Overview
A drifter's arrival disrupts the idyllic charm of a small town picnic, igniting passions and rivalries.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- wistful
- sincere
- melancholic
- classic movie night
- romantic drama evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's vivid CinemaScope presentation, human performances, and compassionate adaptation while finding its dramatic material somewhat overextended.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Labor Day picnic brings the town's intertwined romantic, family, and class tensions into public view.
Hal Carter's arrival unsettles Madge, Alan, Rosemary, and the Owens household.
The relationships and emotional outbursts center on attraction, loneliness, marriage expectations, and sexual repression.
The Labor Day picnic concentrates the film's major encounters and confrontations.
Films like Picnic, and why
Come Back, Little Sheba
small-town romantic drama shaped by social repression, frustrated desire, and an outsider's disruptive arrival
The Apartment
classic Hollywood romance combining emotional repression, class differences, and vivid community observation
All That Heaven Allows
romantic drama about social constraint, status, and yearning within a tightly observed American community
Movie Details
- Director
- Joshua Logan
- Release Date
- 1955-11-18
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (113)
Cast
- William Holden
- Kim Novak
- Rosalind Russell
- Betty Field
- Susan Strasberg
- Cliff Robertson
- Arthur O'Connell
- Verna Felton
- Reta Shaw
- Nick Adams
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Picnic about?
- A restless drifter’s arrival at a Kansas Labor Day picnic awakens buried desire and destabilizes a town’s carefully maintained social order.
- What is Picnic like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Picnic as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Picnic violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Picnic.
- What did critics think of Picnic?
- Critics broadly praised the film's vivid CinemaScope presentation, human performances, and compassionate adaptation while finding its dramatic material somewhat overextended.
- Which films are like Picnic?
- Films with a similar feel include Come Back, Little Sheba, The Apartment, and All That Heaven Allows.
- How long is Picnic?
- Picnic runs 114 minutes.
- Where can I watch Picnic?
- In United States, Picnic streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
