of date? It would be interesting to see if the original story can capture as many imaginations as it did originally. I personally still enjoy both of the Metalious books, and re-read them on occasion. They remain engaging IMO. I would totally do a remake of that movie if I had a few zillion dollars lol~~

Is Morris's book a similar edition to the 1997 edition? I own that book and it's always next to the settee when I am watching one of these dramas.
Presume it's not worth shelling out another $75 if the book's the same.
If you don't have it and you can afford it, BUY IT!!!!!!!

The weakest link in the film was Lee Phillips.  There was no chemistry between he and Lana Turner.  Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, or Anthony Quinn would have made much better choices.  Robert Sterling was much better as Michael Rossi in the Return.

Peyton Place once again benefits from Alan's acute observation. He is right I never thought of the two Mike's in the movies.  Mike from RP is a much better actor for the role. We must also remember that the I think the first PP movie was the most nominated Oscar movie in history not to win one award.  The record may now have been beat I do not know.  I am also sure Alan knows  that one particular actor form RP movie did win an Oscar.  How crazy fate is but the actor certainly deserved that Oscar.

You're thinking of the film's director, Oscar winner Jose Ferrer!  Regarding the second film: all the roles were recast for various reasons.  Diane Varsi had turned her back at Hollywood, Lee Philips became a director (yes, he directed TV's Peyton Place too!), and Lana Turner was too hot at the box office )besides, she was making mucho dinero at Universal!).  Gene Tiereney was first cast as Connie, but bowed out due to pregnancy (sadly, she miscarried).  Before Mary Astor (another Oscar winner) was cast, both Bette and Joan were considered as Mrs. Carter. I've always felt that Bette should've been on the TV show, perhaps as Martin Peyton's sister (imagine her trading barbs with George Macready!).  As Carol Lynley was already a Fox contractee, she became the new Allison.

Charles,

You are right about Bette she would have made an excellent character on the series, maybe later in the series to help the sagging ratings.

However, in '64, she was doing the gothic horror circuit !!! She or Joan would have made great Roberta's in RP.  Too bad the Carter's were ditched from the series, they would have been great characters on the show !!
I think RP, casting was all wrong for ALLISON and SELENA.  I think Tuesday would have made the better Allison and Carol resembled Hope Lange in PP.

Mark so glad you are doing better!

I have Inside PP and it is a delicious read. The decline of Grace, her affairs and her relationship with her hometown and children are all very sad. It reminds me a lot of what I read about the late Shirley Jackson and her family.

Irna Phillips had planned an incest story for PP - which became a standard in the daytime realm and most oft copied by her protegee William Bell. Allison was to fall in love with her half brother, a medical student and Connie actually causes the death of Allison's father and is put on trial where all the details of Allison's birth come out. Paul Monash fought her and the network and studio sided with him and that story did not make it to air. I read all of this to in two articles on PP that appeared in TV Guide in 1965. Great stuff.

And funny talking about Bette joining PP. She was very close to Mia and ran into Mia on the Fox lot where they used the town square for the city of Hollisport on Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. Mia had grown up into a beautiful young lady surprising Bette who had recalled her a mousy playmate of her daughter B.D. Funny too that Frank Ferguson was in HHSC as a newspaper editor!

And Fairycakes - I got your e-mail and my em has been done, but thrilled to hear you are in Maderia! Have you shopped at the new Nordstroms yet?? And ah yes those early memories of Y & R - I used to play sick from school to see the 'snowy' eps on Dayton's Channel 7!1

I'm up to Episode 9 so far.  Still watching the show on Tuesday and Thursday nights, just as it was shown 45 years ago. 

 

What I'm loving about PP is the subtlety of it all.  It's obvious that Betty's pregnant, but everyone is addressing her condition so elliptically, they don't have to come right out and say it.

I'm already hating George Anderson.  His behavior to Julie makes me want to punch his lights out, but the way he is around Betty just creeps me out. 

 

And the Rod and Allison romance has me completely charmed.

 

I hope we get Part Three in the spring before I run out of episodes. 

