Return to Peyton Place (film)
Encyclopedia
Return to Peyton Place is a 1961 drama film
produced by Jerry Wald
and directed by José Ferrer
. The screenplay by Ronald Alexander is based on the 1959 novel Return to Peyton Place
by Grace Metalious. The film is a sequel
to Peyton Place
.
The film centers on the life and loves of bestselling author Allison MacKenzie, who follows in the footsteps of her mother Constance by having an affair with a married man, her publisher Lewis Jackman.
Meanwhile, Constance reluctantly allows her daughter to visit New York for a meeting with Lewis. Allison is unamused to find out Lewis wants to make several changes in the book, but agrees on cooperating. Constance calls her the next morning and is worried to find out Allison and Lewis have been working all night long, expecting the worst. Back in Peyton Place, Raffaella threatens to ban Mrs. Carter out of Ted's life if she continues to treat her horribly. Raffaella and Ted go skiing later that day and Ted is surprised to see Selena with Nils, who Selena finally agreed on dating after bumping into him several times.
The following weeks, Allison spends her time promoting her book, doing interviews for talk shows and radio programs. She is slowly turned into a celebrity, and flirts with Lewis along the way. She is angry to find out Lewis is married, but after she is awarded the first copy of her book, she nevertheless kisses him. The book soon becomes a commercial success due to its meaty contents, but it is heavily criticized by the townspeople of Peyton Place. Constance is disappointed in Allison for allowing the many changes that have been made in the editing room. Selena is disgusted by the way she is portrayed and loses her mind, knocking Nils down with a stoker, mistaking him for her abuser Lucas.
Meanwhile, Mike Rossi, principal of the local high school, husband of Constance and only defender of Allison's book, risks being discharged by the school board, of which Mrs. Carker is its head, for refusing to remove Allison's book from the school library. At the Carter home, Ted confronts Raffaella with her quarrel with his mother. Raffaella, realizing Ted will never stand up against his mother, reveals she is pregnant, before angrily leaving her husband. Determined to exterminating her pregnancy, she purposely causes a skiing accident.
When Allison finds out Mike has been fired, she finally decides to face the wrath of its residents, who are still incensed by their barely-disguised counterparts and the revelation of town secrets in the book. She is immediately confronted by her mother for having sold her decency and self-respect for success and money. Despite the quarrel with her mother, Allison decides to support Mike, who has taken his dischargment to the town hall. Among the people defending Mike are Lewis, Nils and Ted. Nils points out that the bigoted townspeople have driven away Selena, whom is nowhere to be found, and reveals his plans on marrying Selena. Selena shows up not much later and blames the townspeople for making her feel ashamed, before thanking Allison for having written the truth. In the end, Roberta is denounced and Mike is given his job back when Constance publicly says that the older towsnpeople have been leading the lives of their children too long. Afterwards, Allison has finally become an adult and breaks her affair with Lewis, explaining she does not want to ruin his marriage.
of Metalious' first novel had been a critical and commercial success, ranking second at the box office and garnering nine Academy Award nominations. But production costs for Cleopatra
were affecting the studio's solvency, so 20th Century Fox
executives were unwilling to meet the salary demands of the original's A listers and opted to cast the sequel with lesser names.
In June 1959, producer Jerry Wald
announced Diane Varsi
, who originated the role of Allison MacKenzie
, was the first choice of the role, with Diane Baker
as a substitute in case Varsi declined. Lana Turner
had already passed the role of Constance MacKenzie
, which was then offered to Joan Crawford
. In the same month, it was also revealed that none of the original cast of Peyton Place signed on for the sequel. In August 1959, Wald announced Varsi was not reprising her role, and that he was planning on replacing her with Anna Maria Alberghetti
, with production slated to begin in November 1959. By the time, producer Buddy Adler had already cast Robert Evans as Nils Larsen. Both Alberghetti and Evans were eventually replaced.
While shooting Hound-Dog Man
in the fall of 1959, Wald met Carol Lynley
. With no announcement of Baker's withdrawal, Wald announced in September 1959 Lynley was set to star as Allison MacKenzie. Despite rumours that Varsi changed her mind and was signed on after all, Lynley eventually was cast. When Wald was later asked be a possible return of Varsi, he responded: "Ridiculous. She hasn't been back to Hollywood since she left here, and I doubt that she'll ever make another movie again." The same month, it was revealed Brett Halsey
was among the co-stars of the film. It is doubted if he was cast as Ted, the role he eventually played, because a February 1960 news article reported Dean Stockwell
was cast in that role. Later that month, it was reported he was in talks for playing the ski instructor.
