State Fair (1933 film)
| State Fair | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Henry King |
| Produced by | Henry King |
| Written by |
Sonya Levien Paul Green |
| Based on |
State Fair (1932 novel) by Phil Stong |
| Starring |
Janet Gaynor Will Rogers Lew Ayres |
| Music by | Louis De Francesco |
| Cinematography | Hal Mohr |
| Edited by | Robert Bischoff |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Budget | $600,000[1] |
| Box office | $1.8 million[2] |
State Fair (1933) is an American Pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, and Lew Ayres. The picture 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. Based on a bestselling novel by Phil Stong, this was the first of three film versions of the novel released to theaters, the others being the movie musicals State Fair (1945) starring Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews, and State Fair (1962) starring Ann-Margret and Pat Boone.
The 1933 version was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. This pre-Code film has some scenes that would be censored a few years later due to the Production Code that took effect in 1934. Although the screenwriters cut the novel's depiction of a sexual affair between the daughter and a reporter, they kept the son's seduction by a trapeze artist. Moralists were particularly outraged by a scene in which Norman Foster and Sally Eilers' dialogue is heard off-screen while the camera reveals a rumpled bed and a negligee on the floor.[3]
Rogers was accorded top billing on some posters, but Gaynor was billed above Rogers in the film itself.
A very young Victor Jory also appears as the hoop toss barker at the carnival, at the beginning of a screen career spanning 57 years.
In 2014, State Fair was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[4]
Cast
- Janet Gaynor as Margy Frake
- Will Rogers as Abel Frake
- Lew Ayres as Pat Gilbert
- Sally Eilers as Emily Joyce
- Norman Foster as Wayne Frake
- Louise Dresser as Melissa Frake
- Frank Craven as Storekeeper
- Victor Jory as Hoop Toss Barker
References
- ↑ 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 (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif], October 16, 1932: B13.
- ↑ "WHICH CINEMA FILMS HAVE EARNED THE MOST MONEY SINCE 1914?". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.: 1848-1956). Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. March 4, 1944. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?id=455912%7C463931
- ↑ http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2014/14-210.html
External links
- Flyrope.com page (stage version)
- State Fair at the Internet Movie Database (1933 version)
- State Fair at AllMovie
- State Fair at the TCM Movie Database
- State Fair at the American Film Institute Catalog
- State Fair on Theatre Guild on the Air: January 4, 1953
- State Fair at Theatre Guild on the Air December 31, 1950