Picnic

Picnic is a 1955 American drama and romance set in a small farming town in Kansas over the Labor Day holiday. Hal Carter, a drifter with no money and no ties, arrives by freight train hoping to look up Alan Benson, an old college acquaintance and the son of the town's wealthiest man. Hal's arrival unsettles the community, particularly the Owens household. Madge Owens is the local beauty, and she is involved with Alan. Her younger sister Millie, their mother Flo, and Rosemary, a schoolteacher, are all caught up in the preparations for the town's Labor Day picnic. Hal's presence at the gathering stirs up long-standing tensions and romantic complications among the people around him.

The film was directed by Joshua Logan, his first feature, and was followed by Bus Stop, Sayonara, South Pacific and later films. Daniel Taradash wrote the screenplay, and Fred Kohlmar produced it for Columbia Pictures. William Holden plays Hal, with Kim Novak as Madge, Rosalind Russell as Rosemary, Betty Field as Flo, Susan Strasberg as Millie and Cliff Robertson as Alan. Made for about 3 million dollars, it took roughly 9 million dollars worldwide.

On IMDb it holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from around 11,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.4 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 6.6 out of 10 from 11 reviews places it close to the audience scores.