In early 1960, it was revealed Crawford would not replace Turner, but play Allison's psychotic mother-in-law, with Norma Shearer
in talks to play Constance. Two days later, it was reported Suzy Parker
was in talks to appear in the movie in the eventually scrapped role of 'Stephanie'. Parker's character was not dropped until months later. The production was stalled in early 1960 and the following summer because of a writer's strike. It allowed Wald in June 1960 to travel to the East to offer a role in the film to Mary Ure
, a stage actress. He announced he was planning to delay production until September 1960 "to avoid the influx of tourists".
When Norma Shearer declined the role of Constance, Bette Davis
was offered the part in October 1960, but she had to turn it down due to commitments to Broadway. At one point in late 1960, Gene Tierney
and Lee Remick
were cast in the starring roles, but it was reported in November 1960 that both withdrew due to pregnancy.
The film was shot in CinemaScope
on location in Fitchburg, Massachusetts
. Shooting began in the Winter of 1960. Tuesday Weld
replaced Lois Smith
as Selena Cross at the last minute in December 1960, while Luciana Paluzzi
took over Barbara Steele
's role as Ted's wife. By this time, Crawford also pulled out as Mrs. Roberta Carter, and Davis was unsuccessfully searched as her replacement. Mary Astor
was eventually cast in the role. However some of her scenes were cut before the final release. After failing to have Michael Rossi discharged. she goes home and burns her house down in order to kill Norman and his wife. In the trailer for the film we see the fire but not in the movie itself. There is even reference to a fire as one of the characters refers to it.
The film grossed $9,996,178 in the US, far less than the $25,600,000 earned by its predecessor.
The film's theme, "The Wonderful Season of Love," was written by Paul Francis Webster
and Franz Waxman
and performed by Ferrer's then-wife Rosemary Clooney
. The soundtrack has been released on CD
by Varèse Sarabande
, and the film is available on DVD
.
Variety
described the film as "a high-class soap opera" and added, "José Ferrer's direction of this material is deliberate, but restrained and perceptive...The lovely Lynley does a thoroughly capable job, although a shade more animation would have been desirable. But it is the veteran Astor who walks off with the picture."
TV Guide
says, "the story and its themes tend to evolve to a predictable ending. Astor is marvelous in her role as the overbearing mother...and Weld, virtually unknown at the time, starred in a role that displayed her natural sex appeal."
The UK website DVD Times opines the film "doesn't have the art or passion to make itself compelling, instead relying on a series of base, poorly constructed scenarios which drown quickly in melodramatic sap...The screenplay adopts the format of a daily soap opera...full of hysterical melodrama and inane meanderings...Astor, to her credit, is marvellous...Jeff Chandler...destroys every scene he's in while Carol Lynley makes a cold and unsympathetic lead, with a brittle voice and an oddly immovable face...Tuesday Weld...is spirited and would have made a better Allison."
Robert Firsching of Allmovie said the film was "sillier than the original, adding to its problems by completely recasting all the roles, combining several of them into existing characters." Calling it "overwrought and overblown," he said "the film is still a treat for fans of campy 'suburban sin' melodramas."
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
produced by Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald was an American producer and screenwriter for motion pictures and radio shows.Born Jerome Irving Wald in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were active in show business. Jerry began writing a radio column for the New York Evening Graphic while a student at New York...
and directed by José Ferrer
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
. The screenplay by Ronald Alexander is based on the 1959 novel Return to Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place is a 1959 novel by Grace Metalious, a sequel to her best-selling 1956 novel Peyton Place.-Plot summary:After the phenomenal success of her first novel, Metalious hastily penned a sequel centering on the life and loves of bestselling author Allison MacKenzie, who ironically...
by Grace Metalious. The film is a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Peyton Place
Peyton Place (film)
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 centers on the life and loves of bestselling author Allison MacKenzie, who follows in the footsteps of her mother Constance by having an affair with a married man, her publisher Lewis Jackman.
