grace metalious bestseller come to the screen with lavish good taste and but the small town scandal depict be not entirely white wash . glossy melodrama direct by mark robson allow star lana turner to suffer nobly and play single mother to graduate teenager diane varsi and harbor a skeleton in her family closet while be romance by high school principal lee philip ( in an appealing performance ) . varsi and her friend be all awaken to the joy of boy girl coupling and unsure about sex and not about to ask their parent for help . involve and polished and though just a bit stiff or starchy . the courtroom climax ( with shopgirl hope lange on trial for kill her abusive step father ) be really corny and but fan of the soap genre will be enthral . fashion into a popular television serial start in 1964. follow by return to peyton place in 1961 and which feature none of the talent assemble here . from .