Festa d'amore

The simpleness, and wholesomeness of this film makes it a treat to watch. The music and songs make it even more enjoyable, and the beauty of Jeanne Crain in this film would make your eyes water. A rare film with Dick Haymes who was always underrated as a singer. I feel lucky to have a VHS copy of this film.

A wonderful look at an America we will never see again-tuneful, romantic and a Happy Ending! State Fair never claims to be the end all and be all, just a sweet look at the tradition of the State Fair put to music. This movie (and the ensuing Broadway Musical) stand on their own next to Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, King and I, Sound of Music, etc.

Jeanie Crain and Dana Andrews play their scenes so effortlessly, you forget its just a 3 day romance. Dick Haymes and the eternal Vivian Blaine have a chemistry that works much better then the Pat Boone version.

I recommend this movie to anyone who wants a break from the tired old action/violence/cheesy comedies of today-it's as much an image of summer as cotton candy and candy apples!

I've never seen the 1933 film version of this; I wish I could say the same about the 1962 mistake, the one with that Black Hole of movies, Pat Boone, a man so bland, he sucks the color from anything he's near. THIS version, however, while certainly not up to what many would probably consider Rodgers & Hammerstein 'standards' (MGM, desperate to release a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, but stymied by the continuing run of "Oklahoma!", quickly made this new version of "State Fair", according to information on the DVD), is gloriously corny, old fashioned, innocent, warm, romantic, those-were-the-golden-days fun, with at least two songs that have truly entered the realm of 'classic': the Oscar-winning "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "It's A Grand Night For Singing". The story is simplicity personified: a mid-western farm family heads to the State Fair. The parents have their eyes and ears on winning their respective competitions (he, for his prize pig, Blue Boy; she, for her pickles and mincemeat), while the children, both young adults, find love and heartache along the way. As the parents, Fay Bainter, born to play mothers, is her reliably warm self, while Charles Winninger brings solid humor to every scene. Dick Haymes plays the son, and gets to sing a few tunes, quite capably, and has a bittersweet romance with Vivian Blaine. (Alas, their union is the only unsatisfactory note in the entire movie: it is established Haymes' character has a sweetheart he's hooked on but when she cannot accompany him to the Fair, he almost immediately falls for Blaine and is straight-away promising his undying love for her, seemingly forgetting about his love back home...until the final moments, when he suddenly has her in his arms. It's a false, almost jarring note.) But Jeanne Crain, despite this being an ensemble piece, easily steals the show, and though it's a shame she didn't do her own singing, she still manages to ably give the impression of a restless young woman yearning for something 'more'. Her romance, perhaps the real core of this film, with Dana Andrews, seems much more real than that between Dick Haymes and Vivian Blaine, and they have definite chemistry, which makes the required "happy ending" a delight. Do I wish it had more weight, more heft, to it, like "Oklahoma!" or "The King & I"? Well, the movie is what it is: a light, airy, corny piece of Americana. Were R & H pandering to the tastes of the common man with this movie? Sure they were! But what's wrong with feeling good? Who exactly is harmed by classic songs, winning performers, a simple story line, and a happy ending? If you're looking for weightier or darker fare, there are any number of musicals to whet your appetite; however, if you're looking for pure fun - and for great tunes that'll stick in your head all day long - look no further: here it is! You'll have a terrific time at THIS "Fair".

Not an academy award movie; BUT, one of my favorites. The characters are good, real country people of the time. So don't judge them against the 2003 world. There are many humerous parts, and as in most movies of that era,it ends with everyone happy and settled. Two of my favorites are Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews. They went on to have long, and very successful movie careers. All in all, a very good, entertaining film.

I've no doubt that on the strength of the blockbuster hit that Richard Rodgers&Oscar Hammerstein had with Oklahoma which was still running on Broadway as this film was being made, that Darryl F. Zanuck offered the team the chance to contribute the songs for a remake of State Fair. Oklahoma in fact was a rural setting and so was Iowa for this second telling of the adventures of the Frake family at the Iowa State Fair.

What today's audiences don't appreciate was that in 1946 the Iowa state centennial was being celebrated. Some bright individual at 20th Century Fox must have realized that and a nice musical technicolor remake of the Will Rogers classic State Fair would be a can't miss at the box office. Providing of course Mr. Zanuck could assemble the talent.

Though the 1933 cast boasted people like Louise Dresser, Lew Ayres, and Janet Gaynor in support of Will Rogers, the accent there was very much on Rogers as it was HIS picture. Here the accent is on the younger generation. Charles Winninger and Fay Bainter play the older Frakes taking their prize hog, Bainter's mince pie, and children Dick Haymes and Jeanne Crain to the Iowa State Fair. Haymes and Crain, together with Dana Andrews and Vivian Blaine as the respective romantic partners carry the film here.

Rodgers and Hammerstein had a lot on their plate back in the day. Besides Oklahoma, Hammerstein was involved in creating a musical version of Bizet's Carmen which became Carmen Jones as we all know. He and Rodgers had another musical open in 1945 that was Carousel and became another American classic. When 20th Century Fox signed them for State Fair, according to a recent biography of Dick Rodgers, they never went west. Rodgers did his music from his estate in Connecticut and Hammerstein wrote the lyrics from his Doylestown, Pennsylvania farm. I guess they met in New York and express mailed the songs to Zanuck in Hollywood.

They put together a real nice score, one song It Might As Well Be Spring won the Oscar for Best Original Song from a film. The rest of the score ain't too shabby either with Isn't It Kind of Fun and That's For Me also sung beautifully. My favorite however is It's a Grand Night for Singing, a song so absolutely infectious you will be singing it yourself for days after watching State Fair.

Andrews and Crain were dubbed by other singers, but Dick Haymes and Vivian Blaine were seasoned musical performers. Haymes recorded all four of the songs above in an album for Decca that sold very well. Haymes had a smooth, but strong baritone and if scandal hadn't blown his career up a few years later, who knows to what heights he might have risen.

Every version of State Fair has something to recommend it. There was even a pilot done in the middle Seventies for a television series based on the time honored Frake family saga. For me however this one cops the prize.