In October 1956, barely a month after the publication of Peyton Place, Grace Metalious signed a contract for the movie version of the book. In December 1957, the film premiered in New York starring Lana Turner as Constance MacKenzie, Diana Varsi as Allison, Hope Lange as Selena Cross, Arthur Kennedy as Lucas Cross, Lee Phillips as Michael Rossi, Lloyd Nolan as Matthew Swain, and Russ Tamblyn as Norman Page.

In its transition to film, the book lost some of its most notorious quirks, in part to ensure the movie would pass inspection by the censors. Chief among the changes, Selena Cross was no longer a dark-haired gypsy-like beauty but now a more innocent, vulnerable blonde. Norman Page was no longer the boy who takes pleasure in being nude while his mother whips him, but now headed for heroism in the war. Rodney Harrington no longer died when he crashed his car while reaching for his date's breasts, but now went off to war to be killed in action. Still, there was enough shock value left to stir up controversy and attract moviegoers in droves.

Filmed on location in Camden, Maine, with a running time of 157 minutes, the movie was produced by Jerry Wald for 20th Century Fox. Wald agreed to produce Peyton Place because it had all the ingredients of a great story: pleasure, pain, fear, hope, love, and hate. By all standards, it was an enormous success. In addition to being a huge moneymaker, it received nine Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" took the major honors in 1957 and Peyton Place did not win any Oscars.

Nevertheless, the success of Peyton Place spawned a second movie, Return to Peyton Place, which was released in 1961 starring Jose Ferrer. Written from the viewpoint of a grown-up Allison MacKenzie, this movie featured all new faces since none of the original cast reprised their roles. Peyton Place aficionados noted numerous inconsistencies compared to Grace's book and the original movie.

The Peyton Place movie also spawned a television series. The first prime time soap opera, 'Peyton Place' made its debut on ABC in September 1964. Created by Paul Monash, it had one of the largest casts in television series history. Among the stars were Dorothy Malone as Constance, Ryan O'Neal as Rodney Harrington, Barbara Parkins as Betty Anderson, Ed Nelson as Dr. Michael Rossi, and young Mia Farrow, who captured America's heart as Allison. Initially, two 30-minute episodes were broadcast each week in the 9:30-10:00 p.m. slot. At the height of its popularity, with an estimated 60 million people tuning in, three episodes per week were shown. During the peak, 'Peyton Place' claimed three of the top five slots in the Nielsen and A.R.B. ratings.

That weekly episode number fell to two, then to one when, after the departure of Mia Farrow — by then Mrs. Frank Sinatra — in 1966, the show's following declined. 524 episodes were shot in all.

As with the movement from book to movie, the movement from movie to television show brought further changes. Producer Paul Monash hated the original book, so he sanitized things, turning Peyton Place into a town where everything was white and clean. He eliminated Grace Metalious' anger. He also eliminated her vivid portrayals of alcoholism, her depictions of violence, even her time period. Peyton Place on TV took place in a timeless real with small-town innocence. Monash unabashedly declared that the series was about the quest for love.

The Peyton Place TV series made $62 million for ABC, $2 million for Paul Monash, and nothing for the estate of Grace Metalious. Watching it was additive, with the focus on the show's youthful, wholesome stars. Grace was rarely mentioned.

Many of the characters were almost unrecognizable. Now Constance MacKenzie owned a bookstore, rather than a dress shop. Michael Ross was a doctor, rather than a high school principal. Betty Anderson's father was a salesman, not a mill worker. Selena Cross and her family were eliminated from the script. Norman Page became Rodney Harrington's younger brother, and the Harringtons were depicted as a rather benign middle-class family. The role of the villain shifted to a new character, Stephen Cord, the illegitimate half-brother of the Harrington boys. As time passed and the viewers' passion for the show waned, new faces joined the cast in hopes of sparking fresh interest. Among those characters was a black family, something that would have been unheard of in Grace's Peyton Place.

The television show ran until June 1969. Less successful renditions followed, including a daytime soap, 'Return to Peyton Place,' (1972-74), and two television movies, 'Murder at Peyton Place,' (1977), and 'Peyton Place: The Next Generation' (1985).

And still Peyton Place lives. In March 2004, Fox released the original film in DVD format, complete with commentaries by the actors who played Norman Page and Betty Anderson. Return to Peyton Place made its DVD debut in February 2005. With the approach of the fiftieth anniversary of the book's publication, Sandra Bullock is slated to produce and star in a 2006 feature film, 'Grace,' a biopic of Grace Metalious, based on the 1981 biography written by Emily Toth. Stay tuned.