Picnic

Year: 1955

Grade: C

Country: USA

Director: Logan

Review

“50s small town melodrama” probably best describes the film. william holden plays a drifter who is looking for an old pal to hook him up with a job. quickly he become enamored with his old pal’s girl (novak) and things get hairy. most of the film revolves around the town picnic which is taking place on the day that holden arrives. it provides a setting for situations of all sorts, as well as bringing the whole town together so we can get a better view of small town culture. all the women, save for the grandma, are repressed in various ways – novak’s character is repressed by the expectations that come from her own good looks, her sister plays the smart girl who is socially awkward with boys, and rosalin russell plays an old school teacher who is as nutty as they come. the acting and music cues are totally overdone, but that’s just part of the melodrama style. james wong howe (yankee doodle dandy, hud, sweet smell of success) does the cinematography which is good, but didn’t really pop out to me. the final shot is famous because it’s one of, if not the, first shots from a helicopter in a film. i had actually seen this once before, but completely forgot about it. it’s the kind of thing your grandparents might like, but it wasn’t for me.