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Picnic (1955)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
16 February 1956 (USA)
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Tagline:
Electrically attracted to each other...Overwhelmingly engulfed by it...Guiltily in love! more
Plot:
Emotions are ignited amongst the complacent townsfolk when a handsome drifter arrives in a small Kansas community on the morning of the Labour Day picnic. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Picnic
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Drifter
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Kansas
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Small Town
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Beauty Queen
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Awards:
Won 2 Oscars.
Another 1 win
&
10 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(7 articles)
William Inge's Picnic Opens Triad Stage's Ninth Season, Runs September 6-27
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 19 August 2009, 5:08 AM, PDT)
Ask the Flying Monkey! (May 27, 2009)
(From AfterElton.com. 26 May 2009, 5:16 PM, PDT)
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 19 August 2009, 5:08 AM, PDT)
Ask the Flying Monkey! (May 27, 2009)
(From AfterElton.com. 26 May 2009, 5:16 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Flawed but Haunting and Powerful
more (87 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast) | William Holden | ... | Hal Carter |
 | Kim Novak | ... | Marjorie 'Madge' Owens |
 | Betty Field | ... | Flo Owens |
| Susan Strasberg | ... | Millie Owens |
 | Cliff Robertson | ... | Alan Benson |
| Arthur O'Connell | ... | Howard Bevans |
| Verna Felton | ... | Helen Potts |
| Reta Shaw | ... | Irma Kronkite |
| Nick Adams | ... | Bomber |
| Raymond Bailey | ... | Mr. Benson |
| Elizabeth Wilson | ... | Christine Schoenwalder (as Elizabeth W. Wilson) |
 | Rosalind Russell | ... | Rosemary Sidney |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
115 min | USA:113 min (DVD version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.55 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
UK:A (original rating) |
UK:U (re-rating) (1990) |
West Germany:12 |
France:U |
Finland:K-12 |
Sweden:15
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Insisting on authenticity, director Joshua Logan filmed in several Kansas towns, including Hutchinson, only 75 miles from Udall, a town leveled by a tornado days after filming began. "It's gotta look like Kansas and it will if I have to kill every last one of ya!," the volatile Logan yelled at his cast. William Holden suffered a leg gash on a railroad signal light, Kim Novak was stung on the hip by a bee underneath her $500 Jean Louis gown, and Rosalind Russell was "bruised from earlobe to toenail during a wild gambol across a suspension bridge." A local 70-year-old "spinster" saw her film debut canceled when she broke both legs and several ribs during a fall down an embankment. Filming was interrupted almost daily by hailstorms and "wailing" tornado warnings. The actual picnic was on a muddy fairground at Halstead, Kansas. Cast and crew were "half-consumed" by "carnivorous" bugs. Phone calls had to be made from old-time crank telephones at Halstead's Baker Hotel.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Toward the end of the film when Hal hops a freight train to Tulsa, he jumps onto a boxcar that has its door shut. He climbs the ladder and stands on top to wave to Madge. In this long shot the boxcar door is now open.
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Quotes:
Rosemary Sidney:
Look at that sunset, Howard!
Howard Bevans: A sunset's a beautiful thing, all right.
Rosemary Sidney: It's like the daytime didn't want to end, isn't it? It's like the daytime was gonna put up a big scrap, set the world on fire to keep the night from creeping on.
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Howard Bevans: A sunset's a beautiful thing, all right.
Rosemary Sidney: It's like the daytime didn't want to end, isn't it? It's like the daytime was gonna put up a big scrap, set the world on fire to keep the night from creeping on.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Quantum Leap: Good Night, Dear Heart - November 9, 1957 (#2.17)" (1990)
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FAQ
How does the movie end?A Note Regarding Spoilers
Where is the story supposed to be set?
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more (87 total)
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Picnic offers superior acting all around, some great cinematography, and a number of excellent scenes, including the famous dance sequence between Holden and Novak. The writing, unfortunately, veers between wonderful and maudlin, and the movie feels outdated in many ways. Worst of all, the directing and music can be heavy-handed at times, clubbing the viewer with melodrama in some of the key moments, when a more subtle approach would have turned this into a real classic.
Yet, despite its flaws, there's something special about this film. It has a haunting quality that I can't quite put my finger on. A kind of nostalgia - not for the supposed innocence of small-town life, which the film shows to be a myth, but for the disappearing natural wildness of ourselves as people, the primitive element in humanity that both causes problems and gives us real vitality.
My wife and I found ourselves discussing Picnic at length over dinner the following night and even watched several of the scenes again. There are many good details and powerful moments scattered among the weaker parts. I appreciated William Holden's performance even more the second time around - his sense of impatience and desperation are palpable. And he's such a great presence on the screen - I wound up watching him more than Novak in the dance sequence. In fact, my one disappointment with this scene is that Novak doesn't serve as his cinematic equal. She's no Bacall who can fill the screen with Bogart. Rosalind Russell and Arthur O'Connell both do great jobs, especially during the scene where they are discussing marriage. Susan Strasberg pulls off a difficult role and manages to look even more attractive than Kim Novak at times, reminding me of a young Winona Ryder.
The Holden and Novak characters are both viewed as sexual objects, yet they're actually quite humble people who can't handle the shallowness of the society around them and who are searching for genuine love. William Holden is always a pleasure to watch, and his fans should find this role particularly interesting. Picnic won't go down as a great film, but there is a great film lurking somewhere inside it.