Editing Gregory Peck (section)

===1954–1957: Overseas and New York===
With his acclaimed performance in ''The Gunfighter'', Peck was offered the lead role in ''[[High Noon]]'' (1952) but turned it down because he did not want to become typecast in Westerns.<ref name="ReferenceN"/> Peck was based in the United Kingdom for about eighteen months between 1953 and 1955; new tax laws had drastically raised the tax rate on high-income earners, but the amount due would be reduced if the payer worked outside the country for extended periods.<ref name="ReferenceY">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/87388/the-purple-plain#articles-reviews|title=The Purple Plain (1955) - Articles - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> After ''Roman Holiday''{{'}}s production in Italy, his three subsequent films were shot and set in London, Germany and Southeast Asia, respectively. Peck starred in ''[[The Million Pound Note]]'' (1954), based on a [[Mark Twain]] short story.<ref name="tcm.turner.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/19290/man-with-a-million#articles-reviews|title=Man with a Million (1954) - Articles - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> Peck enjoyed the film's production as "it was a good comedy opportunity" and "was given probably the most elegant wardrobe he had ever worn in film".<ref name="tcm.turner.com"/> He plays a penniless American seaman in 1903 London who is given a one{{nbsp}}million pound bank note by two rich, eccentric brothers who wish to ascertain if he can survive for one month without spending any of it.<ref name="ReferenceZ">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/06/29/archives/the-screen-a-mark-twain-story-man-with-a-million-opens-at-sutton.html|title=The Screen: A Mark Twain Story; Man With a Million' Opens at Sutton Gregory Peck Stars in British Import|first=Bosley|last=Crowther|date=June 29, 1954|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="tcm.turner.com"/> The film performed modestly at the box office and received mixed reviews for its production.<ref name="tcm.turner.com"/><ref name="ReferenceZ"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1953/film/reviews/the-million-pound-note-1200417595/|title=The Million Pound Note|work=Variety|date=January 1, 1954}}</ref>{{efn|name=TheMillionPoundNote|''TV Guide'' enthuses "This delightful comedy is convincingly acted by Peck{{nbsp}}... the direction is full of vitality and the movie provides consistent humor and delightful situations{{nbsp}}... is beautifully photographed and the Victorian-era sets are impressive{{nbsp}}... a rewarding satire on human greed and British traditions."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/man-with-a-million/review/105538|title=Man With A Million &#124; TV Guide|website=TV Guide}}</ref>}} Adrian Turner of the ''Radio Times'' praised it as a "lovely comedy" which "has a lot of charm and gentle humor, owing to Peck's evident delight in the role and the unobtrusive direction" adding it has a "witty script".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/film/fm7fsj/the-million-pound-note/|title=The Million Pound Note – review &#124; cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online|website=Radio Times|access-date=November 24, 2019|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801055151/https://www.radiotimes.com/film/fm7fsj/the-million-pound-note/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Peck portrayed a US army colonel investigating the kidnapping of a young soldier in ''[[Night People (1954 film)|Night People]]'' (1954).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/03/13/archives/gregory-peck-stars-in-night-people-at-roxy-story-was-shot-in-berlin.html|title=Gregory Peck Stars in 'Night People' at Roxy -- Story Was Shot in Berlin|first=Bosley|last=Crowther|date=March 13, 1954|work=The New York Times}}</ref> He later stated that the role was one of his favorites as his lines were "tough and crisp and full of wisecracks, and more aggressive than other roles" he'd played.{{sfn|Fishgall|2002|p=178}} The film received praise for its production and direction, but did poorly at the box office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/03/13/archives/gregory-peck-stars-in-night-people-at-roxy-story-was-shot-in-berlin.html |title=Gregory Peck Stars in 'Night People' at Roxy - Story Was Shot in Berlin |work=The New York Times |date=March 13, 1954 |access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Fishgall|2002|p=178}} Peck flew to Sri Lanka to film ''[[The Purple Plain]]'' (1954), playing a Canadian bomber pilot with strong emotional problems during the Second World War.<ref name="ReferenceY"/><ref name="radiotimes.