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State Fair (1933 film)

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State Fair
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHenry King
Screenplay bySonya Levien
Paul Green
Based onState Fair
by Phil Stong
Produced byHenry King
StarringJanet Gaynor
Will Rogers
Lew Ayres
CinematographyHal Mohr
Edited byRobert Bischoff
Music byLouis De Francesco
Distributed byFox Film Corporation
Release date
  • February 10, 1933 (1933-02-10)
Running time
97 minutes
Budget$600,000[1]
Box office$1,208,000 (rentals)[2]

State Fair is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, and Lew Ayres.[3] The film tells the story of a farm family's multi-day visit to the Iowa State Fair, where the parents seek to win prizes in agricultural and cooking competitions, and their teenage daughter and son each find unexpected romance.[4]

Based on the bestselling 1932 novel by Phil Stong, this was the first of three film adaptations of the novel; the others were State Fair (1945) starring Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews, and State Fair (1962) starring Ann-Margret and Pat Boone.[3] The 1933 film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, losing to Cavalcade and Little Women respectively.

Plot[edit]

In the fictional town of Brunswick, Iowa, farmer Abel Frake plans to transport his Hampshire pig, Blue Boy, to compete at a hog contest at the Iowa State Fair. Confident he will win the first-place prize, and nothing bad will happen, Abel bets five dollars against his neighbor Fred Cramer. Abel's wife Melissa, who is also competing in the state fair, is preparing a recipe for pickles and mincemeat. Against his wife's insistence, Abel secretly adds a dose of apple brandy when she steps out of the kitchen. Unsure about her chances of winning, Melissa adds the remaining brandy. Meanwhile, Abel's daughter Margy reconnects with her childhood friend Harry Ware. He is unable to accompany the Frakes to the fair because he is preoccupied with his dairy farm. Margy's brother Wayne arrives home from college to attend the fair.

After the Frakes arrive at the fair, Abel notices Blue Boy appears to be ill. At a carnival hoop game, Wayne throws the rings perfectly and meets Emily Joyce, a trapeze artist. Later that night, Wayne and Margy venture out to the circus fair. Wayne separates from his sister, and sees Emily perform a trapeze stunt. Meanwhile, Margy goes on a roller coaster ride with Pat Gilbert, a newspaper reporter. When the roller coaster descends rapidly, Gilbert holds her tightly. After their ride together, the two bond over their connection to Brunswick, and have lemonade drinks.

The next morning, Melissa notices how emotionally elevated her two children are. Abel inspects Blue Boy once more, in which the hog appears to be healthy again. Back at the circus, Pat reconnects with Margy, in which they decide to be friends rather than romantic lovers. They plan to meet again at Melissa's competition, which Pat is covering for his newspaper. At the cooking competition, Melissa wins the first-place prize for both her pickles and mincemeat. Having fallen in love, Pat and Margy then watch a harness race and walk through the woods later that night.

Back at Emily's place, she and Wayne share drinks. Emily then heads to the bathroom to change clothes, and comes out with her nightgown. The two then sleep together. The next morning, Abel tries to wake up Blue Boy for the hog contest, but manages at the last minute. Professors Fred Coin and Tyler Cramp, the hog judges, both inspect Blue Boy and come away impressed. The first-place prize is given to Abel. Later that night, Wayne apologizes to his father for missing the hog contest. Wayne and Margy both leave for their final night at the fair. Alone with Melissa, Abel reads in the newspaper that one of the food judges is sick from delirium after eating Melissa's brandy-spiked mincemeat.

Despite their love for each other, Emily decides not to marry Wayne. On their final night, Margy tells Pat about her love for Harry back home. That same time, Abel and Melissa enjoy the amusement rides together. The Frakes leave the state fair, in which Melissa notices her children's despondent demeanor. Back home, Melissa confesses she put the apple brandy in her mincemeat. Abel collects his five-dollar bet from Fred. Margy, still depressed, receives a phone call from Pat and runs out into a rainstorm to reunite with him.

Production[edit]

Though the adaptation deleted a storyline about a sexual relationship between the daughter and a journalist, it retained a similar storyline about the seduction of the son (Norman Foster) by a trapeze artist (Sally Eilers). This caused trouble with the Hays Commission when Fox re-released the film in 1935. The censors insisted on the deletion of a scene where Foster and Eilers are heard talking off screen while the camera shows a rumpled bed and a discarded negligee. The cut scene has never been restored.[5]

Cast[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Film Costs Hit Both Extremes: Poverty Row Spends Less, Big Studios More Million-dollar Features 'Shoot the Works' Inexpensive 'Arty' Hit Due to Make Appearance" Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times, October 16, 1932: B13.
  2. ^ "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. October 15, 1990. p. M150.
  3. ^ a b Filmfacts: 1962. Vol. 5. 1962. p. 75.
  4. ^ Mike Whye (2020). Detour Iowa: Historic Destinations. Arcadia Publishing. p. 92. ISBN 9781467143455.
  5. ^ "State Fair (1933)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

External links[edit]

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