Picnic (1955)

 

Picnic - 1955

Coming up next is 1955's "Picnic", a film about a man who arrives in a small town and disrupts the lives of those he meets.

The film's cast includes William Holden, Kim Novak, Betty Field, Susan Strasberg, Cliff Robertson, Arthur O'Connell, Verna Felton, Reta Shaw, Nick Adams, Rosalind Russell, and Elizabeth Wilson.

Hal Carter is a drifter who arrives in a small town in Kansas by train.  He's just passing through on his way to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he has a job lined up.  Finding himself unemployed after getting out of the army and having a failed Hollywood career, he has to bum rides to get to his destination.

In this quiet town resides Mrs. Flo Owens with her two daughters, Madge and Millie.

It's on eldest daughter Madge that Flo pins all her hopes and dreams.  When Madge tells her mother that she expects too much from her because she's only nineteen, Flo replies with, "And next summer you'll be twenty, then twenty-one, and then forty."

Also residing with the Owens girls is Miss Rosemary Sidney, a middle-aged spinster schoolteacher.

The day of Hal's arrival is also the day of the town's annual Labor Day picnic.  The culmination of which will be the crowning of the "Queen of Neewollah".  The whole town seems to come out for the event.

There are games and activities of all sorts for the members of the younger generation.

And there are even events for the older folks to get involved in.  The whole crowd enthusiastically cheers on Mrs. Helen Potts as she gives the balloon blowing contest her all.

That night in a very solemn ceremony, the new "Queen of Neewollah" is announced.  No surprise, it's the very pretty Ms. Madge Owens.

Hal watches Madge from the shoreline as she is borne by a swan-shaped paddle boat to the landing.  They manage to get out a very shy "hello" to each other as she passes.

They spend the evening dancing together, and everybody remarks on how nice a couple they are.

Everyone, that is, except Rosemary Sidney.  Jealous of the attentions that Hal is paying to Madge, she drunkenly slanders him and causes the entire town to turn against him, including Madge's mother, Flo.

Nothing anyone can say diminishes Madge's affection for Hal.  They sneak off and spend the rest of the evening together.

Before he leaves for Tulsa the next day, Hal begs Madge to follow him later so they can be married.  Flo, naturally, pulls her daughter in the opposite direction.

Flo later talks with her neighbor Mrs. Potts, who helped Hal when he first came to town by letting him work for some breakfast.  Mrs. Potts feels that Hal is a good man and won't hurt Madge.  Flo is still very resistant.

The good word of Mrs. Potts is all it takes for Madge to make her decision.  They hug goodbye.  All the while Flo is still trying to talk her daughter out of it, even as she watches her walk off.  When Flo comments to Mrs. Potts that there is so much she wanted to tell Madge and never got around to it, Mrs. Potts says, "Let her find out for herself, Flo."

Madge heads to a bus, which will carry her to Tulsa and a new life with Hal.

Cast rundown:

   William Holden..................................Hal Carter

   Kim Novak........................................Madge Owens

   Betty Field........................................Flo Owens

   Susan Strasberg................................Millie Owens

   Cliff Robertson...................................Alan Benson

   Arthur O'Connell................................Howard Bevans

   Verna Felton......................................Helen Potts

   Reta Shaw.........................................Irma Kronkite

   Nick Adams.......................................Bomber

   Rosalind Russell.................................Rosemary Sidney

   Elizabeth Wilson.................................Christine Schoenwalder

And that's it for Picnic.  William Holden was very nervous about his dance scenes with Kim Novak in the movie.  Hoping that they would cut the dance scenes altogether, Holden demanded an additional $8,000 in salary.  The studio paid out, and he was forced to do the scenes, though he was allowed to be drunk for them to calm his nerves.  The studio also wanted Rosalind Russell to be promoted for an Academy Award for her performance as Rosemary.  However, the actress refused to be considered for a "supporting" category, and the scheme was abandoned.  It was felt that she would have won the award had she cooperated.

