Paul Newman
Does anyone here know which role Paul Newman played in the Broadway version of PICNIC? According to TCM, it wasn't Hal Carter, but they didn't elaborate.
shareHello Pink Icicle:
I saw PICNIC years ago when I was 14 along with two of my girlfriends from school. I loved this movie then and I love it now. I saw it again on May 16 on Turner Classic Movies. It still is engrossing;it has an aura about it. Almost timeless. And the music in PICNIC is wonderful. I find the score unforgettable. It often comes to my mind: that blending of an old song called Moonglow and the composer's own melodies. Makes you want to get up and dance with someone you really love. A fabulous score!
To answer your question, however----the part of Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson in the film) was portrayed by Paul Newman on stage in New York. Paul should have been cast as Hal Carter in the film PICNIC;he was the right age and a good actor too. And although I admit that William Holden's physique looked absolutely wonderful, his face, especially around the eyes, gave his age away. Yet, Holden did give a great performance. He and Kim Novak in PICNIC ARE ELECTRIFYING!
Hope I have helped you. Goodbye!
Yes, martianesse, thank you. You've answered my question. I wish I had been able to see PICNIC on Broadway as well.
I agree with you that this movie does have a magical aura about it. I love MOONGLOW, and whenever I hear it, I think of PICNIC. I even bought the CD of the soundtrack because I also love the score. I love collecting movie soundtracks.
And I was absolutely blown away the first time I heard the McGuire Sisters sing the PICNIC theme on the radio. It was the first time I had ever heard the lyrics. I immediately downloaded it so I would have it in my collection.
I wonder if Paul was considered for the role of Hal, but maybe he was making another movie at the time and wasn't able to do it. Either that or he wasn't interested. I agree that Holden and Kim definitely had that electricity; and like many other people, that dance scene at the picnic is one of my all-time favorites from any movie!
Thanks for getting back to me on that.
Hello Pink Icicle:
I read your e-mail to me and thanks for your reply. Actor Ralph Meeker who played Hal in the stage production of PICNIC on Broadway was the first to be considered for the role in the film by the play's director, Joshua Logan. He turned it down. Who knows why.
Robert Osborne who hosts Turner Classic Movies(TCM) talked about this one evening when the film was about to be televised. He thought that Ralph Meeker perhaps made a mistake in turning down the role in the film, because his film career never went anywhere. That is true. Meeker made other films, but nothing on the level of PICNIC. This man, Ralph Meeker, was a very good actor and he would have given a great performance in the film. But for some reason he told Joshua Logan "No." (Joshua Logan also directed the film version of PICNIC.)
I don't think that Paul Newman was ever approached for the part. I suggested Paul, because he and Ralph Meeker were the same age when they were in the play together. And both men were good looking and had good physiques; they were in their twenties during the play's run. Paul would have been my next choice after Meeker turned down the film role. HOWEVER, Harry M. Cohn, Columbia Studio Head in 1955, really did not want Broadway actors in the lead roles in the film version of PICNIC. He told this to Logan. He told Logan how he felt and he had his way over Logan. That's why William Holden got the part; he was a super star at that time and no doubt Cohn approved of that.
I must admit Holden gave a great performance in the film, but, truthfully, he was too old for the part. The character of Hal Carter is a young man about 28, not 39 plus with eyes depicting the ravages of acute alcoholism. (Holden's eyes gave his age away and the kind of life he was leading outside the studio.)
However, PICNIC is still a great film from the 1950s. I love it. And both Kim Novak and William Holden seemed very well paired---I guess that makes up for Holden being too old for the role, etc. Just the right chemistry between the two. The dance sequence is fantastic. Kim claps her hands while slow dancing down the steps then moves in close to Holden on the dance floor, stopping just short of kissing him. That entire scene is well photographed and really ignites the senses. Kim and Bill were electrifying together. All in all, PICNIC is a fabulous film.
So long and once again thanks for your e-mail.
Hi Martianesse--
Thanks for getting back to me with the information about Ralph Meeker (I didn't know that he had played Hal on Broadway and that JL considered him as first choice for Hal in the film). That's what I love about these boards (and TCM for that matter). I'm always learning things about the films I watch.
I suppose the studio heads have to make sure the stars of films are good box office, and very few Broadway stars make the transition or are interested in making the transition to the big screen.
I find it so interesting that, even though Holden was too old for the part, the chemistry between him and Kim was electrifying. Amazing what can be conveyed by a look. I agree that the way the scene was photographed made all the difference. Would you know who the photographer was?
Thanks again for sharing some interesting facts about the film.
Hello Pink Icicle:
The cinematographer of PICNIC was James Wong Howe. He was a favorite of my parents who also loved the theater and films and who taught me a lot about the older actors and actresses and films of their time.
