Cult Flops - State Fair (1962)

20th Century Fox, 1962
Starring Pat Boone, Pamela Tiffin, Ann-Margaret, and Bobby Darrin
Directed by Jose Ferrer
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers

If this looks familiar, I reviewed the original 1946 musical last September. Fox had been trying to get a remake off the ground since 1960, with more music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. By the time the movie came out two years later, Hammerstein had passed away, leaving Rodgers to write the new music on his own. How does this bucolic story look over fifteen years later and taking place in a different state fair? Let's head back to the Frake farm, this time in Texas, to find out...

The Story: The Frakes have high hopes that this state fair will be their best ever. Mrs. Frake (Alice Faye) is putting her money on her mincemeat. Her husband (Tom Ewell) is coddling his enormous pig, Blue Boy, in order for him to win a blue ribbon. Son Wayne (Boone) wants to win the state car racing championship. Daughter Margie (Tiffin) just wants to get away from her steady but dull boyfriend. Mr. Frake makes a bet with a gloomy neighbor (

On his first day at the track, Wayne meets Emily (Ann-Margaret) when she poses with a few drivers. He's smitten the moment he sees her. Turns out she's a dancer and model at the fair's theater who performs at various fairs throughout the US. It takes her a little longer, but she falls for him, too. Margie finds her own man in Jerry (Darrin), a fast-talking TV reporter who is covering the fair for a local station. He claims to have a girl in every city, and she's uncertain about him at first, but he finally brings her around. Wayne, however, has a girl at home, and Emily's not the type of girl you bring home to mother. Not to mention, Jerry's angling to work in a bigger market.

The Song and Dance: I have no idea why they moved this to Texas from Iowa, but it does make for some nice cinematography. There's some lovely widescreen shots of dusty Texas, especially in the beginning on the Frake farm. Location shooting at the real-life Texas and Oklahoma state fairs helps add to the southwestern feel.

Pat Boone and Ann-Margaret are by far the stand-outs here as the girl who's been around and the boy who's wild for her, no matter what kind of a woman she is. Boone comes off as surprisingly sexy and charismatic, given his squeaky-clean image, and matches red-hot Ann-Margaret better than you might think. Their chemistry lends their love scenes an unusual amount of heat for a musical.

Favorite Number: Boone gets a relaxed "That's For Me" around the car track after he first meets Emily and falls for her at first sight. Of Rodgers' solo contributions, my favorites were the adorable "More Than Just a Friend," sung by Mr. Frake to Blue Boy when he's trying to buoy his spirits at the fair, Boone and Ann-Margaret's lovely duet "Willing and Eager," and the Frakes' sweet song on the merry-go-round at the fair, "The Little Things In Texas."

Trivia: Alice Faye came out of retirement to appear in this film.

This was Ann-Margaret's second movie after Pocketful of Miracles.

This was not the last version of State Fair, though to date it's been the last on the big screen. A stage version with additional music from other Rodgers and Hammerstein shows made Broadway briefly in 1997, and a non-musical TV film debuted in 1976.

What I Don't Like: This movie has the opposite problem from the 1946 State Fair. Here, it's Margie and her suitor who are the dull ones. Bland Tiffin barely registers (and is dubbed), and Darrin is so smarmy and creepy, you wonder why Margie's interested in him. Faye and Ewell are cute together, but neither especially feel like Texas farmers with young adult children.

There's music problems, too. The remaining Rodgers solo songs aren't nearly as memorable as the originals. Darrin's ballad "This Isn't Heaven' is especially dull. "Isn't It Kind of Fun" becomes an inexplicably strange number for Ann-Margaret and the chorus. It starts with cutesy romance and ends with her and the chorus in black outfits and a sexy red background, and it just doesn't work. Jose Ferrer, who mainly worked in drama, probably wasn't the best choice to direct a rural musical, either.

The Big Finale: Like this summer's version of The Lion King, this remake simply was not necessary. Only worth checking out if you're a major fan of Boone, Faye, or Ann-Margaret. Everyone else is probably fine with the 1946 film.

Home Media: Currently, this can only be found on the out-of-print 2-disc special edition State Fair DVD set. Check used venues or look for it occasionally on TCM.

DVD