 

As for remaking PP, I don't think it would work.  While you could easily address the darker material in the novel today, the culture has changed too much.  PP is all about shameful secrets, and, for better or worse, we live in a shameless time.  Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Excellent coments Tim!!!! Keep them coming please we all enjoy your comentary. You have a view of the show that is very charming.

Peyton Place Historian and all around triva expert on the show our very own Charles Ellis.  He has shocked me again.  I thought Mary Astor receieved an Oscar for the performance on RP. I have thought this for years.  Thankyou Charles and Mike Rossi from film one actually direceted and episode of TV series WOW!!  Charles your fantastic. 

jej252 yes I do believe that is the same book from the description at Amazon.  Sounds like if your a Prime time Soap fan it is a must buy.

Actually, she did win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Great Lie, a 1941 melodrama with Bette Davis and George Brent.

Mary Astor's life itself was quite the soap opera: her greedy parents lived off her earnings as an actress for years, she apparently lost her virginity to John Barrymore (Drew's grandpa!), and was involved in one of the most sensational scandals of the 1930s: she and her estranged husband were in a custody fight over their daughter and he somehow got hold of her diary, which detailed her sizzling affair with playwright George S. Kaufman in graphic detail.  Of course he released it to the press, and the resulting mess makes today's Gosselin divorce story look like a game of chess by comparison.  Years later she developed a drinking problem which she ultimately conquered.

Fortunately, she managed to find inner peace in the later years and wrote two highly regarded volumes of memoirs.

For more on "Mrs. Carter" and her sometimes stormy life, read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Astor

Mary Astor would have made a great character on "PP" series.  She could have easily played Hannah Cord and been superb. 
Bit of trivia Dorothy Malone and Carol Lynley played mother and daughter in the film "Last Sunset" with Rock Hudson and Kirk Douglas.  Ironic that Lynley would play Allison in "RETURN" and Malone would play Constance in the series, three years later !!I

I feel one of the best scenes in the film was Lana Turner on the witness stand testifying at Selena's trial.
Sue Ellen stated that Malone was set to go on trial for murder in the series and they scrapped that storyline.  I will state again,  that Malone was so underutilized in the series.  She should have been front and center instead she was in the background to much. 
What did everyone think of Lola Albright's short tenure for Malone while she was out of the series ?  I barely remember her taking over.  And how long was she on ?

Alan Master of Peyton Place Trivia has brought up memories for me on the original and on the Romance Channel and CBS local affiliate in 1976 and USA network in 1981 I believe.  Alan you and Charles always have such great comment on somethings I never knew about or for got about the show.  The show was also rebroadcast on Romance but not all the way thru as it did the first time on Romance.  The show on 1976 was but not a full run on USA network.  I also remember for some crazy reason I think because July and August of 1998 had the same days of the week. Romance reran the whole July story all over again.  Which we has just seen and I remember Lola in those episodes.

I also remember as a kid that Lola was ok but I really wanted Dorothy Malone and when entertainment media was not a thing I knew she was very sick.

 

I believe this shows how popular the show was back then.  I still love Julie coming into the bookstore  calling "Connie Connie and Dorothy Malone makes her return entrance

I also have a question for you two was Dorothy really pregeant in 66 or was that just to have a plot line???   I   Like the way Betty readys from the newspaper anounceing baby Matthew's birth with date and time of the actual PP episode he was born in.

Hiya everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well and taking care, enjoying the autumn scenery.
Sue ellen (Thom)  nope, haven't been to the new Nordy's as yet.  I am a leukaemia patient here, so I don't actually get out and about too much, but when I have been out I have passed it by a few times.
Would love to hear from other PEYTON PLACE and daytime's RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE fans.  I could always send my private email addy to anyone interested, and would love to share memories of the programmes.  Hope series 3 of PP gets the go ahead soon!!!!!
Mark, hope you are well.  You are all in my heart, thoughts and prayers everafter.
cheers and regards
Eden
x

Eden Return to Peyton place I believe interests a lot of us including the get together of the stars of PP on ABC Wide World of Entertainment back in the early 70s.  I must confess though I am a bit worried about the status of PP 3.  Alan and Charles our two Peyton Place Mastors and historians may have some view points on this or some direction.  My direction is just to email with a thoughfull letter as Charles composed somewhere back in this thread.