James Wong Howe was born in China and came to the US with his family when a little boy. He won two oscars in his film career as a cinematographer: a) The Rose Tatoo (1955) and b) Hud in 1963. Howe was also nominated for other films that he photographed, but didn't win those oscars. Concerning PICNIC, I guess Howe just used the right "stuff" in filming the dance sequence between William Holden and Kim Novak.
Credit has to be given to Joshua Logan as well as Howe. And here's something interesting too: William Holden was not looking forward to doing that scene with Kim Novak, because he had to dance. He felt very awkward. Can you believe that? So Joshua Logan, who knew Holden was alcoholic, took him to a few clubs/bars around town, and got him drunk thus relaxing Holden so much that he was able to do that scene with Kim without any qualms. Apparently the alcohol made Holden so relaxed in the dance scene with Kim Novak, the very best in him as an actor came to the surface. Thus the chemistry was just right! So much so that the direction, the filming of that scene and the music in the background really make the entire movie. (That dance scene is probably the most memorable scene in PICNIC.)
The name of the game in Hollywood is MONEY. And Harry M. Cohn, Head of Columbia, knew that all too well. That's probably why he only wanted a big Hollywood film star in PICNIC---Holden. And not a Ralph Meeker or a Paul Newman, even though both would have given bravura performances too.
On the other hand, Rosalind Russell, who was also a major film actress then, had to fight Harry M. Cohn to play the part of Rosemary Sydney in PICNIC. She wanted to play the part very much, even though it was a supporting role. Cohn didn't want her in that part. And she was a well known major star in Hollywood. She finally convinced him and got the part. She was SUPERB, especially in the scene where she begs in a demanding voice that Arthur O'Connell marry her. Then gets down on her knees and pleads in a more subdued voice to O'Connell to marry her. She was terrific, not only in that scene, but in the rest of the film as well. And Arthur O'Connell (he was in the play) was good also as Russell's longtime bachelor boyfriend, Howard Bevans.
I always thought Rosalind Russell should have been Best Supporting Actress in PICNIC. Harry M. Cohn, after seeing her performance, wanted to campaign on her behalf for the supporting oscar. She didn't want that award. So she was never nominated for it. She always considered herself a major actress, not a supporting actress. And she didn't want a supporting oscar as a result. She would have won it, if she would have cooperated with Cohn and his studio executives.
So long.
Hi Again, Martianesse--
Thanks again for adding to my knowledge of the interesting, behind-the-scenes, facts of PICNIC.
Of course--James Wong Howe. Wasn't he also the photographer in another movie starring Kim Novak--STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET, from 1960? I read somewhere that he considered Kim one of the top 5 most photogenic actresses he had worked with.
I had also read about how Joshua Logan had to "loosen Bill Holden up" before they filmed that scene; I agree that the dance scene is the most memorable scene in PICNIC (and one of the most memorable in all of film history for that matter).
I enjoyed reading your comments about Rosalind Russell. I thought she did a great job playing Rosemary. She and Arthur O'Connell complemented each other very well. I believe Arthur was one of the only actors from the Broadway play to replay his role in the film version.
I found it interesting that Rosalind fought Harry Cohn to play the part of Rosemary and yet she wasn't interested in receiving a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
Take care.
I am so tired of William Holden being referred to as an alcoholic when most actors in Hollywood could have drank him under the table!
Regardless of who could outdrink him or not, he WAS an alcoholic and stupidly died by bleeding to death after slipping on a rug and hitting his head on a bedside table. I remember autopsy reports at the time said he did not die immediately, he was drunk and either unable to call for help or too drunk to realize he was bleeding to death. In addition, earlier in his career he killed someone in a drunk driving accident. He was an exceedingly handsome man and fine actor but had a serious drinking problem.
shareRalph Meeker,born in 1920, would have been 35 in the film version of Picnic. He, like Holden was already starting to look dissipated. Holden was STILL better looking though.
shareMaybe it's something about the Hal character riding the freight railcars but Holden reminded me here a little of Richard Kimble from The Fugitive. David Janssen would have been 24 in 1955 and had the requisite looks and sense of vulnerability to have pulled off this role.
shareWatching Picnic now, and agreed that at 35 Meeker was starting to look older however he was great looking in Kiss Me Deadly, released a year later than Picnic. I really wished he had done Picnic, he was supposedly superb on stage as Hal. I love Holden in most everything, but find him distracting in this role. HIs performance doesn't ring true for me but given the background and knock about life the character of Hal has lived through, I can see how Holden was cast, he seems to age more...I think Paul Newman would have been too fresh looking for the role of Hal...
"Sentiment comes easy at fifty cents a word."
"Fresh"? Paul Newman would've 29/30 while filming Picnic, much more preferable to someone who is a decade older!
sharePaul Newman took over the part of Hal when Ralph Meeker left the Broadway production. Joshua Logan thought Newman was physically too slight for the role — didn't have enough sexual presence — but Logan apparently let him do the lead role after playing the support role for many months because Newman was a dedicated young actor who deserved a better showcase for his talents.
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