Editing Picnic (1955 film) (section)

===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>