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Plot Synopsis from AllMovie
One of the biggest box-office attractions of the 1950s, Picnic was adapted by Daniel Taradash from the Pulitzer Prize-winning William Inge play. William Holden plays Hal Carter, a handsome drifter who ambles into a small Kansas town during the Labor Day celebration to look up old college chum Alan (Cliff Robertson, in his film debut). Hoping to hit up Alan for a job--or a handout--Hal ends up stealing his buddy's fiancee Madge Owens (Kim Novak). Hal also has a catnip effect on spinster schoolteacher Rosemary Sydney (Rosalind Russell), so much so that Rosemary makes a fool of herself in front of the whole town, nearly driving away her longtime beau Howard Bevans (Arthur O'Connell). Persuaded by his friends and family that Hal is no damn good, Madge is prepared to break off her relationship. As anyone who remembers the film's famous overhead closing shot knows, however, Madge is ultimately ruled by her heart and not her head. For a film set in Kansas, there's an awful lot of New York talent in the supporting cast (Susan Strasberg and Phyllis Newman come immediately to mind); still, the Midwestern ambience comes through loud and clear, especially during the perceptively detailed Labor Day picnic sequence. Broadening the film's appeal is its George Duning-Steve Allen title song, a variation of the old standard "Moonglow". Two sidebars: The original Broadway production of Picnic starred Ralph Meeker and Paul Newman; for the film version of Picnic, William Holden was obliged to shave his chest, lest his hairy torso cause the female moviegoers to conjure up impure thoughts.

Review from AllMovie
Based on a highly acclaimed play and awarded numerous Oscar nominations, Picnic has not aged as well as many other films from the same period. What in 1955 seemed daring and erotic now comes across as overly obvious and frightfully tame, a great deal of much ado about nothing. Worse, the film belies its stage origins, always feeling like a play instead of a movie, despite logical attempts to open it up. Speeches which had a significant impact onstage come across as mannered and artificial, and director Joshua Logan has a difficult time setting up shots and sequences involving more than two or three characters. Still, there's an undercurrent of deeper meaning underneath the surface that still manages to make its presence felt in a powerful way, and the famous dance segment still packs a punch. Although too old for the part, William Holden conveys the hidden desperation and fear of his character well and has the right physical presence the role requires. Kim Novak gives one of her better performances; the somewhat disconnected feeling she brings to her roles works well for a young girl who is disconnected from her surroundings and her future. Many may feel that Rosalind Russell goes too far over the top, but it's a brave attempt that mostly works and that creates some touching and deeply painful moments. As her love interest, Arthur O'Connell has a quite strength that plays very nicely off of Russell. Picnic also benefits from its rich cinematography, capturing the golden tones of a summer day with beauty and precision, and from its sinuous score. Logan would direct the film version of another Inge play, Bus Stop, the following year.

Review from San Francisco Chronicle
Picnic,'' the film version of the William Inge play, comes to the Castro this week in a welcome but odd revival. Virtually everything that made it hot stuff in 1955 seems dated today. Yet not enough time has passed for the film to have interest as a curio.

The awkward middle ages of acclaimed films end in one of two ways: critical resuscitation or oblivion. As far as ``Picnic'' goes, I'm not taking any bets.

In its favor are a credible performance by William Holden and a star-making role for Kim Novak -- though Novak's appeal is somewhat lost to history. As Madge, a small-town girl about to become engaged to a local millionaire, Novak is a blond blank with little going on behind her eyes -- except, possibly, fear of the camera.

``Picnic'' has the reassuring structure of a well-made play. The first part anticipates the annual town picnic. The second shows the picnic (an evocative slice of small- town life, with three-legged races and pie-eating contests). And the final part shows the aftermath.

The picnic's consequences all surround a drifter who comes to town and changes everyone's life. As Hal -- a charming, lying, fast- talking, he-man loser -- Holden acts at a sustained level of intensity. And the fact that he looks slightly too weathered for the role only helps. Hal is at the end of his rope. His act is getting old.

Luckily for him, 19-year-old Madge is young enough to be impressed by his wild stories, and she responds to his raw energy. They dance together at the picnic, a slow dance that seemed erotically charged 41 years ago. But today the dance barely registers, not just because we're used to seeing more but because it's hard to be impressed with the passion of a vapid young woman. Like Liv Tyler in ``Stealing Beauty,'' Novak makes an all-too-convincing airhead.

In the world of ``Picnic,'' Madge can parlay her looks into a financially comfortable marriage or rebel by falling in love with some slob and becoming his domestic slave. When she is elected queen of the picnic, Madge says, rather pathetically, ``I'll try to be a good queen. Most of all, I'll try not to become conceited.'' The poor thing is expected to be humble, too.

At all costs Madge has to make sure not to wind up like the town spinster, Miss Sydney, played by Rosalind Russell. Russell mugs and carries on shamelessly as this needy and spiteful lady -- by comparison, her over-the-top performance in ``The Women'' is a model of restraint. Here it's hard to decide whether Russell is great or awful, but she is undeniable -- which to my mind, is closer to great.

``Picnic'' is good at exposing the limited options of a pretty girl in '50s small-town America. But Inge (and director Joshua Logan) don't present her options as equally tragic. ``Picnic'' is in love with the idea of throwing it all away for some fleeting romantic illusion. That attitude masquerades as wisdom, and is accentuated by George Duning's loud, intrusive score. But today it seems naive.

On the plus side, the cinematography is spectacular, the brand- new print pristine. At worst, ``Picnic'' offers a pleasant trip back to a time when sex was such a big deal that it rarely happened.











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