''State Fair'' is a 1962 American musical film directed by

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

and starring

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret. She is known for her roles in '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' ...

Tom Ewell Tom Ewell (born Samuel Yewell Tompkins, April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994) was an American film, stage and television actor, and producer. His most successful and most identifiable role was that of Richard Sherman in ''The Seven Year Itch'' ...

Pamela Tiffin Pamela Tiffin Wonso (October 13, 1942 – December 2, 2020) was an American film and television actress. Early life Tiffin was born in Oklahoma City to Stanley Wonso and Grace Irene (Tiffin) Wonso of Russian and British ancestry, but grew up in ...

and

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime ...

. A remake of the 1933 film ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...

'' and the 1945 film ''

'', it was considered to be a financially and critically unsuccessful film. Richard Rodgers, whose collaborator Oscar Hammerstein had died in 1960, wrote additional songs, both music and lyrics, for this film adaptation of the 1932 novel by

Phil Stong Philip Duffield Stong (January 27, 1899 – April 26, 1957) was an American author, journalist and Hollywood scenarist. He is best known for the 1932 novel ''State Fair'', which was adapted as a film three times ( 1933, 1945 and 1962) and as a B ...

. While the 1933 and 1945 versions were set at the

Iowa State Fair The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa in August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August. Wi ...

, the 1962 version was set in Texas (the family drives through Dallas where the

State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

is held). It was filmed on sound stages at

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in California and on location at various places in Texas, at Mooney's Grove park in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

and at the Oklahoma State Fair Raceway in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, home of the

Oklahoma State Fair The Oklahoma State Fair is a fair and exposition in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It takes place in mid-September each year, and along with the Tulsa State Fair The Tulsa State Fair is an annual event held at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The mode ...

, where the climactic speedway sequence was shot. The novel "

" would be dramatized twice more following the 1962 film. The first ''

'' stage musical, which utilized a variety of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

songs (many originally written for projects not related to the ''State Fair'' film), was first produced in 1969. A revised version of this stage musical was produced in the 1990s and eventually played on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. A non-musical version of ''

'' was also filmed for television in 1976.

Cast

as Wayne Frake *

as Jerry Dundee *

as Margy Frake *

as Emily Porter *

as Abel Frake *

as Melissa Frake *

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and then became the title character of the popular early U.S. television series ''Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 19 ...

as Hipplewaite *

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

as Boy in Stands (uncredited)

Production

production head

Buddy Adler E. Maurice "Buddy" Adler (June 22, 1906 – July 12, 1960) was an American film producer and production head for 20th Century Fox studios. In 1954, his production of ''From Here to Eternity'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture and in 1956, hi ...

announced the film in January 1960 with Rodgers and Hammerstein slated to write new songs for it. Charles Brackett was named producer and

Walter Lang Walter Lang (August 10, 1896 – February 7, 1972) was an American film director. Early life Walter Lang was born in Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a film production company. The business piq ...

was named director. It would be the third version of the film produced by Fox. Adler said that he hoped that the film would be ready by Christmas and that it would not be a musical, but "it will have plenty of songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein." Brackett called the story "... a beautiful property. It's a story about people with simple projects with which the audience can get really involved – the man who wants his boy to get a prize, the woman interested in her mincemeat, the girl who wants adventure and finds a fast young man at the fair." Production was delayed when Adler died in July 1960. Hammerstein died the following month, at which point Rodgers decided to write the lyrics himself. José Ferrer had just made ''

Return to Peyton Place ''Return to Peyton Place'' is a 1959 novel by Grace Metalious, a sequel to her best-selling 1956 novel '' Peyton Place''. Plot summary After the phenomenal success of her first novel, Metalious hastily penned a sequel centering on the life and ...

'' for Fox and was signed to direct. The female lead was given to Ann-Margret, who was under contract to 20th Century Fox. They had loaned her to Paramount to make her first film, ''

Pocketful of Miracles ''Pocketful of Miracles'' is a 1961 American comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Bette Davis, produced and directed by Frank Capra, filmed in Panavision. The screenplay by Hal Kanter and Harry Tugend was based on Robert Riskin's screenplay for ...

'', and this would be her second. Bound by the terms of an old commitment to Fox, she was paid only $500 a week during her three months of work on the production. Alice Faye came out of retirement to play the mother. She wanted

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...

to play her husband, but the role went to Tom Ewell. The film was shot in September and October 1961 at the Texas State Fair Grounds and at the Oklahoma City State Fair Grounds. A

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

teenager named Marvin Lee Aday — later to find fame as singer

— made his first screen appearance in ''State Fair'', as an

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

. He and a friend can be seen pointing at a hog during a scene that features Tom Ewell.

Song list

* "Our State Fair" * "

It Might as Well Be Spring "It Might as Well Be Spring" is a song from the 1945 film ''State Fair''. which features the only original film score by the songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. "It Might as Well Be Spring" won the Academy Award for Best ...

" * "

That's for Me "That's For Me" is a popular song, written by Richard Rodgers, with the lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song was published in 1945 and included in the 1945 version of the musical film ''State Fair.'' Popular recordings in 1945 were made ...

" * "Never Say No to a Man" (added in the 1962 version) – Lyrics and Music by Richard Rodgers * "It's a Grand Night For Singing" * "Willing and Eager" (added in the 1962 version) – Lyrics and Music by Richard Rodgers * "This Isn't Heaven" (added in the 1962 version) – Lyrics and Music by Richard Rodgers * "The Little Things In Texas" (added in the 1962 version) – Lyrics and Music by Richard Rodgers * "More Than Just a Friend" (added in the 1962 version) – Lyrics and Music by Richard Rodgers * "Isn't It Kind of Fun?" (moved in the 1962 version) A soundtrack album was released briefly on

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

, as Boone had an exclusive contract with the label.

Reception

Reviewing the film, ''Diabolique'' magazine later wrote:

It just doesn’t work. It’s not the material. Sure, it’s cheesy, but ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
'' (1965) was cheesy and that came along three years later. I feel the main problem is too many key people were miscast. Jose Ferrer was not the right director and most of the cast fall short of their 1945 counterparts. Tom Ewell seems too urban to play “paw” compared to Charles Winninger. Pamela Tiffin looks like an urban ditz rather than a sweet naive country girl like Jeanne Crain. Bobby Darin (another pop star turned actor) comes across as sleazy rather than sharp like Dana Andrews. Ann-Margret was always better as good girls who looked as though they wanted to be naughty (''
Viva Las Vegas ''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American musical film directed by George Sidney and starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The film is regarded by fans and film critics as one of Presley's best films, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry be ...
'', ''
Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...
'') rather than straight-out naughty girls. Alice Faye looks like Alice Faye coming out of retirement (it was her last film) whereas Fay Bainter felt like a character. The one exception is Pat Boone who is far better than Dick Haymes, but he can't save things.

References

External links

* * *
State Fair Original Trailer (1962)

Texas Archive of the Moving Image The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002 by film archivist and University of Texas at Austin professor Caroline Frick, PhD. TAMI's mission is to preserve, study, and exhibit Texas film h ...

{{Authority control 1962 films 1962 musical films American auto racing films American musical films CinemaScope films American films based on plays Films directed by José Ferrer Films produced by Charles Brackett Films set in Texas Films shot in Dallas Films shot in Oklahoma City Films with screenplays by Sonya Levien Musical film remakes State Fair of Texas State Fair (franchise) 20th Century Fox films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films