Picnic (1955)
At my house, we watch Picnic every Labor Day weekend. It’s a fantastic movie, and thankfully, the plot revolves around the September holiday, so I get to watch it every year.
William Holden plays a no-good drifter who shows up in a small Americana town and shakes up the residents’ established paths. I’m not really a William Holden fan, so I would have preferred Paul Newman to have been cast as the lead, but he wasn’t a big star yet in 1955. Turns out, Paul was the understudy in the Broadway production of Picnic, so my casting instincts were pretty good!
Betty Field has two squabbling daughters, Kim Novak, the beautiful but not very bright older daughter, and Susan Strasberg, young, gawky, and jealous of her sister’s beauty. Kim is engaged to the well-to-do Cliff Robertson, but when William Holden shows up, her head turns, much to her mother’s dismay. Rosalind Russell plays an old maid school teacher, desperate for her long-time beau Arthur O’Connell to marry her, and although her scenes are my worst part of the film, I feel it might not be fair to blame her performance. It might be her written character who gets on my nerves.
This William Inge classic is a staple on must-see lists, and I suggest you add it to yours. There are unforgettable lines, like Kim Novak’s, “I get so tired of just being told I’m pretty,” and life lessons that really make you think: “You don’t love someone because they’re perfect.” It’s also a wonderful slice of nostalgia, taking place during a time when Labor Day was revered by all as the last weekend of summer vacation. Nowadays, school starts in early or mid-August, so the magic of Labor Day is no longer felt, and is even hard to imagine. But if you can, try to imagine that last precious couple of days of summer when anything is possible, and the most beautiful girl in town can be crowned queen for an evening, the same evening she falls in love with someone who thinks he doesn’t deserve her.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More William Holden movies here!
William Holden plays a no-good drifter who shows up in a small Americana town and shakes up the residents’ established paths. I’m not really a William Holden fan, so I would have preferred Paul Newman to have been cast as the lead, but he wasn’t a big star yet in 1955. Turns out, Paul was the understudy in the Broadway production of Picnic, so my casting instincts were pretty good!
Betty Field has two squabbling daughters, Kim Novak, the beautiful but not very bright older daughter, and Susan Strasberg, young, gawky, and jealous of her sister’s beauty. Kim is engaged to the well-to-do Cliff Robertson, but when William Holden shows up, her head turns, much to her mother’s dismay. Rosalind Russell plays an old maid school teacher, desperate for her long-time beau Arthur O’Connell to marry her, and although her scenes are my worst part of the film, I feel it might not be fair to blame her performance. It might be her written character who gets on my nerves.
This William Inge classic is a staple on must-see lists, and I suggest you add it to yours. There are unforgettable lines, like Kim Novak’s, “I get so tired of just being told I’m pretty,” and life lessons that really make you think: “You don’t love someone because they’re perfect.” It’s also a wonderful slice of nostalgia, taking place during a time when Labor Day was revered by all as the last weekend of summer vacation. Nowadays, school starts in early or mid-August, so the magic of Labor Day is no longer felt, and is even hard to imagine. But if you can, try to imagine that last precious couple of days of summer when anything is possible, and the most beautiful girl in town can be crowned queen for an evening, the same evening she falls in love with someone who thinks he doesn’t deserve her.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More William Holden movies here!
Hot Toasty Rag Awards:
Best Picture of 1955
Best Supporting Actress: Rosalind Russell
Best Musical Score: George Duning
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Director: Joshua Logan
Best Actor: William Holden