Picnic (film)

Picnic (Picnic) is a film directed by Joshua Logan based on the play of the same title written by William Inge, released and published in 1953 on Broadway. The play won several awards, including the Pulitzer for Best Drama in 1953. The film won two Oscars, for Best Art Direction and Best Editing with four other nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Arthur O'Connell), and for Best Music.

Plot

Hal Carter, a young adventurer arrives in a small town in Kansas, USA, where he wants to visit his old college classmate, Alan Benson. It turns out that Alan is the son of the richest man in town, has a comfortable life and will be the heir to the empire that his father has built, and has a girlfriend, Madge who lives with her mother, sister (Susan Strasberg) and a teacher of high school (Rosalind Russell) to whom they rent a room.

Hal is a young man with no accomplishments and haunted by a difficult past. He went to college on a football scholarship, which he notices Madge, a much younger woman. She wants to be appreciated for more than just her beauty, but that she is overshadowed in intellectual fields by her younger sister. Feelings arise between them that change and make them question, in a single day, the lives and values of all of them.

Alan promises Hal a steady job as a "wheat picker" at his plantation, although Hal had unrealistic expectations of becoming an executive in the future, he invites Hal to the town's Labor Day picnic. Hal is wary of going to the picnic, but Alan talks him out of it, saying that the 'date' is a good one. Hal's play will be young Millie, who is quickly drawn to Hal's cheerful attitude and charisma.

Cast

• William Holden: Hal Carter
• Kim Novak: Marjorie 'Madge' Owens
• Betty Field: Flo Owens
• Susan Strasberg: Millie Owens
• Cliff Robertson: Alan Benson
• Rosalind Russell: Rosemary Sydney
• Arthur O'Connell: Howard Bevans
• Verna Felton: Helen Potts
• Reta Shaw: Irma Kronkite
• Raymond Bailey: Mr. Benson
• Nick Adams: Bomber

Subliminal advertising

In 1957, advertiser James Vicary said he had included subliminal advertising that read eat popcorn and drink Coca-Cola on Picnic passes. i> for six weeks, resulting in sales of Coca-Cola and popcorn having increased 18.1 percent and 57.8 percent, respectively. Vicary later confessed that it was all a lie and that his "experiment" it was just a publicity stunt.

Shooting

It took place in locations in Kansas, favoring the small-town vibe of the film. Picnic was shot for the most part in Hutchinson, Kansas. Other locations include:

• Halstead, for the scenes of the picnic. The pedestrian bridge over the Little Arkansas River is still there.
• Nickerson for the Owen family house.
• Salina, for the initial scene where Hal jumps from the train and the waterfall scene.
• Sterling, for the lake scene.

Remakes

Picnic had two remakes for television:

• 1986, with Gregory Harrison, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Learned, Rue McClanahan, and Dick Van Patten.
• 2000, with Josh Brolin, Gretchen Mol, Bonnie Bedelia, Jay O. Sanders, and Mary Steenburgen.