Thursday, July 7, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks- The Fair

 


I love fairs and going on rides, just not rollercoasters due to my fear of heights. Put in on the Tilt O' Whirl, the Scrambler or anything spinning and I love it. I'm already dizzy so I'm aok on these rides. The one I did love, which had some height, was the log run because I love water. I used to go to Crystal Beach which was an old Amusement Park that had a big ballroom where many big names of the 30s and 40s would play. My dad loved going there. The park closed after 101 years with the carousel and the famous Comet being sold to the States. It's such a shame.  I tried to stay away from carnivals because that implies seeing  the weird and wild and I wanted this to be more just fairs with rides, best hogs and best preserves. Now, venture to Wandering through the Shelves to see what everyone else has chosen...here are my 3...

1. STATE FAIR-1945


This charming musical, by Rogers and Hammerstein just for the movie, the only time they did this, stars Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews as 2 people who meet and fall in love at the fair  Jeanne's family are very involved with the fair because her dad is hoping his big pig will win the big prize. Her mom hopes her preserves will win. Her brother falls for a sultry singer and Jeanne falls for the reporter who wants to make it big. This is a nice movie with the big pig almost Stealing the picture as a lovelorn pig. It's funny to see hard hitting Dana start to sing...well, mime it as he and Jeanne could not sing but it's done quite well. A nice android fun picture with a well rounded cast.

2. STRANGERS ON A TRAIN-1951

I tried not to use this great film but, I cant help myself, because it is just so great. 2 strangers meet on a train with the one man definitely batting a 1,000 in the butterfly net territory. Robert Walker, the boy next door, played his psycho character so well and was robbed of an Oscar nomination. He tells the Farley Granger character to switch...criss- cross murders- he'll off Farley's nasty wife if Farley will kill dear old daddy. Farley laughs it off until he gets a call and finds out his wife is done in. Now we have the cat and mouse game culminating in one of the best endings taking place at the local fair. Look for Marion Lorne as the supremely daffy mom to Robert Walker's character.


3. THE LOST BOYS-1987

This is a fun movie about vampires. It has horror elements in it but it is not just a straightforward horror movie. It has comedy, especially with the younger brother played by Corey Haim. Their mom decided to uproot the boys and live with her elderly dad who likes to stuff things and offer them as gifts to the boys. The fair is the hub of this small town where everything takes place. The older brother, play by Jason Patric and looking like a young Jimmy Morrison, falls for a girl who seems to be a member of this punk- like gang led by Keifer Sutherland. Soon he is neck deep with them and realizes that he can't take the sun or smell garlic. His younger brother, with the help of these 2 geeks, decide to save him and maybe the girl too. It's very witty, moody and a few scary moments but quite well written. Worth a look.

Which movies do you like that take place on a fairground?


I rode most of these rides and my hubby worked there one summer. We probably crossed paths and had no idea we would one day be together. I would have laughed at what he wore because he had original Gene Simmons Kiss boots that he strutted in. Too bad he doesn't have them now.


27 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    State Fair is the first film that will come to mind for most people participating in this hop. Recently we discussed the film pairing of Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews. In addition to State Fair, they appeared together in Duel In The Jungle (1954), Madison Avenue (1961) and in the picture I mentioned having seen many times... (drum roll, please)... Hot Rods To Hell (1967). As I watched the trailer for State Fair, a movie I haven't seen because it is... (GULP)... "enriched with melodies," I flashed back to my boyhood and teen years, because I never missed going to the York Interstate Fair. I loved to hang out in the swine pens, and I admit that I had a major man crush on the tilt-a-whirl guy.

    I studied Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train in my college film course. I agree it is a sensational, suspenseful thriller, one that is now preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

    Mrs. Shady and I had just started dating when Lost Boys was released. We watched it together. Young Keifer Sutherland, who played the leader of the biker gang, made a successful transition to the adult roles and went on to become President of the United States of America in Designated Survivor, a TV series I highly recommend.

    Thanks for sharing memories of one of your favorite spots, Crystal Beach Amusement Park. It's magnificent and a shame it needed to close.

    I guess I could name the 1962 remake of State Fair starring Pat Boone and Bobby Darin, and the 1957 film April Love which had the Patster romancing Shirley Jones.

    Thanks for triggering memories of one of my favorite experiences of youth... attending the fair. Please smooch your lovable pooch Harley and enjoy the rest of your week and weekend, dear friend BB!

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    1. Oh Harley....he got sprayed by a skunk early this morning and my hubby let him in the house! I can smell it on my clothes but especially on my purse and sweater.
      I know that State Fair has been redone a couple of times. I BELUEVE THE ORIGINAL WAS IN 1933 STARRING..oops caps. I'm just too tired to change it, I promise I am not yelling. So..the original starred Will Rogers. Yes, I want to see that Hot Rod movie. .
      I know you studied Strangers and you know the sad life of Robert Walker who deserved an Oscar for this role.
      I love The LOST Boys movie but couldn't find a trailer for it so this song works since it's in the film

      Yes, I think most of us have had great memories at the fair.

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    2. Nice to see somebody else mention the 1933 State Fair, since it's the version I picked. ;-)

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  2. Lost Boys - good choice.
    I'll name two - Carnival of Souls, only watchable with RiffTrax or MST3K. And then there's Zombieland!

