It is a well-known fact, perhaps legend now, that Peyton Place, the controversial, scandalous blockbuster, was filmed in Camden, Maine and the surrounding towns in 1957. But how did the movie come to be filmed in Maine, who was involved in getting it here, and what did the locals think about 20th Century Fox shooting a big-budget film in their front yards?
Historian Mac Smith has done the research and conducted the interviews, and he presents a fascinating account of events and key players in his new book Peyton Place Comes Homes to Maine. Beginning with the arrival of film crews, he traces the making of the movie, what happened after the crews left, and the premiere of the film, which was held in Camden.
A Navy veteran of the first Gulf War and former reporter for The Bar Harbor Times, Mac Smith lives in Stockton Springs, Maine, in the village of Sandy Point. Mac also visited in the library in 2018 to talk about his book Mainers on the Titanic - you can watch his previous author talk here.
Special thanks to Berwick Community Media for recording this library program.