MovieChat Forums > Peyton Place (1964) Discussion > Mia Farrow as Allison MacKenzie

Mia Farrow as Allison MacKenzie

posted 19 years ago by prjdean
23 replies | jump to latest

The entire series pivoted around Mia Farrow's affecting portrayal of the illegitimate Allison. When the character of Allison left Peyton Place in a state of mental & emotional confusion in '66, many new and well written plots & characters appeared, but her character continued to be pivotal to the series and several story lines.

Young women who claimed to have seen Allison came on the show as quasi-replacements for her (specifically, Leigh Taylor Young as Rachel Welles and later, Joyce Jillson as Jill) but they never had Farrow's appeal(although Taylor - Young came close but became pregnant by Ryan O'Neal in real life and was written out of the series) and each left within a year or so.

The series never resolved the "What happened to Allison ?" dilemma and the question remained unanswered when the series ended in 1969. It was only later that several spin-offs offered three(!) different scenarios :

1)Return to Peyton Place '72 daytime soap - she came back & eventually reunited with first love, Rodney;

2)Murder in Peyton Place'77 made for TV movie- she & Rod are murder victims and seen only in flashbacks; and

3)Peyton Place:A New Generation'85 made for tv movie - an emaciated Allison (her face is only shown in shadow and she never speaks)is brought home by Connie & Elliot from the mental institution where she has been for 16 years and then is promptly murdered in her hospital room.

The daytime soap offered the most satisfying solution for fans. The final scene of the series with Rodney and Allison finally together was quite beautiful.

Recently Ryan O'Neal(the original Rodney Harrington) appeared on Desperate Housewives as a character named Rodney whose wife's name is Allison( too bad Mia couldn't be persuaded to appear) - a nice nod to the original nighttime soap that still is the best of all!

[–] jkinoz 19 years ago

I wonder if Mia was asked to appear on "Desperate Housewives." She has done other television work recently, including a recurring role on "Third Watch."

[–] chinesefan 17 years ago

At which episode did Allison disappeared ?

[–] sanran-1 17 years ago

Go to the website members.tripod.com/Marvin1934/ and it tells about each of the 524 episodes, I just finished watching he complete series but I can't remember exactly which episode she left the show.

[–] prjdean 17 years ago

episode 263 had Allison's exit - one of the best episodes of the series

[–] whboswell 16 years ago

It's too bad the TV movies ruined the plot. I thought that the writers were newbies until I recognized a name of one who worked on the original series. How many times can you kill a character off?

I understand that "Peyton Place: The Next Generation" was meant to be the real spin-off of the series and we were supposed to forget about "Murder In Peyton Place."

"Peyton Place: The Next Generation" actually did very well in the ratings and was supposed to be a new series, but Fox must have had another bad idea and went with something else.

[–] revellr 16 years ago

I just watched PP: The Next Generation for the first time. It was very enjoyable but so obviously NOT filmed in New England!

[–] prjdean 16 years ago

Nice to see some new posts here -
I knew that there was high hopes for PP:NG launching a new series - I would have been thrilled despite the irreverent treatment of the character of Allison in the tv movie. But unfortunately, it was not to be.
Except for the two feature films, none of the tv movies or television shows were ever filmed in New England...

[–] carmenjones411 16 years ago

I don't think Rod deserved Allison, she was too good for him, he had his fun with Betty then decided she wasn't "moral" enough then he turned his attention to good girl Allison even though he knew his brother still had feelings for her, I think Rodney was a heel, albeit a likeable one.

[–] prjdean 16 years ago

Interesting but not quite accurate --

Betty had a wandering eye - it wasn't only for Rod - she was very ambitious hence her attraction to Steven Cord...but she remarried Rod!!

As for Norman, where do you get the info on his feelings for Allison ??- they were more like good friends than lovers - I never heard Norman ever tell Rod that he took Allison from him - he found his perfect match in Rita....

Allison and Rod , like it or not, were the thwarted young lovers of TV's Peyton Place - and both were flawed characters - Allison had some unpleasant traits herself like petulance and selfishness - just like real people do... so to say Rod did not deserve her love is your judgment but not the view of the writers and most fans of PP.

[–] carmenjones411 16 years ago

Exactly It's MY opinion.

I think you need to rewatch the series, because Norman did care very much for Allison at first, even when she had her memory loss, he admitted to Rod that he was kind of glad that she remembered HIM and not Rod. Yes he and Rita were a perfect match, but he started the series, in love with Allison but unable to show it, which he confessed to her when they met up at the library, he said
"at 15 I loved you very much but was unable to show it, but it worked out for me because you let me kiss you that summer"

Also Betty did NOT have a wandering eye for anyone but Rod! She only married Steven after he told her to when she visited him at the jailhouse.
Rod also started the series smitten with her, but then he tossed her aside when he found her mother locked in his married fathers arms, somehow her mothers immorality seemed to reflect on Betty and she suddenly became loose in Rod's eyes.Thats why she was thrown for a loop when he did that 180 turn on her.

Rod WAS a selfish jerk! He didn't deserve Allison or Betty

Allison has never displayed selfish behavior, she was a victim of everyone elses selfishness, which is why she had a complete breakdown.

