Ok so this was my first recommendation from a friend. It's a story of love, but more than that it's about how people make the wrong decisions and whether or not they can fix them. It also portrays a kind of irony in that every character says they want one thing, but really long for something else
William Holden is Hal Carter a down on his luck guy that train jumps his way to Kansas, where his old college buddy Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson) lives. Kim Novak is Benson's girlfriend, Madge, and of course Madge and Hal hit it off right away, despite the fact that she's promised to Alan. There are a few side characters that are affected by "the picnic" as well, set on Labor Day 1955.
It all gets rather messy right as Madge is crowned queen of Neewollah, Halloween spelled backwards. But anyway, you'll just have to see for yourself. It's easy to discount as it does have a kind of Harlequin romance novel air to it, but if you pay attention you can spot lots of ironic things. Why the whole crowd was doing the chant... well I don't know, but still, it's a good summer movie. Watched instantly of course.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Classic Film Friday: Picnic
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1 comment:
When I think of this movie, I think of my teen-age hormones, but getting past all that, Picnic the movie is really a Hollywood version of Picnic the play which is based on an even earlier short play by William Inge.
The sexiness may not seem much now, but in the 50s it was groundbreaking, and I can still see Madge undulating along to "Moonglow."
Someone smarter than I am said, "
The role of alcohol and sexual impropriety is a common theme in Inge's work, which serves as a contrast to the American Dream image so familiar to 1950s audiences—that of white picket fences surrounding perfect people leading perfect lives. The women in Picnic are all looking for a way to escape the boredom and loneliness of their lives, and the men of the play are confused and unsure of what they want. While embraced by mass audiences for its superficial charms, critics lauded Inge's play for its much darker themes. Picnic has come to be regarded as a pioneering drama for its frank depiction of sexuality and its subliminally cynical take on the ‘‘love conquers all’’ hypothesis.
Thanks for choosing this one, MH.
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