On screen, "State Fair" is a moderately successful musical. It revolves around the agrarian charms of the Iowa State Fair. And it does a decent job of capturing the sights and sounds of the midway and the sideshows.
When the Frake family makes its annual trek to the fair, Mother is focused on winning blue ribbons for her cooking and canning skills, Father is showing his massive pig named Blue Boy, and the kids, Margy and Wayne, are enthralled by the air of possibility that surrounds a state or county fair: new experiences, and even the potential for romance.
The film's color contributes to the pageantry, and there are a few nice songs, but not enough to make this a top musical. Also, the song "All I Owe Ioway" just doesn't do for Iowa what Rodgers and Hammerstein had previously done for Oklahoma via song in 1943.
The love stories of the two Frake siblings---played by Dick Haymes and Jeanne Crain---are also rather anemic.
When the Frake family makes its annual trek to the fair, Mother is focused on winning blue ribbons for her cooking and canning skills, Father is showing his massive pig named Blue Boy, and the kids, Margy and Wayne, are enthralled by the air of possibility that surrounds a state or county fair: new experiences, and even the potential for romance.
The film's color contributes to the pageantry, and there are a few nice songs, but not enough to make this a top musical. Also, the song "All I Owe Ioway" just doesn't do for Iowa what Rodgers and Hammerstein had previously done for Oklahoma via song in 1943.
The love stories of the two Frake siblings---played by Dick Haymes and Jeanne Crain---are also rather anemic.