Critical MeMe

Time spent watching films, even crappy ones, is time well-spent.

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Location: Oklahoma City, OK, United States
    Post dates are when I watched, parenthetical dates are the year of US release (aka Oscar eligibility).

3/18/2001

Peyton Place (1957)

I had heard so much about this film for so long and was aware of its multiple acting nominations - so my hopes were high when I pushed it in the VCR. What a letdown. It's apparent that everyone involved thought they were making an important film - and maybe they were at the time. But it's impossibly dated now and has value only as a Hollywood time capsule. It astounds me, after seeing the cast at work, how they pulled off all of the Oscar nods! Diane Varsi and Lana Turner as mother and daughter duel for most boring performance in a motion picture; they both look uncomfortable in their own bodies. The film comes up a couple of notches, though, just for the work of Hope Lange (Selena) and Russ Tamblyn (Norman).

C

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