Customer Reviews

State Fair (1945 And 1962 Films)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two different film soundtracks of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "State Fair" on one CD? Too good to be true? Well, yes and no. If your preference is for the 1945 film with vocals by Dick Haymes and Vivian Blaine, you shouldn't be too disappointed. Although the pre-high-fidelity sound leaves something to be desired, at least all the tracks are represented (including an outtake of Dick Haymes soloing "Isn't It Kinda Fun?"). As for the 1962 film soundtrack, be aware of the following: due to the physical deterioration and eventual disintegration of several tracks, one number ("State Fair") is reproduced with its orchestral/choral track intact, but the vocal solos of several of the film's stars are missing. The opposite is also true: Pat Boone and Ann-Margret sing a strangely a cappella duet of "It's a Grand Night for Singing" since the orchestral/choral tracks no longer exist. On a more positive note, however, this CD comes packaged with some richly detailed and highly informative liner notes -- a great treat for anyone interested in the history of the American film musical.

This lovely - and long-overdue - reissue packages together the soundtracks to the 1945 and 1962 versions of STATE FAIR, the made-for-movies musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Both soundtracks have never appeared on CD before, and the original sound masters for the 1962 set have never been found, so this is indeed a fantastic recording for R&H enthusiasts and collectors alike.

The 1945 set memorably stars Dick Haymes and Vivian Blaine (the original Miss Adelaide in GUYS AND DOLLS), Jeanne Crain (with a voice dubbed by Louanne Hogan) and Dana Andrews. Given the lack of singing experience from Crain and Andrews, the bulk of songs were handed to Haymes and Blaine. Blaine sings a confident and knowing "That's For Me" while Haymes sings a lovely "Isn't it Kinda Fun?". Louanne Hogan sings a lovely "It Might as Well Be Spring".

The rarely-seen (or heard) 1962 version starred Pat Boone, Ann-Margret, Pamela Tiffin (with a singing voice dubbed by Anita Gordon) and Bobby Darin, with support from Alice Faye and Tom Ewell. Anita Gordon's "It Might as Well Be Spring" is quite the same as Hogan's, while the souped-up "Isn't it Kinda Fun?" is belted by Ann-Margret for all its worth. Alice Faye sings a new number "Never Say No to a Man" while Bobby Darin croons a new ballad "This isn't Heaven".

Highly-recommended.

This disc is a compliation of soundtracks from both the 1945 and 1962 R&H musical versions of STATE FAIR (the glorious and rarely-seen original 1933 version was not a musical). Sonically the disc is very good, and the 1945 tracks sound remarkable for their age. I do not know if these cuts were taken from audio masters or lifted from a print of the film itself. It makes little difference, since they sound great.

Now, about the 1962 tracks: Most of the music heard in the film is included here. Some people have said that different takes were used for some of the songs in making this CD. I have not done a close comparison between this disc and the film to be able to comment on that. Due to deterioration, some sound elements are missing: The actors' vocal solos in the Main Title are missing, though the choral tracks are present. For "It's a Grand Night for Singing", the orchestra tracks are missing, but the vocals survive and have been included as a bonus at the end. Additionally, the end cast/exit music is completely missing. Dot Records released a soundtrack LP in 1962. Surely the album masters still exist (hopefully), and one would think that the successor company to the Dot library could have been approached for inclusion of at least these tracks on the CD. Sonically, the rest of the 1962 tracks are good, and if you can get by the fact that one of the film's best songs is incomplete, this disc will be satisfying overall and is worth purchasing. A suggestion would be to go for this disc, but also pick up a copy of the 1962 LP if you should come across it. Then you will have all of the State Fair tracks you need!

Recommended!

The 1945 State Fair was a superior film compared to the 1962 remake. However, despite some missing music (due to Hollywood allowing the 1962 film to badly deteriorate) this compilation CD soundtrack of the music from both the 1945 and 1962 films is worth purchasing. Yes, a lot of the original music from the 1962 version is missing, but some of the new music Richard Rodgers wrote for the 1962 film is quite good. The three I really like are: "Never Say No To a Man" sung by the late Alice Faye, "The Little Things In Texas" sung by Tom Ewell and Alice Faye, and a beautiful ballad "This Isn't Heaven" sung by the late great Bobby Darin. The Bobby Darin track is impossible to find elsewhere. The title of my review sums it up.

While it's nice to have both soundtracks on one CD the 1945 version doesn't have all the music included on a bonus cassette packaged with the 1994 VHS version. That tape included underscoring and a deleted song by Dick Haymes & Vivian Blaine "We Will Be Together." The 1962 version is missing the movie version of "It's A Grand Night for Singing" due to deterioration of the original soundtrack recording. Why they didn't just license the missing tracks from Dot Records (they put the original LP out) is a mystery. "It's A Grand Night for Singing" from the movie is available but it's on the pricey Ann-Margret Bear Family Records boxset.

I concur with most of the reviews that combining these two classic musicals is a great idea. But how can you issue a soundtrack without the main song written by Rodgers & Hammerstein for any *STATE FAIR* -- "It's a Grand Night for Singing"? This is in reference to the 1962 movie soundtrack. On my original soundtrack album, this number was sung by Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Anita Gordon and Chorus. It is not on this "remastered" CD. How could anyone purposely delete it? Is it because it was included in the 1945 soundtrack and someone did not want to repeat it twice? The "BONUS" vocal/rehearsal tracks of this song certainly do not make up for this major goof. I feel cheated and truly wanted to get rid of my 1962 vinyl but now find I can't. All because someone saw fit to delete the one song that epitomizes this show!

The original Rodgers/Hammerstein score was composed at the height of their powers and still holds up after 60-plus years. The 1962 remake retains the best tunes and adds several new ones by Rodgers, all first class Additionally it reintroduces the inimitable voice of Alice Faye.

I have enjoyed all of the "State Fair" musicals - the 1945 movie, the 1962 movie remake and the 1996 Broadway adaptation, each with its own combination of songs.

Because I already had a DVD that contained both the 1945 and the 1962 movie versions, and because I've had the LP album of the 1962 movie soundtrack since its initial release, I never doubted I'd enjoy the CD that contains both movies' soundtracks.

The 1945 CD soundtrack is fine - the music exactly as heard in the movie.

But I was very disappointed by the 1962 soundtrack (my favorite of the three) because it's NOT the recordings as heard in the movie and on the original LP. Somehow those original tracks were lost and/or damaged. Although the packaging indicates that these CD recordings are from the movie, they are, in fact, something on the order of rehearsal or preliminary "takes" that are abbreviated and far from perfect. Much is missing, and nearly all is inferior to what I have on LP ... but am unable to play or to dub.

Why couldn't they simply round up a copy of the 1962 album, like mine, and dub the CD from that? And how could such a relatively important soundtrack have faded in the archives?

Ijust loved this cd with both old version of State Fair and later version the music is beautiful

I thoroughly enjoyed the 1945 version of the music, but the cd lost it's luster once the 60's version came on. I guess you could consider me a traditionalist, so maybe that is why I like the orignal, but just from the music, I will not watch the 60's version.