FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT PRESENTS: "PICNIC"

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Last Winter while at the downtown library working on selections for "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" for 2007, I had four pages filled with notes about movies. This movie was on my "Definite" list; I studied it in my high school film class. William Holden plays Hal Carter, a rugged, good-looking, mature-aged actor who left California to seek a peaceful life in a small town in the Mid-West. In fact, Holden was 37 and worried about being "too old" to mix it up with Kim Novak who is striking. Rosalind Russell reportedly refused to be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for reasons I'll never know, but she is terrific as the school teacher Rosemary. The Alan Benson character (William Holden's college chum) was played by Paul Newman on Broadway, but actor Cliff Robertson steps in on this 1955 film. And one has to understand that it is quite a riske' film for its time. A drifter, Carter shows up in a small Mid-West town during a Labor Day Picnic. The mix of sexual repression, lost dreams, and the hope of a second chance amid a town that is so out-of-sync with the rest of the forward-moving world all collide in this William Inge play. Holden was reportedly so worried about having to dance in the "Moonglow scene", he boozed it up and was actually imbibed when the scene was shot. A compelling movie! Check out this phenomenal cast: William Holden is Hal Carter; Kim Novak is Madge Owens; Betty Field is Flo Owens; Susan Strasberg is Millie Owens; Cliff Robertson is Alan Benson; Arthur O'Connell is Howard Bevans; Verna Felton is Helen Potts; Reta Shaw is Irma Kronkite; Nick Adams is Bomber (the paper boy); Raymond Bailey is Mr. Benson; Elizabeth Wilson is Christine Schoenwalder; Rosalind Russell is Rosemary. Directed by: Joshua Logan; Screenplay by Daniel Taradash from the Original Play Written by William Inge. To quote William Holden behind the wheel of the car he is about to blast off in "Hang on!" WINNER 1956 ACADEMY AWARDS: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: William Flannery, Jo Mielziner and Robert Priestly; Best Film Editing: Charles Nelson and Willian A. Lyon. NOMINATIONS: Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Arthur O'Connell; Best Director: Joshua Logan; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: George Duning; Best Picture: Fred Kohlmar.

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Just in time for a hot summer. Enjoy it!