|
I'll always have a certain amount of affection for State Fair. Being a budding theatre buff, it was the first show I was involved in, and a complete blast to perform. The premise and execution behind State Fair makes it plenty likeable on a different set of terms. Sure, it's one of the corniest things ever put to paper, but the 1945 film version, starring Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews, coaxes you into appreciating its simple, good-natured charms.
The time has come for the latest Iowa State Fair, and the easygoing Frake family is getting ready for the big event. Matriarch Melissa (Fay Bainter) hopes to wow the judges with her pickles and mincemeat (laced with more than just a little liquor to give it a special kick), while her husband Abel (Charles Winninger) dotes over his prized boar, Blue Boy, in hopes of winning the swine competition's grand award.
Jeanne Crain
The last thing that their kids, Margy (Crain) and Wayne (Dick Haymes), expect to do at the fair is find true love in the arms of another, but that's exactly what happens. For Margy, the worldliness of cynical reporter Pat Gilbert (Andrews) woos her almost instantly, while Wayne falls head over heads for Emily Edwards (Vivian Blaine), a beautiful singer. Over the next few days, these individuals find their love for one another being tested in various ways, but above all; this state fair is going to be one that they'll never forget.
This State Fair is the second cinematic version of Philip Strong's novel, sandwiched between a leaden, non-musical take from 1933 and a 1962  adaptation that met with mixed results. The 1945 rendition is probably the best known, having established most of the show's signature tunes by Rodgers and Hammerstein. From the Oscar-winning "It Might as Well Be Spring" to the much-reprised "It's a Grand Night for Singing," it's the songs that really make the film.
The movie feels dated at times; specifically in how it depicts a state fair as some magical wonderland where anything can happen as opposed to these days, when fairs pretty much just featured every fast food known to man. The tunes, however, go a long way in elevating such a mundane event into the realm of veritable cinematic fantasy.
With director Walter Lang (who re-teamed with Rodgers and Hammerstein for The King and I) enhancing the picture with a colorful, almost Douglas Sirk-like sheen, State Fair is a film for hopeless romantics. It's one of those pictures where you can't take the plot seriously for a single moment, especially since it hinges on events like winning a pickle contest. Some viewers may get swept up in the film's wide-eyed idealism, but have difficulty buying into Margy falling for Pat. But Crain's lovely looks (as well as her dubbed singing voice, performed by Louanne Hogan) and Andrews' low-key smarminess will change that. The same goes for the Wayne/Emily aspect of the story, although this relationship is handled more convincingly.
State Fair isn't overly simplistic or even lazy in its aims, but rather an innocent list of priorities it wants to fulfill. Its goal to entertain the eyes and ears with a little song and dance isn't perfectly accomplished, but has enough good vibes to make it worth a look.
Director: Walter Lang
Writer: Oscar Hammerstein II, based upon a novel by Philip Strong (adaptation by Paul Green and Sonya Levien)
Cast: Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Charles Winninger, Fay Bainter
Rating: No MPAA Rating (nothing offensive)
Classic Movie Guide Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Run Time: 100 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Format: Color, fullscreen
Photo credits: 20th Century Fox
|