Plot
At the beginning of the film, Allison receives a phone call from Lewis, who shows interest in publishing her book and promises to turn her into a household name whose books are exclusively bestsellers. Allison is ecstatic after hearing the news, unlike her best friend Selena Cross, who is still receiving a lot of criticism from the townspeople for her shameful past. Among these people are Mrs. Roberta Carter, an old-fashioned, domineering woman who is unamused her son Ted has had a close bond with Selena. Later that day, Mrs. Carter is visited by her son, who currently lives in Boston. Ted shocks her with the information of having married an Italian fashion model, Raffaella. Mrs. Carter looks down on Raffaella and contacts Selena to drive them apart, but Selena looks through the scheme and refuses to cooperate. She angrily leaves and is involved in a car accident. Young ski instructor Nils Larsen helps her out, and although she treats him coldly, she feels attracted to him.Meanwhile, Constance reluctantly allows her daughter to visit New York for a meeting with Lewis. Allison is unamused to find out Lewis wants to make several changes in the book, but agrees on cooperating. Constance calls her the next morning and is worried to find out Allison and Lewis have been working all night long, expecting the worst. Back in Peyton Place, Raffaella threatens to ban Mrs. Carter out of Ted's life if she continues to treat her horribly. Raffaella and Ted go skiing later that day and Ted is surprised to see Selena with Nils, who Selena finally agreed on dating after bumping into him several times.
The following weeks, Allison spends her time promoting her book, doing interviews for talk shows and radio programs. She is slowly turned into a celebrity, and flirts with Lewis along the way. She is angry to find out Lewis is married, but after she is awarded the first copy of her book, she nevertheless kisses him. The book soon becomes a commercial success due to its meaty contents, but it is heavily criticized by the townspeople of Peyton Place. Constance is disappointed in Allison for allowing the many changes that have been made in the editing room. Selena is disgusted by the way she is portrayed and loses her mind, knocking Nils down with a stoker, mistaking him for her abuser Lucas.
Meanwhile, Mike Rossi, principal of the local high school, husband of Constance and only defender of Allison's book, risks being discharged by the school board, of which Mrs. Carker is its head, for refusing to remove Allison's book from the school library. At the Carter home, Ted confronts Raffaella with her quarrel with his mother. Raffaella, realizing Ted will never stand up against his mother, reveals she is pregnant, before angrily leaving her husband. Determined to exterminating her pregnancy, she purposely causes a skiing accident.
When Allison finds out Mike has been fired, she finally decides to face the wrath of its residents, who are still incensed by their barely-disguised counterparts and the revelation of town secrets in the book. She is immediately confronted by her mother for having sold her decency and self-respect for success and money. Despite the quarrel with her mother, Allison decides to support Mike, who has taken his dischargment to the town hall. Among the people defending Mike are Lewis, Nils and Ted. Nils points out that the bigoted townspeople have driven away Selena, whom is nowhere to be found, and reveals his plans on marrying Selena. Selena shows up not much later and blames the townspeople for making her feel ashamed, before thanking Allison for having written the truth. In the end, Roberta is denounced and Mike is given his job back when Constance publicly says that the older towsnpeople have been leading the lives of their children too long. Afterwards, Allison has finally become an adult and breaks her affair with Lewis, explaining she does not want to ruin his marriage.
Cast
- Carol LynleyCarol LynleyCarol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
as Allison MacKenzieAllison MacKenzieAllison MacKenzie is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the novel Peyton Place, its sequel Return to Peyton Place, the subsequent film adaptations of both, and the primetime television series and daytime soap opera they inspired....
, a stubborn young writer who agrees to turn her book into a controversial novel in order to become successful. - Jeff ChandlerJeff Chandler (actor)Jeff Chandler was an American film actor and singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Anna and Phillip Grossel. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities...
as Lewis Jackman, a married editor and publisher who helps Allison become a celebrity, while a romantic affair ensues. - Eleanor ParkerEleanor ParkerEleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
as Constance RossiConstance MacKenzieConstance MacKenzie is a fictional character in the 1956 novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. In the subsequent film adaptation, she was played by Lana Turner; in the sequel Return to Peyton Place, by Eleanor Parker; in the primetime television series, by Dorothy Malone ; and in daytime soap...
, Allison's overprotective mother and wife of Mike, who is upset with her daughter's novel. However, she changes her mind, and defends her daughter at the end. - Mary AstorMary AstorMary Astor was an American actress. Most remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s.She eventually made a successful transition to talkies, but almost...
as Mrs. Roberta Carter, a snobbish, domineering woman who is reluctant to allow her son to lead his own life, and is among the people boycotting Allison's novel. - Robert SterlingRobert SterlingRobert Sterling, born William Sterling Hart was an American film and television actor.-Early life:...
as Mike RossiMichael RossiMichael Rossi, is a fictional book character from Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. Set in a small New England town whose peaceful facade hides love and passion, scandal and hypocrisy...
