State Fair (1945)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Walter Lang

Writers:

Paul Green (adaptation)
Oscar Hammerstein II (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 August 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Romance

Tagline:

For the young in heart! And romantic oldsters, too!

Plot:

Farm family Frake, with discontented daughter Margy, head for the Iowa State Fair. On the first day...

Plot Keywords:

Fair | Farm | Iowa | State Fair | Rural Setting

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jeanne Crain	...	Margy Frake
Dana Andrews	...	Pat Gilbert
Dick Haymes	...	Wayne Frake
Vivian Blaine	...	Emily Edwards
Charles Winninger	...	Abel Frake
Fay Bainter	...	Melissa Frake
Donald Meek	...	Hippenstahl
Frank McHugh	...	McGee
Percy Kilbride	...	Dave Miller
Harry Morgan	...	Barker (as Henry Morgan)
Jane Nigh	...	Eleanor
William Marshall	...	Marty
Phil Brown	...	Harry Ware
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Harvey	...	Simpson (managing editor)

Also Known As:

It Happened One Summer (USA) (TV title)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

New Zealand:G | New Zealand:PG (Special Edition DVD) | Australia:G | Canada:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Russell Ranch - Triunfo Canyon Road, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The stage version of "State Fair" opened at the Music Box Theatre on March 27, 1996 and ran for 110 performances.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: During the penultimate scene (the veranda scene), Wayne Frake leaves the house. As he leaves, stepping off the veranda, the camera tracks right, and the shadow of the boom mic appear on the wall of the house as Wayne continues to move off set.

Quotes:

Margy Frake: Speaking of affairs, Eleanor's on the phone.
Wayne Frake: Christmas, why didn't you say so!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (#9.12)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

ISN'T IT KIND OF FUN?

Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical that receives too little credit

State Fair was the first musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein to be made into a movie. For this reason, possibly, it receives far too little credit and is not one of their best loved works. Personally, I think State Fair should rank up there with The Sound of Music. It has a tremendous musical score and great acting by the wonderful Jeanne Crain. More people should view this movie as a masterpiece instead of Rodgers and Hammerstein's first attempt at making a movie.