Texas-Show

This was the "updated" version of the original State Fair. The locality of this remake is Texas, not Iowa, as the original version was, which may make it seem "bigger" but not really "better". Alice Faye (who was in the original) is great, and Bobby Darin stole the show as the smooth talking big town guy, while Ann Margaret sparkled as she sang and danced during her production numbers, "Isn't It Kinda Nice". The music is wonderfully done, as always, and I truly wanted to enjoy this film more than I did. Boone was musically at the top of his form in this film and makes a valiant try in the dramatic parts of his role of Wayne, but the dramatic parts were just not as believable as his singing. The musical scenes were very good, and made the movie fun! It's a whimsical look back at a time which probably never was this clean cut. However, I do remember the importance of State Fairs, with its 4-H and farm demonstration, carnivals, family atmosphere, and introduction of young people in domestic and farming activities. To win FIRST in anything at the State Fair is BIG stuff. This part of the film rings very true. The plot is thin, because the music was the important part of the film. A DVD is currently available of both versions of "State Fair" (1942 and 1962 version). Anyone interested in comparing the two should view this DVD. Still "State Fair", whichever version you view does have songs which make it a "grand night for singing". Joyce

I see the reviews, I see the number ratings, I don't understand.

In my opinion this is an excellent movie. I'm not a movie critic, I don't have a degree in film arts or even drama. I'm just a retired high school math teacher. That said, I find so many things about this film to be so positive and endearing.

Pat Boone is great, Ann Margaret is beautiful and the the rest of the actors were so enjoyable. The songs and music are outstanding and best of all you can understand every word of every song. Yep, you guessed it, I'm an old guy, I'm 63 and I had the pleasure of seeing this film on its first run in the theater in Nashville, Tennessee. I loved it then and I loved it tonight after watching it for the first time in 40 years on the new DVD widescreen Cinemascope release. I still have the LP vinyl 33 1/3 RPM original movie soundtrack. Love it too.

Some critics seem to feel that everything is too polite, too sweet, too clean to be realistic, but I'll tell you, that's the way it was where I grew up 40 years ago. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did tonight. 10/10

I saw this film in the theater as a nine-year old and loved it. I saw the film again the other night on DVD and what do you know? I still loved it. The silliest criticism that I saw about this film concerned the location filming at a real Texas State Fair. This criticism offered the theory that the people at Fox couldn't afford to build proper sets for the film due to the financial drain of "Cleopatra", so they had to settle for cheaper location filming! The location filming and the wide-screen sweep of the fairgrounds are what add to the appeal of this film. Also, not one review that I read commented on the exciting auto racing sequences which were certainly well-staged. The five additional songs written by Richard Rodgers were lovely and in the tradition of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The performances were uniformly good, especially Ann-Margaret, whose first movie filmed this was. ("Pocket Full of Miracles" was released first but filmed second.)

I was in the 2nd grade at Lakewood Elementary and I can remember a man coming into our classroom and telling us he was going to make a movie at the State Fair and he needed kids to ride the merry-go-round, and who wanted to be in it? We all raised our hands. I ran all the way home from school and ran into the house shouting to my Mom that "I am going to be in a movie". And I was! Our job was to ride the merry-go-round and sing. We sat underneath a tent, while we were taught the words to the song (of course professional child singers were who you heard). I can name almost every one of the kids you see in the move, including me.

My Dad had to get me a social security number so I could get paid $25.00 per night for two nights. The cool thing is that my social security number is listed out of California. My Mom took me shopping and let me buy a doll with the money I made.

Oh, the memories! Our State Fair is a great State Fair, don't miss it, don't even be late. Its dollars to donuts that our State Fair is the best State Fair in our State! Vicki A.

I think this 62' remake of STATE FAIR doesn't deserve the bad rap it's been getting and has in the past. While it is not a great musical, it certainly has its credits. Yes, the original is better, but let's give credit where credit is due for this re-make. First of all it was great to see Alice Faye back on screen. She did a more than admirable job, as did Tom Ewell as Abel. They are definitely on par with the orginials. Pat Boone is quite wonderful as Wayne, better that Dick Haymes. Bobby Darin was his usual egotistical self which fits the character well, although I like Dana Andrews a bit more. The real standout is Ann-Margret. Not only is her one splashy number great, but she really shows her acting chops, especially in her final scene with Pat Boone. You can certainly see why she became a huge star and has been working for over 40 years and still is. Sorry to see her in her drunken frumpy roles, however. The only real disappointment is Pamela Tiffin. She looks the role but is unlovable as Margy. She looks and acts a bit snooty. Jeanne Crain was terrific in the original. The new songs that were added were good to great. The story changes were also interesting, although it looks like bits and pieces might have landed on the cutting room floor. Interesting that in both versions of the film, the parents never meet or have scenes with the kids boy/girlfriends. Now that this movie is on DVD, it should be a must seeing for all fans of STATE FAIR. Stero sound, wide screen a real fair as opposed to the orginals matte studio sets. A nice commentary by Mr. Boone as well.