, the high school principal and husband of Constance, and one of the few supporting Allison's novel. - Luciana PaluzziLuciana PaluzziLuciana Paluzzi is an Italian actress. She is best known for playing SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in the fourth James Bond film, Thunderball.-Career:...
as Raffaella Carter, a former Italian fashion model and the current pregnant wife of Ted, who deals with the judgment of her mother-in-law. - Brett HalseyBrett HalseyBrett Halsey , is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He is best known as the original John Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, a role he held from May 1980 to March 1981, before being replaced by Jerry Douglas.-Career:Interested in acting since he was a...
as Theodore 'Ted' Carter, the son of Roberta, who is afraid to stand up against his mother's dominant behavior. - Gunnar Hellström as Nils Larsen, a ski instructor who constantly bumps into Selena, resulting in a relationship.
- Tuesday WeldTuesday WeldTuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
as Selena Cross, Allison's best friend a former victim of rape who is still looked down upon because of her past.
Production
The 1957 screen adaptationPeyton Place (film)
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:...
of Metalious' first novel had been a critical and commercial success, ranking second at the box office and garnering nine Academy Award nominations. But production costs for Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
were affecting the studio's solvency, so 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
executives were unwilling to meet the salary demands of the original's A listers and opted to cast the sequel with lesser names.
In June 1959, producer Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald was an American producer and screenwriter for motion pictures and radio shows.Born Jerome Irving Wald in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were active in show business. Jerry began writing a radio column for the New York Evening Graphic while a student at New York...
announced Diane Varsi
Diane Varsi
Diane Marie Antonia Varsi was an American film actress best known for her performances in Peyton Place – her film debut, and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award – and the cult film Wild in the Streets...
, who originated the role of Allison MacKenzie
Allison MacKenzie
Allison MacKenzie is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the novel Peyton Place, its sequel Return to Peyton Place, the subsequent film adaptations of both, and the primetime television series and daytime soap opera they inspired....
, was the first choice of the role, with Diane Baker
Diane Baker
Diane Carol Baker is an American actress who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959.-Early life:...
as a substitute in case Varsi declined. Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
had already passed the role of Constance MacKenzie
Constance MacKenzie
Constance MacKenzie is a fictional character in the 1956 novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. In the subsequent film adaptation, she was played by Lana Turner; in the sequel Return to Peyton Place, by Eleanor Parker; in the primetime television series, by Dorothy Malone ; and in daytime soap...
, which was then offered to Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
. In the same month, it was also revealed that none of the original cast of Peyton Place signed on for the sequel. In August 1959, Wald announced Varsi was not reprising her role, and that he was planning on replacing her with Anna Maria Alberghetti
Anna Maria Alberghetti
Anna Maria Alberghetti is an Italian-born operatic singer and actress.Born in Pesaro, Marche, she starred on Broadway and won a Tony Award in 1962 as Best Actress for Carnival! .Alberghetti was a child prodigy. Her father was an opera singer and concert master of the Rome Opera Company...
, with production slated to begin in November 1959. By the time, producer Buddy Adler had already cast Robert Evans as Nils Larsen. Both Alberghetti and Evans were eventually replaced.
While shooting Hound-Dog Man
Hound-Dog Man
Hound-Dog Man is a 1959 film directed by Don Siegel. The film is based on the book by Fred Gipson.-Cast:* Fabian as Clint* Stuart Whitman as Blackie Scantling* Carol Lynley as Dony Wallace* Arthur O'Connell as Aaron McKinney...
in the fall of 1959, Wald met Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
. With no announcement of Baker's withdrawal, Wald announced in September 1959 Lynley was set to star as Allison MacKenzie. Despite rumours that Varsi changed her mind and was signed on after all, Lynley eventually was cast. When Wald was later asked be a possible return of Varsi, he responded: "Ridiculous. She hasn't been back to Hollywood since she left here, and I doubt that she'll ever make another movie again." The same month, it was revealed Brett Halsey
Brett Halsey
Brett Halsey , is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He is best known as the original John Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, a role he held from May 1980 to March 1981, before being replaced by Jerry Douglas.-Career:Interested in acting since he was a...
was among the co-stars of the film. It is doubted if he was cast as Ted, the role he eventually played, because a February 1960 news article reported Dean Stockwell
Dean Stockwell
Dean Stockwell is an American actor of film and television, with a career spanning over 65 years. As a child actor under contract to MGM he first came to the public's attention in films such as Anchors Aweigh and The Green Years; as a young adult he played a lead role in the 1957 Broadway and...
was cast in that role. Later that month, it was reported he was in talks for playing the ski instructor.
