I liked it, although it is not up to par with it's 1945's predecessor. The 1945 film was absolutely charming, and this one does fall short in some areas. The romances do not seem quite as fulfilling as in the earlier version, yet the musical numbers are something to gawk at.
Ann-Margret is stunning at the beginning of her career and practically steals the show. Pamela Tiffin is charming and surprisingly manages a southern accent very well, while the hopelessly miscast Pat Boone is giving it his all to be a Texas farm boy and it just doesn't seem to work out. However Bobby Darin is darling as a self - centered reporter who falls for Tiffin without realizing it. The remake uses all of the songs from the original musical, minus "I Owe Iowa" which was replaced with "The Little Things in Texas" due to the change in setting. Its new songs are very good, and while Margret's jazzy remake of "Isn't it Kinda Fun?" raised a few eyebrows, the musical direction is very well done and fully satisfying.
Really the only drawback to this production is in comparison with its two earlier versions. The love stories in the 1945 version were more complete, the acting a little more sincere, and the story more innocent. This 1962 version obviously had a much bigger budget to work with and it comes across in the musical numbers. It is a worthwhile production and a good movie.
Plot summary
The Frakes - father Abel Frake, mother Melissa Frake, young adult son Wayne Frake and eighteen year old daughter Margy Frake - are a farming family from Banning, Texas getting ready to go to the multi-day Texas State Fair in Dallas as they do every year. Wayne is too preoccupied with entering his red sportster in the Gold Cup car races against his arch rival Red Hoertert than really notice that his unofficial fiancée Betty Jean isn't going to the fair. And Margy is just preoccupied with the thought of being in a relationship with a real man, instead of the courtship she has with the boorish Harry Ware. At the fair, Melissa is hoping she made the right decision regarding the mincemeat she has entered for judging, she dealing with her temperance view against Abel's assertion that the mincemeat would taste better with some brandy. The competition is even more cutthroat as commercial producers have entered several of the food competitions including mincemeat this year. And Abel may have some problems with his potentially prize winning boar, Blueboy, who is, for reasons unknown to Abel, lethargic. Wayne forgets all about Betty Jean when he meets Emily Porter, a performer and model at the fair. Emily, who travels the fair circuit, admits to Wayne that there have been a long line of men like him, although she admits to herself that none have been "him" for who she is also falling. Similarly, Margy forgets all about Harry when she meets Jerry Dundee, an on-camera personality covering various aspects of the fair. Jerry is less forthright with Margy than Emily was with Wayne that he too has had his fair share of women, however none quite as trusting as Margy. Can both the Frake children's romances extend beyond the length of the fair, especially considering their big city versus farm life differences, Emily's which would naturally have her on the next train to the next fair, and Jerry's which may take him to a more lucrative job with some national scope?
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A cute, if somewhat overdone remake of the '45 musical
"Don't Miss It, Don't Even Be Late"
The third and probably the last remake of State Fair is this one which came out in 1962 and starred current pop stars Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Ann-Margret, and Pamela Tiffin. The first three did their own singing, Anita Gordon's voice dubbed Tiffin. That continues a tradition from the second State Fair where Jeanne Crain's voice was also dubbed.
The Frake family changes states in this one though. The first two films had them in Iowa, but here they're Texans and they go to the State Fairgounds in Dallas. The change in states also necessitates a new song for the score with the parents played here by Tom Ewell and Alice Faye. The Little Things In Texas is done with grace and style by these two veteran performers. Alice who has aged gracefully into the mother role also has a solo where she gives her daughter Tiffin some sage advice about handling the new man in her life Bobby Darin. Never Say No To A Man, but definitely keep him guessing.
The main body of the score that Rodgers&Hammerstein wrote for the 1945 version is kept intact though. Again ironic that the Oscar winning song from the 1945 version is again dubbed. It Might As Well Be Spring comes out of the mouth of Tiffin as it did with Jeanne Crain. Maybe one day someone will sing it for real on screen.
My favorite song from the score is It's A Grand Night For Singing which is one of those numbers that just leaves you with a glow. It's sung by the entire cast, both generations who are just celebrating life and love at the State Fair. It's sung by the main players wherever they are at the moment in the case of Bobby Darin and Pamela Tiffin on the Ferris Wheel at the Fair, the same as Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain did in the 1945 version.
Recently I learned that Andrews was a good singer, but kept that fact from 20th Century Fox lest he be cast in silly musicals. So all we get of him is a few lines with Crain and the chorus pretty much drowning him out. However with a real singer in Bobby Darin that necessitated writing one good number for him. Richard Rodgers who did both the music and lyrics as he did for No Strings on Broadway wrote for Darin a rather plaintive ballad This Isn't Heaven which Bobby sings well.
With musical tastes changing I doubt we'll see another remake of State Fair. Where are the voices to sing the songs? So I would say take the advice that opening number, it's a great state fair, don't miss it don't even be late.
Leaden and disappointing
As I am very fond of the 1945 film, I was eager to see this remake. By all means I wasn't expecting it to be as good as the 1945 film, but at least to be watchable. This 1962 State Fair has its moments, but overall I found it very disappointing. For starters I found the pace very stodgy and Jose Ferrer's direction leaden, also Ann-Margret's dance number was torrid and overdone. The story was not a strong point of the original, but it was still charming and had plenty of cute scenes. The plot here however was dull and flimsy on the whole, and the characters aren't likable, Emily and Wayne particularly are under-developed. Of the cast, Ann-Margret and Bobby Darin for me were the only ones that stood out, Pat Boone is miscast and Alice Faye looks bored and sounds tired. Her song was seemingly a showpiece for her, but was just odd both in how it was placed and some of the lyrics. I will say the film does look very nice and the songs mostly are wonderful, though a few of the new songs are just serviceable. All in all, a leaden disappointment. 4/10 Bethany Cox