This was the most beautiful and most inspiring movie in Cinemascope of the 50s decade. Very well directed and a box office hit in rural America and other parts of the world (lines to see it formed around the block all over Scottland, but also in cities like Havana, Madrid, London, Dublin, etc.), yet the Academy of Arts and Science ignored it as best film and passed on nominations to its players. It won only one award for screenplay adaptation (from the best selling biography). The reason for this may have been that Jean Peters, its star, quit the screen all too suddenly after its release, and Fox made no effort to push or promote the film within the academy when nominations were being selected. Releasing companies normally do that. Richard Todd certainly delivered the best performance of his career in a very difficult role. The strikingly beautiful Jean Peters amazed critics with a down to earth and totally believable performance that certainly merited a best actress nomination. And Marjorie Rambeau (of Tobacco Road fame)won other awards as supporting actress for her portrayal(including Critic's Choice), but wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award. If you check the 1955 nominees for best acting, you'll discover that only Susan Hayward, for I'll Cry Tomorrow, was at par with Peters' portrayal in this flick. True of the film as well. It was a much better picture than most of those nominated. Fox had scheduled this film as the first in Cinemascope to be released, with Peters and Richard Burton in the lead roles, but producer Lamarr Troti died; and so, Fox offered The Robe as an alternative-which was an inferior film in regards to content, facts and script. At any rate, see this film believing it did win "best picture of 1955". As it ends you'll likely become certain that it did.
Review of A Man Called Peter
A Man Called Peter
(1955)
The film, Todd, Peters and Rambeau deserved Academy Awards
16 November 2007