In early 1960, it was revealed Crawford would not replace Turner, but play Allison's psychotic mother-in-law, with Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
in talks to play Constance. Two days later, it was reported Suzy Parker
Suzy Parker
Suzy Parker was an American model and actress active from 1947 into the early 1960s. Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s when she appeared on the cover of dozens of magazines, advertisements, and in movie and television roles.She appeared in several Revlon advertisements, but...
was in talks to appear in the movie in the eventually scrapped role of 'Stephanie'. Parker's character was not dropped until months later. The production was stalled in early 1960 and the following summer because of a writer's strike. It allowed Wald in June 1960 to travel to the East to offer a role in the film to Mary Ure
Mary Ure
Eileen Mary Ure was a Scottish actress of stage and film.-Early life:Born in Glasgow where she studied at the school of drama, Ure was the daughter of civil engineer Colin McGregor Ure and Edith Swinburne. She went to the independent Mount School in York and trained for the stage at the Central...
, a stage actress. He announced he was planning to delay production until September 1960 "to avoid the influx of tourists".
When Norma Shearer declined the role of Constance, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
was offered the part in October 1960, but she had to turn it down due to commitments to Broadway. At one point in late 1960, Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
and Lee Remick
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
were cast in the starring roles, but it was reported in November 1960 that both withdrew due to pregnancy.
The film was shot in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
on location in Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :...
. Shooting began in the Winter of 1960. Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
replaced Lois Smith
Lois Smith
Lois Smith is an American actress whose career in theater, film, and television has spanned five decades.Smith was born Lois Arlene Humbert in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Carrie Davis and William Oren Humbert, who was a telephone company employee...
as Selena Cross at the last minute in December 1960, while Luciana Paluzzi
Luciana Paluzzi
Luciana Paluzzi is an Italian actress. She is best known for playing SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in the fourth James Bond film, Thunderball.-Career:...
took over Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele is an English film actress. She is best known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. Her breakthrough role came in Italian director Mario Bava's Black Sunday , now hailed as a classic.Steele starred in a string of horror films, including The Horrible Dr...
's role as Ted's wife. By this time, Crawford also pulled out as Mrs. Roberta Carter, and Davis was unsuccessfully searched as her replacement. Mary Astor
Mary Astor
Mary Astor was an American actress. Most remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s.She eventually made a successful transition to talkies, but almost...
was eventually cast in the role. However some of her scenes were cut before the final release. After failing to have Michael Rossi discharged. she goes home and burns her house down in order to kill Norman and his wife. In the trailer for the film we see the fire but not in the movie itself. There is even reference to a fire as one of the characters refers to it.
The film grossed $9,996,178 in the US, far less than the $25,600,000 earned by its predecessor.
The film's theme, "The Wonderful Season of Love," was written by Paul Francis Webster
Paul Francis Webster
Paul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
and Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman was a German-American composer, known for his bravura Carmen Fantasie for violin and orchestra, based on musical themes from the Bizet opera Carmen, and for his musical scores for films....
and performed by Ferrer's then-wife Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
. The soundtrack has been released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
, and the film is available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Critical reception
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
described the film as "a high-class soap opera" and added, "José Ferrer's direction of this material is deliberate, but restrained and perceptive...The lovely Lynley does a thoroughly capable job, although a shade more animation would have been desirable. But it is the veteran Astor who walks off with the picture."
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
says, "the story and its themes tend to evolve to a predictable ending. Astor is marvelous in her role as the overbearing mother...and Weld, virtually unknown at the time, starred in a role that displayed her natural sex appeal."
The UK website DVD Times opines the film "doesn't have the art or passion to make itself compelling, instead relying on a series of base, poorly constructed scenarios which drown quickly in melodramatic sap...The screenplay adopts the format of a daily soap opera...full of hysterical melodrama and inane meanderings...Astor, to her credit, is marvellous...Jeff Chandler...destroys every scene he's in while Carol Lynley makes a cold and unsympathetic lead, with a brittle voice and an oddly immovable face...Tuesday Weld...is spirited and would have made a better Allison."
Robert Firsching of Allmovie said the film was "sillier than the original, adding to its problems by completely recasting all the roles, combining several of them into existing characters." Calling it "overwrought and overblown," he said "the film is still a treat for fans of campy 'suburban sin' melodramas."