Critics were most impressed by Ann-Margret and Pat Boone in this movie. On
the whole, critics didn't rave about the movie. It didn't meet box office goals.
It cost $4.4 million and grossed just $3.5 million. Today it projects the rarefied air of an earlier time. It shows up on cable TV with fair frequency.
That's probably why I'm writing about it today.
I'm also reminded of "State Fair" by an event that was held at my First
Lutheran Church, Morris, recently. The church presented a "cookie bake." We
could see some cookie masters actually prepare their recipes. Better yet, we
could sample the warm cookies later.
One of these masters was Sharon Ehlers. She explained that her recipe that
day included rum extract. This prompted a little humor of course. I was reminded
of the Alice Faye character in "State Fair," the mother, who prepared her
mincemeat entry for competition. The father, played by Tom Ewell, felt the
mincemeat was a little flat.
The movie was made in the 1960s when we as a society found considerable
humor in alcohol consumption. The Ewell character sneaked some brandy into the
mincemeat. Alice Faye later returned to the kitchen, unaware of this little
adulteration, and decided to add her own brandy. The judges at the fair were
enamored. Wally Cox played the chief judge. (My generation remembers Wally
mainly for being on "Hollywood Squares.")
Faye's character took the top prize. I had more than one of Sharon's
cookies at the church. I'm sure the rum extract was a negligible ingredient,
hardly like emptying a bottle of brandy into the mix. It made for some fun
joking.
Who doesn't feel charmed by fair judging? Especially at the state fair which is the most prestigious level for judging.
Who doesn't feel charmed by fair judging? Especially at the state fair which is the most prestigious level for judging.
Indeed, the movie appeals to our love for our own state fair and the county
fairs that are down the ladder.
Who doesn't love the fair? It's a great leveler of our culture, drawing
people across all lines that might otherwise divide us. At my stage of life, and
my mother's, it's most fun to just sit in front of the rest cottage at the
Stevens County Fair and watch all the people. Some stop to visit. Everyone
enjoys the open air.
The 1962 movie "State Fair" captures the atmosphere in an authentic way.
The fair is about 4-H and farm demonstrations, the carnival, the family
atmosphere and the introduction of young people in domestic and farming
activities. Getting first place at the state fair is a really big deal. Tom
Ewell's character wins with his beloved huge hog named "Blue Boy," remember?
Perhaps the most charming song in this musical is when "Abel Frake" serenades
his pig.
Serious ag professionals might not like this, because hogs are not intended
to be companion animals. I would hope they could suspend such judgment for the
sake of enjoying a movie.
The 1962 "State Fair" projects authenticity largely because it was actually
filmed at a state fair. The scene is Texas. That's a shift from earlier versions
of the story. The previous versions - the stage musical and the 1933 and 1945
movies - were set in Iowa.
Filming in shadow of "Cleopatra"
Filming in shadow of "Cleopatra"
Filming at a real state fair was a stroke of good fortune. And it came
about due to economic circumstances. The 1962 "State Fair" was filmed in the
aftermath of the Hollywood disaster "Cleopatra." Elizabeth Taylor starred in
"Cleopatra" in a monumental and expensive flop.
Hollywood, being the business machine it is, had to deal with the
consequences of bad judgment. Moviemakers were forced to be highly
cost-conscious for a time. I wrote a post about "The Lost World" in which I
reported that special effects had to be cheapened to deal with the "Cleopatra
cash drain." The sci-fi "Lost World" took the risky route of using real
contemporary lizards, putting horns on them and then filming them in such a way
as to make them seem giant. No "stop-motion" (Ray Harryhausen).
"The Lost World" came off as something other than laughable, and today it
shows up periodically on TV just like "State Fair."
In the case of "State Fair," filming at a real state fair eliminated set
and staging costs. It was a boon for the film, as it turned out.
One of the songs from the original had to be removed: "All I Owe Ioway"
(about Iowa of course). The song was replaced by "The Little Things in Texas."
Roles had to reflect our mores
Roles had to reflect our mores
The 1962 "State Fair" gives us the old-fashioned notions about love and
gender roles. Love is this ethereal quality that just sweeps us off our feet.
Sometimes in real life this happens, but we realize deep down it's mostly
mythology.
We see Bobby Darin as "Jerry Dundee," a brash TV interviewer. We see him
dismissing a woman with whom he has promised to have a beer. It comes off as
rude. "Jerry" has just become smitten by the Frakes' daughter. Pamela Tiffin
plays "Margie" who of course seems pure as the driven snow. She comes to the
fair with no apparent special talents. She's the wholesome farm girl.
We know that the Hollywood minds would have someone like the Darin
character, street-wise as it were, become fixated on Margie. We're not supposed
to sympathize with the woman who wanted to share the beer, because that's not
wholesome. Today we would consider "Jerry's" behavior rude nevertheless. Sharing
a beer is innocuous.
Hollywood promotes firm stereotypes, or at least it did then. Gender
stereotypes could be very firm. Women more than men were guided by emotions.
