This 1933 film based on a novel of the same name is the first of many setting the theme of an Iowa state fair in Olden Days a slice of life in which many people expect many things to experience unexpected turns taking each in different directions. Laid back idealist Will Rogers is married to work and worry all day Louise Dressler in another brilliant portrayal of the couple as leads. Oscar winning daughter Janet Gaynor leads an ensemble cast in which no performer is written for a stronger role focus than is the other. She is unwillingly courted by Lew Ayres who in the end convinces her he can make her happy. Her brother is future director Norman Foster who interestingly enough in pre code film says racy lines not again permissible in Hollywood for generations yet never strips off his street clothes for the camera which seems more the norm once racier language and inferences ended with the Hays code. He is helped out of a jam by Sally Eilers, a hard boiled circus girl who wants from him a good time only while she works this gig. There is very strong panning photography of the farm and fair scenes which add visual interest as well as solid ensemble acting by the tight cast. The musical which premiered 12 years later with a lot of the 1933 dialogue between musical interludes features a score by Rodgers and Hammerstein perhaps the only one not opening as a stage musical. An enticing slice of life for those who remember this era brilliantly filmed.

The thing about summer love is that it is uncertain and often temporary. Normally, only the young are afflicted, and, as such a powerful emotion is a novelty to the recipient, it can be very hurtful. "State Fair" chronicles two of these.The Frake family is preparing for the Iowa state fair, all with different expectations. Pa (Will Rogers) hopes his prize boar, Blue Boy, can win first prize and Ma (Louise Dresser) pins her hopes on her pickles and mincemeat. Teenagers Wayne and Margy are just hoping for... they're not exactly sure, but something exciting.The nominal star here is Will Rogers and he gives a folksy, homespun performance as Pa - makes you wonder if he's acting or not. Louise Dresser is Ma just as you would imagine Ma would be. She was one of our best actresses and retired too soon. The story, though, focuses on the two young players, Norman Foster (Wayne) and Janet Gaynor (Margy) and their adventurous encounters with complete strangers.This is a 'Pre-Code' picture and tame by todays (lack of) standards, and so both are seen conversing in bedrooms with above-mentioned strangers (smelling salts, please), but the picture is so well-written that the breach of decorum is hardly noticeable. The story is true to life and shot through with vignettes of family life from an earlier time in America. If you were not alive in the 1930's and did not live in the Midwest, you should see this movie. It is a quintessential family picture with lots of heart, as well as exceptional performances by all parties.

State Fair is actually a pretty good movie that's mostly just a vehicle for Janet Gaynor. But it ends up being more than that with the help of Will Rogers and Lew Ayres.The story revolves around a farming family who enters a prize pig in the State Fair. The two children of the family go off on their own separate adventures while the two parents stay with the pig.Gaynor is one of the children and she meets and falls in love with Ayres. Their chemistry together is a very intriguing one. Will Rogers is the father who is mostly the comic relief. You'll most likely like the film and it deserves to be liked. Its a great gem from the early '30s that isn't seen much anymore.I was able to finally watch the film when it was on The Fox Movie Channel last year. It might be on again soon. I suggest you find out.

This 1933 film of STATE FAIR is nearly impossible to see except on one Fox cable channel, but is the best of all versions, with genuine and unsentimental writing and acting. Director Henry King propels the leisurely plot with a thrilling moving camera that efficiently depicts the varied sensations of a state fair, from wholesome contest fun to the menace of barkers and carnies. King has a consistent handle on the theme, that the state fair is a quick microcosm of life, an event that thrusts persons together in a venue that makes possible the "rollercoaster" of infatuation (and sex--this is pre-code pleasure), the tension of competition, and the diversion from hard work in this depression era America. Even "Blue boy" the hog and "self object" of Will Rogers' likeable character discovers the same conflicted feelings of sexual attraction. The cast is excellent, with standouts of Rogers, a most natural performer, in a film that is unpolluted by awkward stereotyped supporting players common to his films. A truly stunning-looking Lew Ayres is a dream of a roller coaster partner, and Victor Jory in his silk shirt perfectly embodies the carnie whom small children fear to encounter outside the midway. But it's the quiet moments that register the most--the pensive characters driving at dusk to the fair, full of private anticipation, still totally one as a family. Modern films rarely dare such introspective glimpses, but this film doesn't bore because it is so true. These rural citizens are proud and flawed, but like the wonderful characters in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, they embrace the chance to take in the fun and mystery of life.