Btexxamar I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 29 August 1945 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 30 August 1945. U.S. release: October 1945. U.K. release: 24 December 1945. Australian release: 2 May 1946. 9,288 feet. 103 minutes. U.S. television title: IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER. SYNOPSIS: Fast-talking reporter romances country girl at Iowa State Fair. Her brother meantime has fallen for a red-headed singer. NOTES: Prestigious Hollywood award, Best Song, "It Might As Well Be Spring", defeating the following huge line-up of nominees: "Accentuate the Positive" from Here Come the Waves; "Anywhere" from Tonight and Every Night; "Aren't You Glad You're You" from The Bells of St Mary's; "The Cat and the Canary" from Why Girls Leave Home; "Endlessly" from Earl Carroll Vanities; "I Fall in Love Too Easily" from Anchors Aweigh; "I'll Buy That Dream" from Sing Your Way Home; "Linda" from G.I. Joe; "Love Letters" from Love Letters; "More and More" from Can't Help Singing; "Sleighride in July" from Belle of the Yukon; "So in Love" from Wonder Man; "Some Sunday Morning" from San Antonio. Nominated for Best Scoring of a Musical but lost out to Anchors Aweigh.Third to Leave Her to Heaven and The Dolly Sisters as Fox's top domestic box-office attraction of 1945. Initial domestic rentals gross: $4.1 million.This is the second of Fox's three film versions of the novel. The first starred Will Rogers and was directed by Henry King in 1933. José Ferrer directed a 1962 remake with Tom Ewell, Alice Faye, Pat Boone and Ann-Margret. COMMENT: The score's the thing all right. And it's staged in a very lively fashion. In fact Walter Lang's direction throughout is a great deal more fluid, vigorous and imaginative than is his usual humdrum norm. If you can accept Shamroy's somewhat over-garish Technicolor, production values are great as well. Certainly, Miss Crain, beautifully costumed too, has never looked lovelier. Haymes has charm and sings so agreeably, you'd think he's all set for a major movie career. Ditto Vivian Blaine who handles the femme fatale with passion. Marshall, though obviously dubbed for his songs, plays the heavy with skill. And of course there are marvelous opportunities for character players like Kilbride (who is the first person we see on the screen — singing too!), Winninger, Bainter, Meek, McHugh and Morgan (who has a memorable bit as a surly sideshow chiseler). The director manages to build excellent suspense out of the film's simple pleasures — the judging of a pickle contest and champion boar. The carnival atmosphere is beautifully captured in sets and extra players. Editing is sharp, the staging brisk. But, as said above, it's the songs that make the movie the really top-class entertainment experience it is.

TheLittleSongbird This is not the best Rodgers and Hammerstein movie musical, however State Fair is still a truly lovely film. The plot is rather fluffy and lacklustre, but the characters are charming and the R&H tunes while not among their best are still wonderful. State Fair looks beautiful, with the photography lavish and Crain especially looking absolutely stunning in her costumes. The film is lovingly directed, has a corny but appealing script and it moves sprightly too. Nothing to complain about the performances either, Jeanne Crain is breathtaking and Dana Andrews is a more than dashing and competent leading man. As much as I loved Harry Morgan, Dick Haymes and Vivian Blaine, my favourite support performance is Charles Winninger who steals every scene he's in. Overall, a lovely movie and well worth watching. 9/10 Bethany Cox

MarieGabrielle The 1962 version. This one is so much better.Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Harry Morgan, Fay Bainter, and a few quirky characters and animals.Given the subject matter, a state fair where everyone is going to accomplish something for the summer. Fay Bainter as Mom, with her mincemeat pie competition; Dad and his prize hog: Blue Boy. And of course the siblings, who want only to find love. Agreed some of the Rogers and Hammerstein lyrics are a bit hard to swallow "Dollars to Donuts"" etc., but the surroundings give that sense of rural America and Iowa.Another good song is "I owe Iowa"...has a nice feel to it. Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain make an unlikely but pleasant couple. The visuals of the fair in the evening are effective and somewhat reminiscent of a dream sequence.All's well that ends well. It is a nice story and gives us a slice of Americana that is hard to find these days, although it still can be found in parts of the mid-south, and middle America if you look. Very good film for children and families. 9/10

Poseidon-3 Due to the ongoing success of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" on Broadway, a film version of that musical couldn't yet be produced (the makers not wanting to rob themselves of potential ticket income that was still flowing briskly.) So R & H were commissioned to musicalize "State Fair" which began as a novel and then was a highly successful straight dramatic film in 1932. The result is a candy box of a musical; a bright, pleasant, cheerful, tuneful tale that exists in its own featherweight atmosphere. It's not for the cynical, but for audiences who just want an hour and a half or so of escapism, it's practically perfect. The film revolves around the Frake family and the upcoming title event at which each family member has a stake. Father Winninger has his hopes pinned on his prize hog Blue Boy, mother Bainter is entering the pickles and mincemeat competitions, son Haymes is gearing up to win back some of the loot he lost to a carnival barker the year before and daughter Crain is just hoping that something, anything, will take her by storm. At the fair, they take turns tackling their respective tasks with Haymes chasing glamorous girl singer Blaine and Crain meeting up with ace reporter Andrews. These couples enjoy whirlwind romances that are in serious danger of deflating by the time the tents are pulled down and the litter is swept away for good. The entire film is bathed in careful lighting and vivid color. Not a moment of it seems particularly true to life, but in war time, it was just what audiences needed. Some audiences are still quite receptive to its charms. Winninger and Bainter present a delightful, loving, but gently bantering, couple. Crain has one of her finest showcases. She isn't the one singing, but most people would have trouble guessing it, so exceptional is the marriage of actress and voice double. All of her outfits lean towards the preposterous, but it only adds to the overriding delicate beauty of the movie. Haymes is too mature and sophisticated for his character (and seems to favor one facial expression above all others: that of someone who just walked by the elephant house at the zoo!), but his singing is warm and wonderful. Blaine sings nicely and gets to wear some lovely evening gowns. Andrews is given fairly little to do, but he and Crain share a nice chemistry together. Some of the vignettes and gags have, by now, become classics (as they were in the original film as well) such as the mincemeat recipe and Blue Boy's affection for a fellow pig. However, the stunning color photography and the addition of a few really pretty songs have elevated this version of the story to the highest rung. This was (rather crudely) remade in 1962 and eventually made it's way to Broadway in the 1990's. The new 2-disc DVD set is exceptional and only disappoints in two ways. One oversight is the failure to include the deleted scene of Haymes reprising one of his songs while showering. It was shown on a special "Rodgers and Hammerstein: The Sound of Their Music", but, sadly, is left out here which is a shame since so many other things are featured. Additionally, in what has become a horrible trend for classic films on DVD, the commentary is handled by two "experts" who frequently overlook key aspects of the material or else have no idea what they are talking about. One extended sequence has them going on and on about the color balancing demands of Technicolor which must have required a group of men to all have to wear similarly colored jackets when anyone with a set of eyes can see that the jackets were the BAND'S UNIFORMS. Still, the presentation of the film is exquisite and its delights are not tarnished to any degree.