Holden stars as Hal Carter, a drifter looking for some purpose in his life. He comes into a small town in Kansas via a boxcar, looking for his old college buddy, Alan, hoping his friend can provide him with a good job with the family business. Hal never figured that he would stir up the entire town in only one day. He meets, and is immediately smitten, with Madge Owens (Novak), who is not only the town beauty queen, but just so happens to be the trophy girlfriend of Alan. Hal manages to charm everyone at first, but at the title event, things take a turn, and soon everyone is against Hal, except for Madge. Holden was 36 at the time of filming, and he does an excellent job as an aging man still trying to hang on to his schoolboy charm, in part by telling tall tales. Novak is stunning as Madge. Throughout the entire movie, she complains that she is tired of being looked upon as just pretty, feeling that she has to compete with her younger sister, Millie (Susan Strasberg), an intelligent tomboy, even for her mother's love. That said, Kim Novak is so uniquely beautiful, that you can't help being blinded by her beauty. At one point, at the picnic, she and Alan are sitting together next to a tree, and all that he can manage to get out is "You are so beautiful". You can see that, as nice as these words are, they have become meaningless to her. She manages to convey this thought with one look. That simple scene solidifies Novak's strong performance. Rosalind Russell is wonderful as the over-the-hill school marm who becomes nasty when she's drunk. Howard Bevans is equally impressive as her apprehensive boyfriend. "Picnic" is a true classic. Watch for the dance scene between Madge and Hal. It's spectacular!