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/film/f5k568/the-purple-plain/|title=The Purple Plain – review &#124; cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online|website=Radio Times|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031051759/https://www.radiotimes.com/film/f5k568/the-purple-plain/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto41">{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-purple-plain/115152|title=The Purple Plain &#124; TV Guide|website=TV Guide}}</ref> ''The Purple Plain'' was panned in the United States but became a hit in the United Kingdom, ranking tenth at the box office in 1954,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47622304|title=U.S. STAR HEADS FILM POLL|newspaper=Advertiser |date=December 31, 1954|page=11|via=Trove}}</ref> and was nominated for a [[BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film]].<ref name="auto19"/><ref name="ReferenceY"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-purple-plain-v106909/review|title=The Purple Plain (1954) - Robert Parrish &#124; Review|website=AllMovie}}</ref> Of his performance, Crowther wrote, "the extent of Peck's agony is impressively transmitted{{nbsp}}... in vivid and unrelenting scenes."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/04/11/archives/purple-plain-and-four-other-films-bow-gregory-peck-stars-in-drama.html|title='Purple Plain' and Four Other Films Bow; Gregory Peck Stars in Drama at Capitol Orson Welles Seen in 'Trouble in the Glen' 'Wife' Has Premiere at Globe|first=Bosley|last=Crowther|date=April 11, 1955|work=The New York Times}}</ref> In recent years, the movie "has become one of Peck's most respected works,"<ref name="ReferenceY"/><ref name="Maltin, Leonard 2005"/><ref name="radiotimes.com"/> with critic David Thomson rating Peck's performance as excellent.<ref name="Thomson, David 1994 pg. 576"/> Craig Butler of ''All Movie'' says that "Peck is astonishing, giving the sort of layered, intense yet nuanced performance that deserves major awards".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-purple-plain-v106909/review |first=Craig |last=Butler |title=The Purple Plain (1954) |work=Allmovie.com |access-date=July 29, 2021 }}</ref>

[[File:Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.jpg|upright|thumb|Peck with [[Jennifer Jones]] in a film still for ''[[The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit]]'' (1956)]]

In 1954, Peck was named the third most popular non-British film star in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47622304 |title=31 Dec 1954 - U.S. Star Heads Film Poll - Trove |publisher=Trove.nla.gov.au |date=December 31, 1954 |access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> Peck did not have a film released in 1955. He made a [[Comeback (publicity)|comeback]] in the US. with '' [[The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit]]'' (1956), where he portrays a married, ex-soldier father of three who is increasingly haunted by his deeds in Italy during the Second World War.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v31177|title=The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) - Nunnally Johnson &#124; Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related|website=AllMovie}}</ref><ref name="auto8">{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit/review/105505|title=The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit &#124; TV Guide|website=TV Guide}}</ref> The film saw Peck reunited with ''Duel in the Sun'' co-star [[Jennifer Jones]]. During the filming of a scene where their characters argue, Jones clawed his face with her fingernails, prompting Peck to say to the director "I don't call that acting. I call it personal."<ref name="auto26">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/82643/the-man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit#articles-reviews|title=The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) - Articles - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> The movie was successful, finishing eighth in box office gross for the year,<ref>[https://www.the-numbers.com/market/1956/top-grossing]{{dead link|date=July 2021}} grossed $10.8 million but rentals were below 4.8 million as by rentals it was not in the top ten according to Kay, Eddie Dorman (New York, 1990). "Box Office Champs: The Most Popular Movies from the Last 50 Years", M & M Books.</ref> despite contemporary and modern reviews being mixed.<ref name="auto26"/>{{efn|name=TheManintheGrayFlannelSuit|Bosley Crowther also wrote, the main character "possesses the humble, stoic valor one associates with Gregory Peck, who – by most fortunate coincidence – is present to play the role;" the director has arranged events "in a seemingly scattered yet clear and forceful way{{nbsp}}... he has, in short, a full, well-rounded film. To do this he had to take his sweet time;" the director "has wisely paced his film at a tempo that gives them plausible time to deliberate;" "the expensive production gives proper setting to this intelligent film;" and, "The critical scene in which the hero tells his wife of his Italian child is also a long mordant passage that strikes sparks every second of the way."<ref name="auto63">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/04/13/archives/screen-mature-tender-and-touching-man-in-gray-flannel-suit-is-at.html|title=Screen: Mature, Tender and Touching; 'Man in Gray Flannel Suit' Is at Roxy|first=Bosley|last=Crowther|date=April 13, 1956|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Harrison's Reports called it "one of the most absorbing pictures of the year," with "exceptionally fine" acting.