Picnic: William Holden, The Movie

'I don't know if its such a good idea of me goin' on this Picnic.'

Hal Carter

Picnic

The Film: 1955

Directed by Joshua Logan

Hal Carter played by William Holden

Emotions are ignited among the complacent townsfolk when a handsome drifter arrives in a small Kansas community on the morning of the Labor Day picnic.

With the success of the Broadway show, Picnic was quickly optioned and became a Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film filmed in CinemaScope in 1955, about a year after the play closed in New York.  Joshua Logan, who also directed the Broadway play, was brought on board, but ultimately, wasn't able to bring any of the stars of the stage version.  

Only a few smaller characters were played by their Broadway counterparts, but the main roles were all played by new actors.  William Holden was already cast by Columbia, finishing off his contract with the studio. Logan was responsible however, for choosing actress Kim Novak for the role of Madge Owens.

Although everyone wanted Paul Newman to take on his role of Alan, Newman's movie career was taking off, and could not take the part due to being under contract with Warner Brothers. Logan then cast actor Cliff Robertson.  Robertson had been working on stage, and on television for over a decade, but was still relatively unknown at the time. Picnic was his feature film debut. 

As you can see, Logan's film version utilized Holden's smoldering good looks, and well built physique.  Holden's chest and torso were spotlighted in the film, on the poster, and in many of promotional images. There were so many images of Kim Novak with a shirtless Holden, I couldn't have fit them all in if I tried.

Picnic was a huge success and Holden and the cast even appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in February of 1956.   The film got generally good reviews, including from the NYTimes and Chicago Review, (below)  many pointed out the actor's performances, and the majestic beauty and cinematography.

'It is a taut two hours of masterful movie making ... The story presents a cross-section of many lives, but the telling is never hurried, the detail is impressive, and the performances are some of the finest of the year. ... The film tells a moving and human tale, and does it in superb fashion. It is one of the finest examples of superior motion picture production.'

Holden & Cliff Robertson

Robertson