Editing Lana Turner (section)

===1953–1957: MGM departure and film resurgence===
In the spring of 1953, Turner relocated to Europe for 18 months to make two films under a tax credit for American productions shot abroad.{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 59:00}} The films were ''[[Flame and the Flesh]]'', in which she portrayed a manipulative woman who takes advantage of a musician, and ''[[Betrayed (1954 film)|Betrayed]]'', an espionage thriller set in the [[Nazi]]-occupied Netherlands; the latter marked Turner's fourth and final film appearance opposite Clark Gable.{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 59:49}} In ''The New York Times'', Bosley Crowther wrote of ''Betrayed'': "By the time this picture gets around to figuring out whether the betrayer is Miss Turner or Mr. Mature, it has taken the audience through such a lengthy and tedious amount of detail that it has not only frayed all possible tension but it has aggravated patience as well."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Crowther, Bosley|date=September 9, 1954|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/09/09/archives/the-screen-in-review-betrayed-war-story-opens-at-the-state.html|access-date=June 18, 2018|title=The Screen in Review; 'Betrayed,' War Story, Opens at the State|page=36}}</ref> Upon returning to the United States in September 1953, Turner married actor [[Lex Barker]],{{sfn|Valentino|1976|p=28}} whom she had been dating since their first meeting at a party held by [[Marion Davies]] in the summer of 1952.{{sfn|Turner|1982|p=132}}
[[File:Lana Turner in The Prodigal.png|thumb|upright|left|Turner in ''[[The Prodigal]]'' (1955)]]
In 1955, MGM's new studio head [[Dore Schary]] had Turner star as a pagan temptress in the Biblical epic ''[[The Prodigal]]'' (1955), her first [[CinemaScope]] feature.{{sfn|Parish|Bowers|1973|p=777}}{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=155}} She was reluctant to appear in the film because of the character's scanty, "atrocious" costumes and "stupid" lines, and during the shoot struggled to get along with co-star [[Edmund Purdom]], whom she later described as "a young man with a remarkably high opinion of himself".{{sfn|Turner|1982|p=146}} ''Variety'' deemed the film "a big-scale spectacle&nbsp;...End result of all this flamboyant polish, however, is only fair entertainment."<ref>{{cite web|work=Variety|title=The Prodigal|date=December 31, 1954|access-date=June 17, 2018|author=''Variety'' Staff|url=https://variety.com/1954/film/reviews/the-prodigal-1200417780/}}</ref> Turner was next cast in [[John Farrow]]'s ''[[The Sea Chase]]'' (1955), an adventure film starring [[John Wayne]], in which she portrayed a femme fatale spy aboard a ship.{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=156}} The film, released one month after ''The Prodigal'', was a commercial success.{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=160}}

MGM then gave Turner the titular role of [[Diane de Poitiers]] in the period drama ''[[Diane (1956 film)|Diane]]'' (1956), which had originally been optioned by the studio in the 1930s for [[Greta Garbo]].{{sfn|Valentino|1976|p=211}} After completing ''Diane'', Turner was loaned to 20th Century-Fox to headline ''[[The Rains of Ranchipur]]'' (1955), a remake of ''[[The Rains Came]]'' (1939), playing the wife of an aristocrat in the [[British Raj]] opposite [[Richard Burton]].{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|pages=158–159}}{{sfn|Valentino|1976|p=207}} The production was rushed to accommodate a Christmas release and was completed in only three months, but it received unfavorable reviews from critics.{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=161}} Meanwhile, ''Diane'' was given a test screening in late December 1955, and was met with poor response from audiences.{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=161}} Though an elaborate marketing campaign was crafted to promote the film, it was a box-office flop,{{sfn|Parish|Bowers|1973|p=745}} and MGM announced in February 1956 that it was opting not to renew Turner's contract.{{Sfn|Wayne|2003|p=183}} Turner gleefully told a reporter at the time that she was "walking around in a daze. I've been sprung. After 18 years at MGM, I'm a free agent&nbsp;...I used to go on a bended knee to the front office and say, please give me a decent story. I'll work for nothing, just give me a good story. So what happened? The last time I begged for a good story they gave me ''The Prodigal''."{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=162}} At the time of her contract termination, Turner's films had earned the studio more than $50 million.{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=162}}

[[File:Lana Turner and Betty Field - Peyton Place.jpg|thumb|upright=1|right|alt=Two women facing one another|Turner and [[Betty Field]] in ''Peyton Place'' (1957), which earned Turner an [[Academy Award]] nomination]]
In 1956, Turner discovered she was pregnant with Barker's child, but gave birth to a stillborn baby girl seven months into the pregnancy.{{sfn|Turner|1982|p=154}} In July 1957,{{sfn|Valentino|1976|p=28}} she filed for divorce from Barker after her daughter Cheryl alleged that he had regularly molested and raped her over the course of their marriage.{{sfn|Crane|1988|p=167}}{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 1:01:15}} According to Cheryl, Turner confronted Barker before forcing him out of their home at gunpoint.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2008/11/26/kid-stays-picture |work=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|title=The Kid Stays in the Picture |first=Greg |last=Archer |date=November 26, 2008 |archive-date=January 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105050649/http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2008/11/26/kid-stays-picture }}</ref> Weeks after her divorce, Turner began filming 20th Century-Fox's ''[[Peyton Place (film)|Peyton Place]]'', in which she had been cast in the lead role of [[Constance MacKenzie]], a New England mother struggling to maintain a relationship with her teenage daughter.{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=175}} The film, directed by [[Mark Robson (film director)|Mark Robson]], was adapted from [[Grace Metalious]]' best-selling novel of the same name.{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 1:08:20}} Released in December 1957, ''Peyton Place'' was a major [[blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]] success, which worked in Turner's favor as she had agreed to take a percentage of the film's overall earnings instead of a salary.{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 1:08:25}} She also received critical acclaim, with ''Variety'' noting that "Turner looks elegant" and "registers strongly",<ref>{{cite web|work=Variety|date=December 31, 1957|url=https://variety.com/1956/film/reviews/peyton-place-1200418280/|author=''Variety'' Staff|access-date=May 29, 2018|title=Peyton Place}}</ref> and, for the first and only time, she was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]].{{Sfn|Kashner|MacNair|2002|p=254}} Though grateful for the nomination, Turner would later state that she felt it was not "one of my better roles".{{sfn|Turner|1982|p=181}}