<ref>'The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit' with Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones and Fredric March". Harrison's Reports: 50. March 31, 1956</ref> ''Variety'' indicated "Peck is handsome and appealing, if not always convincing. It is only really in the romantic sequences with Marisa Pavan, who plays his Italian love, that he takes on warmth and becomes believable{{nbsp}}... Playing opposite Peck as his wife is Jennifer Jones, and her concept of the role is faulty to a serious degree. Jones allows almost no feeling of any real relationship between her and Peck{{nbsp}}... Fredric March is excellent, and the scenes between him and Peck lift the picture high above the ordinary."<ref name="auto44">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1955/film/reviews/the-man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit-1200417991/|title=The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit|date=January 1, 1956|work=Variety}}</ref>}}<ref name="auto63"/><ref>McCarten, John (April 21, 1956). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker: 75–76.</ref><ref name="auto44"/>{{efn|name=TheManintheGrayFlannelSuitModern|''TV Guide'' calls it "surprisingly engrossing, if shallow and overlong" and "Totally hollow trash with a hysteria-prone Jennifer Jones{{nbsp}}... So slickly dished up, though, you can feel yourself sliding around on the sofa."<ref name="auto8"/> Jonathan Rosenbaum of the ''Chicago Reader'' describes it as "lush" adding "The film may seem mediocre now (it did back then) but it probably speaks volumes about the period."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit/Film?oid=1055872|title=The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit|first=Jonathan|last=Rosenbaum|website=Chicago Reader|date=October 26, 1985}}</ref>}}<ref name="auto5">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit-v31177/review|title=The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) - Nunnally Johnson &#124; Review|website=AllMovie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/film/rm97/the-man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit/|title=The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit – review &#124; cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online|website=Radio Times|access-date=October 27, 2019|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801070707/https://www.radiotimes.com/film/rm97/the-man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Butler of ''AllMovie'' declared that "the role fits (Gregory Peck) as if it had been tailor-made for him. Peck's particular brilliance lies in the quiet strength that is so much a part of him and the way in which he uses subtle changes in that quietness to signal mammoth emotions. He's given ample opportunity to do so here and the results are enthralling{{nbsp}}... an exceptional performance".<ref name="auto5"/> ''Radio Times'' refers to "the excellent Peck" and states that Peck plays "the appealing flawed hero".

[[File:Peck Bacall Designing Woman1 1957.jpg|thumb|left|Peck and [[Lauren Bacall]] in the film ''[[Designing Woman]]'' (1957)]]

Peck next starred as [[Captain Ahab]] in the [[Moby Dick (1956 film)|1956 film adaptation of]] [[Herman Melville]]'s [[Moby Dick]]; he was unsure about his suitability for the part but was persuaded by director [[John Huston]] to take the role.<ref name="auto67">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17660/moby-dick#articles-reviews|title=Moby Dick (1956) - Articles - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref><ref name="auto62">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/07/05/archives/screen-john-huston-and-melvilles-white-whale-moby-dick-opens-at.html|title=Screen: John Huston and Melville's White Whale; 'Moby Dick' Opens at Sutton and Criterion Gregory Peck Starred as Captain Ahab|first=Bosley|last=Crowther|date=July 5, 1956|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Peck almost drowned twice during filming in stormy weather off the sea coasts of Ireland, and several other performers and crew members suffered injuries.<ref name="auto1"/> John Huston was named best director of the year by the [[New York Film Critics Circle]] and the [[National Board of Review]] for ''Moby Dick'', but did not receive a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Director]]. The movie had the ninth highest box office of the year in North America,<ref name="auto19"/> but cost $4.5{{nbsp}}million to make, more than double the original budget, and was considered a commercial disappointment.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17660/moby-dick#notes|title=Moby Dick (1956) - Notes - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> In 2003, editor Barry Monush wrote, "There was, and continues to be, controversy over his casting as Ahab in ''Moby Dick.''"