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Picnic is a story of an old party boy, football star, army vet, and womanizer finally coming to age and realizing he wants more out of his life. The entire film takes hold in a small Kansas town in the nineteen-fifties where grain is king. On Labor Day a shirtless Hal Carter, the tragic hero of the story, wonders into town with no money and no where to stay. He only has the pants around his waist, his determination to change his ways, and the name of an old college friend, Alan Benson. While Hal has been unable to find himself after college Alan has worked his way up into a well paid office position at the local grain elevator. Hal admits his envy for Alan and in turn is offered a job as a laborer at the elevator. Meanwhile two sisters, Madge and Millie Flo, are having a falling apart as Madge is dim and beautiful and Millie is a bright tomboy.
As the plot unfolds Madge is a damsel in distress being pressured by her single mother to marry Alan, not for love but for upward economic mobility. Like the small town stereotype this Kansas town holds a great picnic every Labor day where everyone in town can be found. I found this to be the most interesting scene in the movie. The movie was able to capture the spirit of the fair in such activities as watermelon eating contests, three-legged racing, etc. All the different kinds of people in the town are on display, the young laborers, the golfers, and of course, the town drunk. With little actual dialog this scene was able to capture the energy of small town events, display the wide array of people that make up that town, and most importantly set the scene for one of the steamiest moments in Hollywood up to that time.
Just the story in itself I feel shows the age of this film. Focused around a man that wants to settle down with a pretty lady and start a career is not something you will find coming out of Hollywood these days. This just shows the willingness at the time to be assimilated into culture and live by its ways. Today it seems that most movies are of an opposite note highlighting the midlife crisis of men and woman that realize that being settled is not what they want and they search for the youth within them self. Overall I enjoyed this movie and feel that it is relevant to the class because it provides a lens to see into the dynamic culture of the prairie during the golden age of small town, USA.