365+ movies in 365 Days: Day 116 - Summer's End Film Festival: State Fair

Nothing says summer like a big State Fair.

In 1944 Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma was a big hit on Broadway. It was so popular that 20th Century Fox couldn't buy the rights to make a movie of it. So they did the next best thing. they hired Rogers and Hammerstein to write a new musical.

Fox dusted off the 1933 film State Fair and Rogers and Hammerstein created their only musical written directly for the movies. In 1945 the musical remake of State Fair was released to great acclaim. The film was notable for some excellent songs including the Academy Award winning "It Might As Well Be Spring". This is the only Oscar the song writing team ever won.

The film tells the story of the Frake family as they prepare to visit the State Fair. Mom hopes to beat out her snooty rival for best minced meat and dad hopes to have his hog win best in class. Daughter Margie (Jeanne Craine) hopes the fair will pull her out of her funk and her brother Wayne (Dick Haymes) is disappointed his girl can't go.

Once at the fair each of the family members embark on some adventures. Margie unexpectedly meets a newspaper man (Dana Andrews) on a roller coaster and is soon falling in love. And Wayne meets a big band singer and develops his own romance. These romantic entanglements will cause complications for the family as they spend their vacation at the fair.

All the performances are fine and there are a couple of chuckles, but the main reason for seeing this movie is to hear the wonderful Rodgers and Hammerstein music. Along with "It Might As Well Be Spring" the movie also features "It's A Grand Night For Singing" and "Our State Fair". The songs are instantly recognizable and don't be surprised if you find yourself humming along.

The film is an old-fashioned piece of nostalgia for a time in America that never really was. Nowadays so many people are full of longing for these innocent days, when they never really existed to begin with. Just one example is the fact that the fair takes place in 1945, but there his no mention of the war that just ended, almost as if it never happened.

20th Century Fox remade the film a third time in 1962. This time as a musical starring Pat Boone and Ann Margaret. To avoid confusion the 1945 version was retitled It Happened One Summer when it aired on television

At the time of this film Dana Andrews was one of the biggest names in Hollywood. He had starred in Laura and the following year he would be starring in The Best Years Of Our Lives. But by the 1950's he would be washed up, his career ravaged by alcoholism, he would be starring in "B" pictures like Zero Hour. he was able to recover from his alcoholism and finished his career in movies, daytime soaps and television guest appearances. he was also President of the Screen Actor's Guild.

At the Movie House rating **1/2 stars