<ref name="Monush, Barry"/> Upon opening, ''Variety'' said: "Peck often seems understated and much too gentlemanly for a man supposedly consumed by insane fury."<ref name="auto32">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1955/film/reviews/moby-dick-2-1200418047/|title=Moby Dick|date=January 1, 1956|work=Variety}}</ref><ref name="auto62"/>''The Hollywood Reporter'' argued "Peck plays it{{nbsp}}... in a brooding, smoldering vein, but none the less intensely and dynamically." In modern times, critics have said Peck is: "often mesmerizing";<ref name="Monush, Barry"/> "stoic" and "more than adequate"; "<ref name="auto66">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/moby-dick-v32987/review|title=Moby Dick (1956) - John Huston, Franc Roddam &#124; Review|website=AllMovie}}</ref> and "lending a deranged dignity" to the role.<ref name="Maltin, Leonard 2005"/><ref name="Thomson, David 1994 pg. 576"/><ref name="timeout.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/moby-dick|title=Moby Dick|website=Time Out London|date=September 10, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Shipman, David 1984 pg. 757"/><ref name="auto33">{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/film/fp8srj/moby-dick/|title=Moby Dick – review &#124; cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online|website=Radio Times|access-date=October 28, 2019|archive-date=October 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028174205/https://www.radiotimes.com/film/fp8srj/moby-dick/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto29">{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/moby-dick/review/106533|title=Moby Dick &#124; TV Guide|website=TV Guide}}</ref> Peck himself later said "I wasn't mad enough, not crazy enough, not obsessive enough – I should have done more. At the time, I didn't have more in me."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/13/movies/gregory-peck-is-dead-at-87-film-roles-had-moral-fiber.html|title=Gregory Peck Is Dead at 87; Film Roles Had Moral Fiber|first=William|last=Grimes|date=June 13, 2003|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

For romantic comedy ''[[Designing Woman]]'' (1957), Peck was permitted to choose his leading lady, [[Lauren Bacall]], who needed to be busy with work as her husband was gravely ill at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2105/designing-woman#articles-reviews|title=Designing Woman (1957) - Articles - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=December 29, 2019|archive-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212061417/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2105/Designing-Woman/articles.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The film revolves around a fashion designer and a sports writer on a California vacation. They have a whirlwind romance and marry in haste, despite Peck's character already having a girlfriend back home, only to find upon their return to New York, that they have vastly different lifestyles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/designing-woman-v149833|title=Designing Woman (1957) - Vincente Minnelli &#124; Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related &#124; AllMovie|website=Allmovie.com}}</ref> The film was mildly successful and entered at 35th for annual gross, but did not break even.<ref>The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ultimatemovierankings.com/1957-top-grossing-movies/|title=Top Grossing Movies of 1957 &#124; Ultimate Movie Rankings|date=December 8, 2017}}</ref> Upon release, ''Variety'' said "Bacall{{nbsp}}... is excellent{{nbsp}}... Peck is fine as the confused sportswriter" saying that all the other actors/actresses give top-notch performances.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1956/film/reviews/designing-woman-1200418351/|title=Designing Woman|date=January 1, 1957|work=Variety}}</ref>{{efn|name=DesigningWomanCrowther|Crowther noted "some of the verbal exchanges between Peck and Bacall have a nice little splash of wit about them. Good dialogue has been written by George Wells. The direction{{nbsp}}.. keeps things moving tolerably along until the end, when it bursts into a splurge of ostentation that is silly and in somewhat doubtful taste."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/17/archives/the-screen-designing-woman-bows-gregory-peck-lauren-bacall-are.html|title=The Screen: 'Designing Woman' Bows; Gregory Peck; Lauren Bacall Are Stars|first=Bosley|last=Crowther|date=May 17, 1957|work=The New York Times}}</ref>}} In recent years, the few reviews from prominent critics or websites are generally positive{{efn|name=DesigningWoman|Leonard Malton writes "chic comedy reminiscent of the great Hepburn-Tracy vehicles. Bacall and Peck do their best,"<ref name="Maltin, Leonard 2005"/>}} with ''TV Guide'' exclaiming "they've made{{nbsp}}... the famous stoneface{{nbsp}}... Peck, somewhat funny. Bacall gives an especially good performance." ''Designing Woman'' won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/designing-woman/review/112751|title=Designing Woman &#124; TV Guide|website=TV Guide}}</ref>