State Fair (1962)

Director:

José Ferrer

Writers:

Paul Green (1945 screenplays)
Oscar Hammerstein II (1945 screenplays)

Release Date:

9 March 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Musical

Tagline:

So fresh and wonderful with Richard Rodgers' NEWEST melodies and NEWEST lyrics!

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Male Female Relationship | Singing | Pig | Fair

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Pat Boone	...	Wayne Frake
Bobby Darin	...	Jerry Dundee
Pamela Tiffin	...	Margy Frake
Ann-Margret	...	Emily Porter
Tom Ewell	...	Abel Frake
Alice Faye	...	Mrs. Melissa Frake
Wally Cox	...	Hipplewaite
David Brandon	...	Harry
Clem Harvey	...	Doc Cramer
Robert Foulk	...	Mincemeat Judge
Linda Heinrich	...	Betty Jean
Tap Canutt	...	Red Hoertert (as Edward 'Tap' Canutt)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill Lee	...	Emily's Dance Partner (singing voice)

Runtime:

UK:118 min | USA:118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The race scene takes place in Oklahoma City at the Oklahoma State Fair Raceway. You can almost make out the bottling facility on Pennsylvania that stands to this day. The raceway is still there and races take place year round. There is talk of demolishing the stands in order to make more parking.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

It Might As Well Be Spring

Still a Great State Fair

For the most part, I wish everyone would stop comparing remakes with the originals. I will be the first to admit that sometimes a remake doesn't make it such as Bette Midler's version of Gypsy. She once said that she was born to play Madam Rose; Oh No She Wasn't! Bad Choice! So, what about the remake of State Fair? Well, for one thing, the cast was better than the original and there was the look that it was really filmed at a State Fair. I guess we should say that the original movie was good for its time, and the same thing can be said for the remake; that it's good for it's time! Another thing that this remake has going for it is the extra songs that was not in the original: Sweet Hog of Mine, very funny, with Tom Ewell actually doing his own singing; Never Say No To A Man sung by Alice Faye to her daughter Margie played by Pamela Tiffin; Willing and Eager sung by Ann Margaret and Pat Boone; You're Not An Angel sung by Bobby Darin to Pamela Tiffin; and The Little Things In Texas sung by Tom Ewell and Alice Faye as they take a ride on the Merry Go Round at the Fair on the last night of the Fair.

Once again, Margie's voice is dubbed, but this time by Anita Gordon and in case anyone is interested, in the original, Jeanne Crains voice was dubbed by Luanne Hogan. Other than that, everyone did their own singing in the remake in which the songs were more energetic than they were in the original. Ann Margaret's version of Isn't It Kinda Fun with David Street, another Cincinnati, Ohio talent, was a lot better than in the original, and That's For Me made more sense when Pat Boone sang it while watching Ann Margaret walk away from him in her sexy walk obviously copied from the Marily Montoe walk that Marilyn was so famous for ever since she filmed Niagra! Having Alice Faye come out of retirement was a good idea for 20th to pull off. She wasn't too happy with the movie and the way it turned out, but who cares? Just seeing her again on the screen and still being able to sing in her throaty style was great to hear, and no one could spit out the line the way she did when she told Pat Boone how she felt about Margie's boyfriend Harry when she claimed that Harry was about exciting as watching grass grow! Great version! Loved it! Much better than the very stage looked first version, and it still proves that Our State Fair Is Still a Great State Fair!