[–] prjdean 16 years ago

we can debate the relative merits of these FICTIONAL characters all you want -
but they were creations not real people whom the TV writers were constantly revising -- and their behaviour was at times contradictory.

some of the motivations of these characters turn on the whim of the writers and it was up to the actors to make them believable..

look at all the odd behaviour of Allison the writers gave to Mia Farrow her last year on the show - this sprang from Mia wanting to leave and marry Frank Sinatra -- she became a very troubled character to say the least ...and this grew more out of the real life situation versus the fictional reality involved.

Maybe you just dont like Ryan O'Neal not Rodney Harrington.

[–] carmenjones411 16 years ago

Uh you are aware that this board is reserved for discussions about this FICTIONAL show right?lol, I was merely stating my views of the characters! you sound really absurd to think that I would base my dislike for a FICTIONAL CHARACTOR on a real person! lol

I have nothing against Ryan O'neal! lol, as you said IT'S JUST A SHOW!

Yes I am aware of Mia's character being turned into a flake because of her departure, I wonder how her character would have evolved if she had stayed on, Allison annoyed the hell out of me on her last couple of episodes.

[–] prjdean 16 years ago

Carmen

I just feel that you are being a bit hard on "poor" Rodney -he may have started on the series as a bit of an insensitive dolt but O'Neal made him more appealing as the series went on ..even after the departure of Allison/Mia.

Despite our differences of opinion, it's nice to find a fellow fan who loved this show(you do, dont you?)

I think that Gail Kobe did super fine work as Doris Schuster(didn't have to look that up either) - nothing after that was up to her stint on Peyton Place - matter of fact I don't think I saw much of her in the 70s ...

I agree that some of Allison's latter behavior was hard to swallow but the writers had to make her "disappear " at least for a time - it, unfortunately , turned out to be permanent ...

Mia herself doesn't seem to have much gratitude for her time on the series - the show that made her famous - her autobiography touches on her time on the show briefly but not in depth. She makes fun of Dorothy Malone's use of wigs , for example , but never really talks about how she liked working with the Oscar winner..

I wish some network would rebroadcast this whole series again - last time it was on Romance Classics, I taped all episodes until it was unceremoniously stopped, right after Gena Rowlands started her arc of episodes. So I have not seen those last 200 episodes since the original run.

I did buy a few including the final 4 shows -but I don't trust some of the dealers selling them now- 12 episodes to a dvd! or $90 for the whole run

Philip

[–] carmenjones411 16 years ago

In all fairness I should apologize, because I am currently watching the series now, I have yet to finish it, I am up to the 5th color episode now, and I must admit Rodney does seem to have matured alot after Allison left and sees the errors of his way, What I don't like about Rod, is the fact that he seems to want people on his terms
I just don't think Rod and Allison had as much chemistry as Rod and Betty, even though I like her better with Steven.

As for Gail, she went on to become one of the first female producers, and had a very successful career.

[–] prjdean 14 years ago

bump

[–] shanehaynes 14 years ago

I'm sorry but I find the character Allison quite annoying and irritating. I've only been able to get seasons 1&2 on DVD but say good riddance if she DID leave in future seasons.

[–] prjdean 14 years ago

I am afraid you cannot judge her character by those early episodes alone -- Allison was easily the pivotal person in the show for the first two years(those dvd sets cover less than half of year one) and even after she left was used for story lines --

and when the show was revived in the daytime RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE, Allison did indeed return and married Rod in the final episode of the show

[–] gjhines 13 years ago

as a viewer the first time around (14-years-old) i got the feeling that Norman had sort of a crush on Allison.

but you're right, Rita was the perfect match for Norman. i always loved the fact that her mother, Ada Jacks, ran the Tavern. she'd seen it all, and could read everyone like a book!

Patricia Morrow and Christopher Connelly portrayed the All-American "couple-next-door" to perfection, and were featured in countless movie magazines in the 1960's.

[–] prjdean 13 years ago

Pat Morrow was married to Roz Russell's only son and has retired from acting--

Chris Connelly died too young -

They made a sweet couple on and off screen.

I'd love to hear Rita , er, Pat's memories of making PP.

[–] gjhines 13 years ago

actually, Patricia and Lance have been divorces for years now. they have 2 grown children. i correspond with her several times a year, and she's as sweet as ever.
i went to Christopher's funeral. he's at Forest Lawn near Griffith Park. Ed Nelson was the only Peyton Place star that attended.

[–] prjdean 13 years ago

gj hines

My error - I did not know about Patricia's divorce - even imdb doesnt have the date - how were able to correspond with her? Im glad she is well -- she always seemed like a sweetheart.

I did correspond with Ed Nelson when his book came out and received an autographed copy in the mail -- he had suggested that Dorothy Malone wasn't doing well - mentally anyway - but when the PP dvd sets came out , there was a very nice interview with her in which she sounded wonderful -

I like your posts on Peyton Place -- it is certainly my favorite TV soap/drama.

[–] JTeresa 8 years ago

Does anyone know who ran down Allison with their car? I suspected Doris Schuster when she referred to the person as "her" to the physical therapist, but never found out for certain. Does anyone know?

[–] Doc-McCoy 7 years ago

It was John Fowler's wife - Fowler was the prosecutor who tried Rodney for the murder of Joe Chernak.

"Life is a scam" - Steve McQueen