State Fair

20th Century Fox, 1945
Starring Jeanne Crain, Charles Winninger, Dick Haymes, and Dana Andrews
Directed by Walter Lang
Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein

First of all, Musical Dreams Reviews Blog will be going on hiatus from this Saturday through next Friday. I'll be on vacation for most of next week. There will be an extra review this week to make up for it. For now, let's head to Iowa with the Frake family to attend the State Fair, which proves to be life-changing for several members...

The Story: The Frakes have big plans for their trip the Iowa State Fair. Mrs. Frake (Fay Bainter) has high hopes that her pickles and mincemeat will win the top food prizes. Mr. Frake (Winninger) makes a bet with a gloomy neighbor (Percy Kilbride) that his huge hog Blue Boy will win first prize, and that nothing bad will happen to him or his family. Wayne (Haymes) is disappointed that his girlfriend Eleanor can't go, but is looking forward to taking on a carnival barker who humiliated him the year before. Margie (Crain) just wants to get away from her bore of a boyfriend and the stifling day-to-day life on the farm.

They all get what they want eventually, in very different ways. Margie meets handsome reporter Pat Gilbert (Andrews) at the roller coaster and falls hard for his charm and sophistication. Wayne gets help with the barker (Harry Morgan) from Emily Edwards (Vivian Blaine), who turns out to be the singer with the orchestra at the fair's night club. Emily, however, has her own romantic problems, ones she really can't explain to sweet Wayne.

The Song and Dance: Crain and Andrews, despite both being dubbed, are the best things about the movie. She's sassy and sweet in turns; he's the epitome of the dashing reporter of the movies of the 30's and 40's. Bainter and Winninger are also adorable and quite believable as an old married couple, and Donald Meek is hilarious as a judge at the mincemeat competition. The bucolic atmosphere of a typical midwestern state fair is so beautifully done, you can practically smell the popcorn and grease from the roller coaster on the midway.

Trivia: This is the only film musical Rogers and Hammerstein did expressively for film. All of their later movie musicals were adaptations of their Broadway shows.

"It Might as Well Be Spring" won Rogers and Hammerstein their only Oscar for Best Song.

It's also the second of three film versions of the 1932 book. There was a non-musical film in 1933 with Janet Gaynor as Margie and Will Rogers as Mr. Frake. The musical was remade in 1962, with Ann-Margaret as Emily, Pat Boone as Wayne, Pamela Tiffin as Margie, and retired singer Alice Faye as Mrs. Frake.

Favorite Number: While Margie's ballad of longing "It Might as Well Be Spring" won the awards and was a hit, I prefer the ensemble number at the fair "It's a Grand Night For Singing" and the sprightly "That's For Me," especially in the second version performed by Margie and Wayne the day after they meet their respective partners at the fair. Their little dance routine is too cute and really does look like something a brother and sister would throw together for fun in the morning. Blaine and Haymes have also have a nice duet at a party, "Isn't It Kinda Fun?"

What I Don't Like: In contrast to Crain and Andrews, Blaine and especially Haymes are stiff and a bit dull as the lovers involved in the slightly darker plot. This is not for people who like their musicals big, bold, and sophisticated. It's a simple, down-home story about romance and pig contests at a midwestern fair. Some of the attitudes about big city folks vs rural residents and farmers are a bit dated today, as is the completely unnecessary character of McGee, the nasal New York song plugger. This is also the lightest version of this story. The other two film versions retain more of the darker elements from the original book, including more of Emily's seduction of Wayne.

The Big Finale: Evidently critics were rough on this when it came out, complaining about the bucolic plot and characters and calling it average. I think it's mostly worn well. If you like Rogers and Hammerstein or want to try a smaller and more rustic musical, this charmer is definitely worth checking out.

Home Media: I'm afraid my 60th Anniversary DVD set featuring this and the 1962 film are out of print on DVD at press time and is only on Blu Ray in a set with other Rogers and Hammerstein films. Your best bet may be streaming services like Amazon Prime.

DVD 2-disc set (with 1962 version)
The Rogers and Hammerstein Collection on Blu Ray
Amazon Prime