Murder in Peyton Place (1977) (TV)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Bruce Kessler

Writers:

Richard De Roy (writer)
Grace Metalious (novel)

Release Date:

3 October 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Plot:

A former resident of the town of Peyton Place, now wealthy and powerful, secretly returns to the town and sets in motion a spate of killings designed as revenge for past wrongs.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Dorothy Malone	...	Constance MacKenzie
Ed Nelson	...	Dr. Michael Rossi
Tim O'Connor	...	Elliot Carson
Joyce Jillson	...	Jill Harrington
Christopher Connelly	...	Norman Harrington
Janet Margolin	...	Betty Anderson Roerick
Marj Dusay	...	Ellen Considine
James Booth	...	Tommy Crimpton
David Hedison	...	Steven Cord
Stella Stevens	...	Stella Chernak
Jonathan Goldsmith	...	Stan Haley
Charlotte Stewart	...	Denise Haley
Kaz Garas	...	Springer
Linda Gray	...	Carla Cord
Mia Farrow	...	Allison MacKenzie (archive footage)
Kimberly Beck	...	Bonnie Buehler
Royal Dano	...	Bo Buehler
David Kyle	...	Billie Kaiserman
Priscilla Morrill	...	Mae Buehler
Norman Burton	...	Jay Kamens
Christopher S. Nelson	...	Andy Considine (as Chris Nelson)
Charles Siebert	...	Kaiserman
Robert Deman	...	Tristan
Gale Gladstone	...	Ruth
Fred Lerner	...	Chauffeur
Jerome Thor	...	Manager
Catherine Bach	...	Linda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward Bell	...	David Roerick

Directed by
Bruce Kessler

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard De Roy		writer
Grace Metalious		novel

Produced by
Peter Katz	....	producer
Gaetano Lisi	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Laurence Rosenthal

Cinematography by
Gert Andersen

Film Editing by
Bud S. Isaacs

Art Direction by
Rodger Maus

Stunts
Jean Coulter	....	stunt double

Editorial Department
Dee D'Orazio	....	assistant film editor (as Etter Dee D'Orazio)

Music Department
Lionel Newman	....	music supervisor
Franz Waxman	....	composer: main theme music

Production Companies

• 20th Century Fox Television
• Peter Katz Productions

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The original director, Robert Hartford-Davis, died after three days of filming.

Movie Connections:

Follows "Peyton Place" (1964)

A Rare Find On My Part...

I was stumbling through my TV listings recently and found a listing for the movie "Murder in Peyton Place". I decided to tape it because I knew it would be a rare find and if I didn't tape it, I wouldn't get the chance to see it again for a very long time.

"Murder in Peyton Place" features some (maybe most) of the original television cast (Dorothy Malone, Ed Nelson, etc.) reprising their roles for the movie, which was broadcast on NBC on October 3, 1977. (The original TV series was broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1969.) I didn't see the original series (it was before my time), but I heard it was an interesting series and according to some people, it was considered to be the first prime-time dramatic serial on television. ("Dallas" was more popular in the 1980s.)

After taping the movie, I then proceeded to watch it. I find the movie to be quite interesting. It was like you were back in the town you once visited on your TV screens in the '60s.

Anyway, it's a good movie (in my opinion) and if there's a die-hard "Peyton Place" collector out there, he/she should consider adding this movie to their collection. It's something you don't see often nowadays.