One of the first movies I saw as a child was this great musical. As I see it again from time to time, I remember well all the great tunes, and especially the singing voice of Dick Haymes when he was at his height. To my mind only Bing Crosby of all the best male big band singers of their day equaled Haymes in either vocal quality or style. It was a shame his personal life was such a mess.
The story, centered as it was on Iowa, is very Middle America in more ways than one. When "The Music Man" came out some years later, it brought to mind this precursor of sorts. I confess I found the 1962 version of "State Fair" much less appealing, apart from Alice Faye's more or less cameo appearance as the mother. Then there is the unfortunate substitution of Texas for Iowa. And Pat Boone could never even come close to singing like Dick Haymes. Choose this one instead.
The story, centered as it was on Iowa, is very Middle America in more ways than one. When "The Music Man" came out some years later, it brought to mind this precursor of sorts. I confess I found the 1962 version of "State Fair" much less appealing, apart from Alice Faye's more or less cameo appearance as the mother. Then there is the unfortunate substitution of Texas for Iowa. And Pat Boone could never even come close to singing like Dick Haymes. Choose this one instead.