Women were vulnerable. They couldn't engage in the same vices as men, lest they
be perceived as having low character.
Pamela Tiffin represented the ideal. Her desirability in the eyes of men
was built on intangibles. She's the only Frake family member not seeking awards
for her endeavors at the fair. She's quite receptive to finding love. Thanks to
her fleeting interview with Bobby Darin on the fairgrounds, the dye is cast.
We fear toward the end of the movie that the two are separated for good.
"Jerry" is climbing his professional ladder. Then we see the triumphant reunion
because, after all, we can't go home realizing a girl like "Margie" got
abandoned. The two reunite dramatically at the outskirts of the little rural
town.
"Margie" is the sister to the Pat Boone character, "Wayne Frake," whose
skill at the fair is sports car racing. OK, so Pat Boone falls in love with
Ann-Margret. Critics agree that Ann-Margret (as "Emily Porter") absolutely
sizzles on the screen.
I had to watch the movie more than once to realize there's no triumphant
reunion at the end, with Wayne and Emily, like the Darin/Tiffin reunion. The
moral of the story? Ann-Margret despite her appeal was, after all, a
"showgirl." For crying out loud, it's not like she was an exotic dancer. She was
a true dance artist, but I guess by the standards of the time, we weren't
supposed to be totally approving.
One review states that Ann-Margret is a "sexy showgirl." If by "sexy" you
mean attractive, well then Ann-Margret fits the bill. Her kind of dancing
requires hard work. Maybe that was the problem: Women as full-fledged
professionals or artists weren't in the mainstream, culturally, then.
Again, the Pamela Tiffin character seemed the ideal. The Pat Boone
character arrives home and decides to contact his old girlfriend. Presumably
this girlfriend is more in the mold of the Pamela Tiffin type. Earlier, we saw
Ann-Margret withdraw from Boone because of her fears about being considered a
"tramp." "Tramp" itself is a dated term. We're reminded of that girl whom Darin
dissed, who expected to "share a beer." No-no.
We want "Margie" (sans any talents but wholesome) to win out.
As a musical, "State Fair" of course has music as a prime selling point,
such as "It's a Grand Night for Singing."
It's easy for critics to take potshots at the 1962 "State Fair." I find
some plot elements to be stupid. Who would make a bet with a friend ($5) on
whether they'd have a good time at the fair? This is like the old worthless
practice of giving someone a dollar to bet for them in Las Vegas.
Having the mincemeat judge be so bumbling, empty and susceptible to the
allure of alcohol, seemed stupid. Wally Cox played the judge named
"Hipplewaite."
The glory of mincemeat
Mincemeat is a very obscure product. This movie represents the only contact
I've ever had with it.
We learn that mincemeat includes, as a standard ingredient, distilled
spirits. Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, spices, those spirits,
and sometimes beef suet, beef or venison. It was a popular pie filling from the
15th through 17th Centuries.
Brandy would fit right in but within reasonable limits.
Sharon Ehlers' rum extract in her cookies was within reasonable limits. Of
course it was negligible but it's good for prompting a few laughs. Gosh, I hope
she can bake up a few more for us sometime (LOL).
The 1962 "State Fair" came out in the same year when my late father Ralph
took the University of Minnesota-Morris men's chorus to the Seattle World's
Fair. I was seven years old.
Eventually our family would take in our Minnesota State Fair. We attended
the auto racing one year. I could visualize Pat Boone out there.
I stayed in the 4-H dormitory one year, not as an exhibitor but as an
observing media person. I'll never forget that.
Minnesota State Fair memories
I saw grandstand shows through the years, including Lawrence Welk and his
ensemble (with the African-American tap dancer), Bob Hope (at his misogynist
best), Emmylou Harris (with her "hot band") and Rodney Dangerfield at the apex
of his post-"Caddyshack" fame.
I saw ol' Rodney in the early 1980s, and what sticks in my memory is the
out-of-control and silly behavior of the audience which was dominated by
boomer-age young people. What I won't forget, is that Rodney finally got tired
of it. He made remarks indicating as much. Our society was hung over from the
cynical '70s. We hadn't righted the ship yet.
I saw Linda Ronstadt at the State Fair giving a performance that I later
learned she had to apologize for. I didn't attend such shows very often so I
wouldn't have known the difference, really. She wore grubby clothes, kept
reaching up to her ear to adjust some sort of device, and seemed to abbreviate
the whole thing.
Bob Hope told his famous "grasshopper" joke. A bartender looks down and
sees a grasshopper in his bar. He says "I'll bet you didn't know we have a drink
named after you." And the grasshopper looks up and says: "You mean you have a
drink named Thorndike?"
Ah, the state fair. A critic said of the 1962 movie that despite its thin
storyline and other flaws, "there's something about the hominess and wonderful
music."
Critics back in 1962 were sticks in the mud with their negative views. They
must never have been in 4-H, or tasted anything like that mincemeat, or Sharon
Ehlers' cookies!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