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Teacher's Pet (1958)

 

Teacher's Pet - 1958

Coming up next we have 1958's "Teacher's Pet", a story about a tried and true newspaperman who takes a modern journalism college course.  Initially, taken as a joke, the class teaches the man more than he ever thought he could learn.

The film's cast includes Doris Day, Clark Gable, Gig Young, Mamie Van Doren, Nick Adams, Marion Ross, Charles Lane, and Jack Albertson.

Newspaperman Jim Gannon is an editor for a big city newspaper.  One day he receives an invitation to address a college journalism class.  Jim sends a scathing reply to the professor and forgoes the honor.  However, his boss tells him that he needs to go.

Jim goes to the class and sees a very pretty instructor, Ms. Erica Stone.  Before he has the chance to introduce himself, he finds himself sitting in the class as she reads his letter out loud.

He winces as he hears the remarks he's made in the letter.  He also gets very annoyed when she makes fun him after she's read it.  He begins to get an idea.

Jim decides to show Ms. Stone a thing or two about journalism and enrolls in the class as "Jim Gallagher".  When he corrects her teaching, she begins to get annoyed with him.

Erica gives him an assignment and says he can have the weekend to finish it.  Thinking she's given him much more than he can handle, Erica smirks as she watches Jim head to the back of the class to begin work.

Needless to say, she's completely shocked when Jim hands in the assignment five minutes later.  She reads it aloud to the class and proclaims that it is the best assignment she's ever had in one of her classes.

Erica's attitude towards Jim changes considerably, and she looks on him as her star pupil.

Jim begins to develop feelings for Erica, and he has her checked out at the newspaper office.  He finds out she's dating a psychologist named Dr. Hugo Pine, who has written a great many books.  Jim thinks he must be some old man who has nothing to do but write.  However, when he sees Pine's picture on the back of one of his books, he's caught by surprise.

After going to see Erica to see if she has any intention of giving up Pine, Jim concedes defeat and decides to give up.  He kisses Erica goodbye.  She's angry, shocked, and then flustered.  After he leaves, she staggers to sit in a chair and has to cool herself off by fanning herself with some papers.

Jim decides to follow Erica and Pine to dinner one night.  He brings along a date of his own.  Jim mentions to his date that Pine is a psychologist, and she asks what a psychologist is.  "A guy who gives all kinds of advice about things he knows nothing about," is Jim's reply.

When his date goes off to perform (she's a singer at the nightclub they are at), Jim joins Erica and Stone at their table, where he tries to match wits with the eminent psychologist.

At the end of the night, Jim and Erica end up having a good laugh at Pine's expense.

They end up beginning a romantic relationship, something Erica definitely didn't expect.

Things come to a screeching halt one day when Erica finds out that "Jim Gallagher" is in fact the Jim Gannon who wrote her the insulting letter she read out to her class.  Disappointed, she ends the relationship.

Have no fear.  With the assistance of Hugo Pine, Jim and Erica come to see each other's point of view and begin their relationship anew.

Cast rundown:

   Doris Day............................Erica Stone

   Clark Gable.........................Jim Gannon

   Gig Young...........................Dr. Hugo Pine

   Mamie Van Doren.................Peggy DeFore

   Nick Adams.........................Barney Kovac

   Marion Ross........................Katy Fuller

   Charles Lane.......................Roy

   Jack Albertson.....................Guide

And that's it for Teacher's Pet.  Cary Grant and James Stewart turned down the role of Jim Gannon as they both felt they were too old for the part.  The movie was filmed in black and white to disguise Clark Gable's age and weight.  There was a twenty-one-year age difference between Gable and Doris Day.  Gable's wife, Kay Williams, used to visit the set and regularly brought treats such as homemade popcorn, boxes of chocolate, and fresh pretzels.  This film was nominated for the American Film Institute's list of the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.

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