State Fair (1945) - film review

Just like every other summer, the Frake family sets out for the Iowa state fair with high hopes, for this is the highlight of their year.  Pa Abel is confident that his prize boar will win a blue ribbon whilst Ma Melissa is determined that her pickles and mincemeat will allow her to get one over her rival.  Daughter Margy hopes to meet the man of her dreams whilst son Wayne laments the fact that his girlfriend cannot join him at the fair.  Whilst Ma and Pa Frake have fun entering the competitions, Margy falls for a newspaper man and Wayne becomes besotted with a singer named Emily.  They can’t all have a happy ending, can they...?

The second film adaptation of Philip Stong’s novel is by far the best, even if it is widely considered to be the weakest of the Rodgers and Hammerstein offerings.  The homespun plot is cuter than a baby koala in pink pyjamas but the feel good mood is infectious and within no time you’re humming along to the jaunty ditties and marvelling at the kitsch splendour of the cinematography.  The musical numbers are less well known than other R&H classics but include the memorable It Might as Well Be Spring, All I Owe Iowa and It’s a Grand Night for Singing.  State Fair is a far more enjoyable film than you might at first think, and the fact that it is far less showy than the later Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptations can only add to its appeal.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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