Was Holden Too Old?

I do think he was -or at least looked- too old for the role, because it was supposed to be a young rebel. The other characters are all the time emphazising the topic of the youth to justify his behavior.

Animal crackers in my soup
Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop

William Holden -- too old for the part? Not the right type for the part? (In the text of William Inge's play, "Hal" is described as "an exceedingly handsome, husky youth.") Opinions vary but I think we can agree that Holden was largely cast in this part for his boxoffice appeal. No other actor of his day would have brought to "Picnic" the commercial clout which Holden wielded. But if we ignore boxoffice considerations, other actors might come into play. May I suggest Rod Taylor, who'd recently arrived in Hollywood and who'd been doing a bit of TV work. (He appeared with Clint Walker in the third episode of "Cheyenne.") Taylor would have been 25 years old at the time of the "Picnic" filming. He was good-looking, had a certain cocky charm, and could plausibly have charmed all the women in that small Kansas town. He also looked tempting with his shirt off, whether he shaved his chest or not. I'm not saying he would have done a better job than Holden. I'm simply offering this to stimulate discussion.

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I love William Holden. I think he was one of the best film actors. But I do think he was way too old for the role. Not just in years, but also looks. It was around this time that the years of carousing started to show on Holden's face making him lose a little bit of those great looks to a more weathered appearance which served him well in later roles. Granted he was in great shape and always one of the best athletes on film, but he seemed to be out of place especially playing contemporaries against the much younger and much, much more youthful, baby-faced Cliff Robertson.

Also, it seemed to me that Holden was sort of playing "dumb" in this part. He looks like he's playing a big boy who just gets caught up in the moment; acts and speaks before he thinks, needs to show off, etc --- He's playing it rather than owning the role as Holden almost always did in his other films. Being a very intelligent actor it seemed like he couldn't do what other intelligent actors like Paul Newman and Marlon Brando could do. In other words, this is one of the only films I've seen William Holden "acting" where as in all of his other films he is seemless and natural.

For example in the scene at the picnic where Holden gives Hal's "my father speech" you don't see the sense of shame that Hal carries and the bravado and deperation for attention just are not real. Holden seemed awkward with the speech and many other related scenes.

Ironically, one Holden's killer scenes was the one he had to get drunk to do and that was the dance sequence with Kim Novack. He was great there and even lit a fire under the far less experienced, Kim.

Newman, Brando, Dean and dare I say it maybe even old Rock Hudson could have pulled the role off much more naturally than the otherwise very gifted and talented Holden.

Holden was way too old to play the role of Hal Carter. He was almost 38 when the movie was shot however his character was at least 10 years younger. Not to mention that Holden at the age of 37 looked already older than his age. I hardly can imagine Johnny Depp playing a 20 something character, and Depp at the age of 45 looks way younger than Bill Holden!

Holden was a good actor but "Hal Carter" has to be one of his worst performances ever, albeit being honest is not completely his fault. Joshua Logan shouldn't have cast him for that role in the first place.

Yes, Holden was waaaay too old for the role. He could not pass as 20 or early 30 something. He was in his 40s but I thought he looked 50. A fit 50, but not a young buck.

It was creepy. I tried to watch it but couldn't get past the age difference, especially when the mother called Holden "young man" and he looked like her peer.

Terribly miscast.

Bill Holden dripped of more sex appeal than Paul Newman ever thought of having.