Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Picnic

Play trailer Poster for Picnic PG Released Nov 10, 1955 1h 55m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
50% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Charming Hal Carter (William Holden) turned to wandering after a failed acting career left him loose in the wind. Interested in reuniting with an old college friend, Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson), Carter bums a train ride to a tranquil Kansas town. Alan greets him warmly, and together they join the community in a picnic celebration of Labor Day. However, his welcome quickly sours when sparks ignite between him and Alan's girlfriend, Madge Owens (Kim Novak).
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Picnic

Critics Reviews

View All (12) Critics Reviews
Derek Prouse Sight & Sound If any integrity of intention was there at the beginning, it has somehow hopelessly miscarried. Mar 30, 2020 Full Review Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: 5/5 Oct 21, 2004 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Clunky and awkward, with inane dialogue, it's a movie to show how attitudes have changed. Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand [William] Holden is years too old for the role but oozes sex appeal and makes a swoony stud when he takes his shirt off (or when, better yet, it’s ripped from his back... Jan 7, 2023 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Though the film sticks with few sets and characters, resembling its stage origins, it’s still effective as a theatrical relationship drama. Rated: 7/10 Sep 22, 2022 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews For its day, Picnic caught the mood of an uptight America in what goes for an edgy 1950s drama. Rated: B Jul 14, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (132) audience reviews
Sebastyen D A lot of ripped shirts for no apparent reasons. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/05/24 Full Review Lanfranco C Rebel Without a Cause 2.0 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/04/23 Full Review Blobbo X If take out RossalindRusell drunk make fool of self scenes and make William Powell or whatever his name is 20 years younger, movie not be bad. Novak is appealing as is Sue Strasberg. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 08/22/23 Full Review klr d Fairly risque for the 50s in American cinema. It's a solid and memorable melodrama that will stay with you. I'm surprised the consensus score isn't higher. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/15/23 Full Review Russ Not as bad as I thought it might be; it's as corny as Kansas in August in places and melodramatic in others but it has its moments. Thirty-seven year old William Holden robs the cradle of 22 year old Kim Novak, both playing characters a few years younger; Madge is 19 and we're left to presume that Hal is probably in his early 30's. Miss Novak is surprisingly good in this which leads me to wonder why she wasn't in a lot of good pictures during her career; she was often relegated to fluff films like "Boys' Night Out." An aging Rosalind Russell is good as the spinster school marm who's loosened up by some whiskey at the titular picnic. Is that Cliff Robertson playing Holden's rival in the love triangle, or just a look-alike/sound-alike? It's flawed by an implausible "Love Will Conquer All" ending. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/18/23 Full Review CodyZamboni Watchable trashy soap opera. Movie's character motivations got from zero to unbelievable in seconds,. I liked that entire movie shot on location, with a real feel for small town ambience, people, details, culminating in the huge picnic, William Holden is fun and engaging at the start, but after dance, he makes stupid decisions, Kim Novak's performance is distant and not engaging, The huge standout is girl who plays Millie. She is so charming, pretty, energetic and fun. Movie works best when Holden hangs out with her. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Picnic

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

The Swimmer 100% 82% The Swimmer Watchlist Model Shop 83% 45% Model Shop Watchlist Kramer vs. Kramer 90% 89% Kramer vs. Kramer Watchlist TRAILER for Kramer vs. Kramer East of Eden 86% 90% East of Eden Watchlist X, Y & Zee 29% 35% X, Y & Zee Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Charming Hal Carter (William Holden) turned to wandering after a failed acting career left him loose in the wind. Interested in reuniting with an old college friend, Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson), Carter bums a train ride to a tranquil Kansas town. Alan greets him warmly, and together they join the community in a picnic celebration of Labor Day. However, his welcome quickly sours when sparks ignite between him and Alan's girlfriend, Madge Owens (Kim Novak).
Director
Joshua Logan
Producer
Fred Kohlmar
Screenwriter
William Inge, Daniel Taradash
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 10, 1955, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$24.0K
Runtime
1h 55m
Most Popular at Home Now