You humble me Eden I am sure I can speak for all of us we send you as many good thoughts and prayers possible.  
 

 

It sounds as if SEASON THREE or the next set is being negotiated as we speak.  At least that is what someone stated awhile back.  However, to me it seems odd that they rushed the first sets out so close together, now there is a long gap.  Which would seem not a great sales tactic to me however, I do not market DVD product.  Not a smart strategy to me.  I am only on Disc one of set two.  I do not have the free time to watch them frequently.  I watch maybe two episodes a week and then miss a couple of weeks.  Or sometimes I watch several together, it all depends what is happening at the time.  It seems like when the series was first coming out someone earlier stated that SHOUT had the rights up until the B/W before it started "IN COLOR THE CONTINUING STORY OF PP".......... so not sure if that is true or not ??  I am not ready for part three yet.  And I have season one of "DONNA REED" to watch.  I have only seen five of those so far.
However, I am still entranced with the thought of that hour pilot sitting on the shelf somewhere under the title of "EDEN HILL" that was the working title.......that PAUL MONASH was using.
I was hoping when FOX released the film version they would include the pilot as an extra.  Maybe, when the BLU RAY arrives they will as the pilot sounds as if it follows the film;
There was a scene when ALLISON meets ELLIOT the first time, (I watched the other night)
where the conversation ELLIOT asks if Mrs. Thornton still is teaching at PPHS.  Did anyone else catch that.  To, me that was the only other character from the book, besides, MATTHEW, CONSTANCE, ALLISON, ROSSI, RODNEY , AND BETTY that made it from the book into the series.  I often wondered why they didn't call HANNAH AND STEVEN, ROBERTA AND TED CARTER ??  
Funny, I started watching the series in sixth grade and had never read the book or saw the film.
Then, they released on a double bill in 66, both films due to the popularity of the series.  I went with my sister to see both films.  I was so taken with the films story lines, too this day I wondered why they scrapped most of the films story, and characters  and went totally in a different direction.   I can see the point with the CROSS family of course they could have changed that story line to something more suitable. And I did not understand why they made Norman Page become Norman Harrington.  Now looking back that was the "MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY" and "MAYBERRY" era it was shocking enough to have the series on in the 60s.  Then in HS I read "PP" and saw the film when they ran it on the CBS FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE in two parts.  I wondered why the film was so totally different than the book.  I guess it is all the perspective of things in that time.  To this day "PP" is one of my favorite ten films Lana Turner, Lloyd Nolan, Arthur Kenned and Hope Lange deserved OSCARS, although Nolan was not nominated.  I think Turner's performance on the stand rivals her role in "IMITATION OF LIFE" she should have been nominated for that film as well. Her performance on the stand shows the strain of her relationships with her daughter and Stompanato at the time.  And her biography and Cheryl Crane's are great reads if you can locate them, well worth the time !!! There was also a great article about Grace and Lana several years ago in "VANITY FAIR".  Both were separate articles, they might be available online at VANITYFAIR.COM.  They were very insightful articles about Lana and the questions around Stompanatos death.  And Grace's problems with Gillmanton and the book.  I would recommend while you are waiting for set three, revisit both films they are well worth it if you haven't seen them in awhile.

BRAVO BRAVO ALAN ONCE AGAIN YOU HAVE PROVED YOUR INFORMATION ABOUT BOTH THE MOVIES AND THE SERIES ARE WITHHOUT LIMITS.  KEEP IT COMING PAL IT IS GREAT READING AND IT SHOWS SHOUT WE WANT THE NEXT EPISODES.

I forgot to mention I also loved seeing the Peyton Mansion used as the Carter house in RP. The interiors were also used if I am not  mistaken.  I would never presume if you Alan and Charles have perhaps other sets in the film used in TV series you guys blow me away with your knowledge.

The Girl From Peyton Place is a fun read and it is at Amazon.  Written by Grace Husband so it says. 

Hey Jack how goes the study for your Mass Degree???