Editing Picnic (1955 film) (section)

==Production==
[[File:Sunair Drive-in Ad - 29 February 1956, Cathedral City, CA.jpg|thumb|[[Drive-in theater|Drive-in]] advertisement from 1956]]
Columbia acquired the rights to the play for $350,000 in September 1953.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Up Bids For Stage Plays|date=September 23, 1953|page=3|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n210/mode/1up|access-date=October 7, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>

Harry Cohn offered the job of directing to Joshua Logan, who had directed the stage version. Logan was grateful as he had just had a manic breakdown.

===Casting===
The then 37-year old William Holden was already cast when Logan came on board. Holden was "happy to finish his [[Columbia Pictures]] [[studio system|contract]] with such a prestigious project" despite the film paying him $30,000 instead of the $250,000 he would have otherwise earned.<ref name="tcmarticle"/> In the film, Holden keeps his hair combed in an untidy fringe over his forehead and has the sleeves of his shirt rolled up throughout. He shaved his chest for the shirtless shots and was reportedly nervous about his dancing for the "[[Moonglow (song)|Moonglow]]" scene. Logan took him to Kansas roadhouses where he practiced steps in front of [[jukebox]]es with choreographer Miriam Nelson.

Logan said Cohn suggested that Columbia contract star Kim Novak be cast, but did not insist on it. Logan felt Novak was very close to the character she played. The "blonde bombshell" Novak screen tested twice and was given the part, playing it as a redhead. ''Picnic'' was one of Kim Novak's early film roles, and this movie made her a star.

[[Janice Rule]], who played the part on Broadway, did a screen test, but Logan said that it went poorly. Writer Daniel Taradash pushed for [[Carroll Baker]], and who tested, but Logan felt that she was too young.

[[Eileen Heckart]] played the school teacher on Broadway, but Harry Cohn wanted a bigger name, so Rosalind Russell was cast. This was her first Hollywood movie after a big success on Broadway with her [[Tony Award]]-winning performance in ''[[Wonderful Town]]'' (1953). The film credits her with "co-star" status.

[[Paul Newman]] was under contract to Warner Bros and was unable to reprise his role as Alan, so Logan cast Cliff Robertson, who had been in a touring company of ''[[Mister Roberts (play)|Mister Roberts]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/00josh/page/5/mode/1up?q=picnic+|first=Joshua|last=Logan|year=1978|pages=5–21|title=Movie stars, real people and me}}</ref>

Millie, the independently minded girl who memorizes [[Shakespeare]] sonnets and rebels against her older sister, was an early role for [[Susan Strasberg]], the daughter of prominent [[method acting|Method]] drama teacher [[Lee Strasberg]]. [[Kim Stanley]] played the younger sister on stage, but Logan thought she was too old on film and cast Strasberg.

[[Elizabeth Wilson]] had a bit part as one of the smirking schoolteachers. [[Verna Felton]], a longtime radio and TV character actor who was well-known to audiences in the 1950s, had a strong supporting role as neighbor Helen Potts.

Bomber, the paperboy, was played by Nick Adams, an actor who dated [[Natalie Wood]] and was a friend of both [[James Dean]] and [[Elvis Presley]].

Mr. Benson was played by Raymond Bailey (without his toupee), later known on television as ''[[Beverly Hillbillies]]'' banker [[Milburn Drysdale]].

[[Reta Shaw]], Elizabeth Wilson and [[Arthur O'Connell]] recreated their roles from the original Broadway production.<ref>[[Picnic (play)]]</ref>

===Locations===
The extensive use of Kansas locations highlighted the naturalistic, small-town drama. ''Picnic'' was shot mostly around the [[Hutchinson, Kansas]] region.<ref name="tcmarticle"/> Other Kansas locations include:

* [[Halstead, Kansas|Halstead]] - Riverside Park is where the Labor Day picnic scenes were filmed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Riverside Park Bridge and Falls|url=http://www.kansastravel.org/riversidepark.htm|website=Kansas Travel|access-date=14 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Halstead Kansas|url=http://www.halsteadks.com/2182/Recreation-Events|access-date=14 September 2016}}</ref><ref name=SOP/>{{rp|10}} The merry-go-round and cable suspension footbridge, which spans the Little Arkansas River, still exist in the park on the north side of Halstead.<ref name="GD-Pinic"/>
* [[Nickerson, Kansas|Nickerson]] - the location of the two adjacent houses for the Owens family home and Mrs. Potts. It is where Hal (William Holden) "jumps a freight" to go to Tulsa and where Madge boards a bus in the last scene.<ref name=SOP/>{{rp|11}}  211 and 207 South Nickerson Street are the locations of the two houses, Avenue H was used for the final bus scene.  In the years since the filming, the rail spur was removed and replaced by Avenue G street, and the school was replaced with a modern school.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20231203215318/https://www.georgeduning.com/soundtracks/Picnic/Picnic_Filming_Locations/Nickerson--Picnic_Filming_Locations.html Picnic filming locations in Nickerson]</ref>
* [[Salina, Kansas|Salina]] - the opening scene where Hal jumps off a train, then meets Alan (Cliff Robertson) at Alan's father's large house. This location is also used for the Saline River (where Madge kisses Hal) and the scene where Hal escapes from the police by running under a waterfall.<ref name=SOP/>{{rp|8–9}}  The train and river scene is located northeast of the intersection of Iron Avenue and 4th Street.<ref name="GD-Pinic">[https://web.archive.org/web/20250209180630/https://georgeduning.com/soundtracks/Picnic/Picnic.html Picnic filming location in Salina]</ref>  The Benson home is located at 417 East Country Club Road.
* [[Sterling, Kansas|Sterling]] - where the pre-picnic swim in the lake was filmed.<ref name=SOP/>{{rp|11}}  It was filmed at the Sterling Lake near Van Buren Street.
* [[Hutchinson, Kansas|Hutchinson]] - where the roof top of grain elevator scene was filmed.  It is located on top of the elevator on the northwest corner of 4th Avenue and Halstead Street.

During filming of the picnic scenes in [[Halstead, Kansas]], a tornado swept through the area, forcing the cast and crew to take cover. While the storm spared the set, it destroyed the city of [[Udall, Kansas]], and the film crew drove their trucks and equipment there to help clean up the damage.<ref name=SOP>{{cite journal|last1=Shaffer|first1=Bill|title=The Summer of Picnic|journal=Kansas Heritage|date=Spring 2005|volume=13|issue=1|url=https://www.kshs.org/publicat/heritage/2005spring_shaffer.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www.kshs.org/publicat/heritage/2005spring_shaffer.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live|access-date=14 September 2016}}</ref>{{rp|10}}

Heavy thunderstorms with tornado warnings repeatedly interrupted shooting of the scene on location, and it was completed on a backlot in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], where Holden (according to some sources){{specify|date=February 2014}} was "dead drunk" to calm his nerves.