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    1. Glad you like Lost Boys. I almost chose Carnival of Souls but I felt carnival was slightly different on my wee brain I don't know your next 2 choices but I do love Zombieland even though Eisenberg is in it and it's about Zombies but it's so funny. It made me want to buy twinkies

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  3. I can't believe I didn't think of The Lost Boys! That's the only one of yours I've seen this week.

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    1. At least you have seen it! You have to place Strangers on your Blindspot..it's so good.

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  4. I've also seen Lost Boys, although I saw it once it came to TV. Haven't seen the other two, but at least I got ONE this time (grin). So sad for Crystal Beach. That was one big and impressive roller coaster.

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    1. Yeah! You saw a movie:). Yes, I heard it folded due to corruption and drugs. I blissfully never saw that. In my dad's day, 1930s, the roller coaster was higher but people fell out and died so they lowered it. It's still impressive with the angle people sped down in my brother still counts it as one of the best

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  5. Hi Birgit, I hope all's well with you.
    Now I have seen Strangers on a Train, only one though. I enjoyed the film, I'm not much for fairs and I hate circuses, mainly because of the animals and as for clowns....too frightening, Kate x

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    1. I'm glad you saw Strangers. I love fairs and amusement parks but I never liked the circus because I felt bad for thr animals I liked the clowns and jugglers though

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  6. >>... Soon he is neck deep with them

    Ha! I see what you did there. ;-)

    Goot cherces, BIRGIT! I haven't seen 'The Lost Boys' (and that's probably never going to happen). But I've seen the other two.

    'STATE FAIR' was one of my Pa's Top 25 Favorite Movies (he had a thang for Jeanne Crain), and it was my Ma who turned me onto 'STRANGERS ON A TRAIN'.

    One that I would have on my own list is the Disney movie 'SO DEAR TO MY HEART' starring Burl Ives, Beulah Bondi, and the children Bobby Driscoll & Luana Patten.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

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  7. I also thought of State Fair, but the 1962 version. Love Strangers on a Train.
    My community had a local fair every Memorial Day but it has been permanently cancelled because of increasing violence. Too sad.

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  8. I've actually seen State Fair. Cute. I can't say I've seen the others, although Strangers on a Train is so famous I'm familiar with it. (I think I've seen bits of it.) I have no idea what I'd pick. Nothing comes to mind. (Hopefully this'll post. I noticed that the last movie post I commented on, but my comment never posted. Sigh. I blame Blogger.)

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  9. Hi Birgit! I share your love of spinney rides and disdain for the rollercoaster!

    I like but don’t love State Fair (neither this nor the Ann-Margret versions). It is sweet and pretty with good music but Jeanne Crain is just so bland and Dick Haymes gives me a pain, though he could sing.

    I share your adoration of Strangers on a Train! Just a flat-out great film. I know Hitch didn’t want her, but I love Ruth Roman though to be honest his daughter Pat is the most memorable female character (except perhaps the marvelous Marion Lorne)

    The Lost Boys!! What a ridiculous and at the same time fun film. The director and cast make far more out of the story than what’s on the page.

    The very first that occurred to me is the terrific 1950 film “So Long at the Fair” with Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde. English Jean accompanies her brother David Tomlinson (Mary Poppins’s Mr. Banks) to the 1889 Paris Exposition, they check into separate hotel rooms and when she goes to meet him in the morning to go to the fair not only has he vanished but so has his room! Beautifully done.

    Next would be an Elvis Presley piece of fluff-1963’s “It Happened at the World’s Fair”. It’s wafer thin but bright and breezy.
    The last would be 1953’s “Girl on the Run” a low budget indie set in a carnival burlesque show where a reporter is trying to expose a crime ring run out of the tents. Future star Steve McQueen has a couple words in a bit that was his screen debut.

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  10. I have seen your bottom two picks and I really like Strangers on a Train.

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  11. State Fair is a great choice--I've seen both versions. If we're including amusement parks then there are quite a few choices and you've mentioned some good ones.

    I'm going to stick with films that relate to the more temporal fairs:

    Meet Me in St Louis(1944) is not only a wonderful Christmas film, but it has the beautiful culmination of the family's visit to the St Louis World's Fair of 1904. A delightful film in every way.

    Elvis Presley's Roustabout is a fun romp at the fair with some fine Elvis tunes.

    I'll also include Nightmare Alley (both versions) which had many carnival scenes which I would assume take place within a larger setting of a fair.

    This is a fun theme with a lot of good choices. So many more that have scenes in an amusement park (different than a fair).

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out




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  12. I'm not familiar with the Lost Boys but It sounds fun. Strangers on a Train was, of course, a classic:)
    YOU have a great one.
    Sandra sandracox.blogspot.com

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  13. Great choices, totally forgot about The Lost Boys in my three. great to see it get some coverage.

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  14. Carousel? And The Third Man fairground scene.

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  15. A lovelorn pig. Fun.
    Enjoy the weekend. The cake sounds delish:)

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  16. I loved The Lost Boys. I haven't seen it in ages. The others are new to me. I think Big takes place at a fair or amusement park too. That was the first movie that came to mind. :)

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  17. Interesting choices. I know your latter two. Strangers on a Train is brilliant, of course. I've never been a fan of The Lost Boys. I'm not big on horror to begin with, not even hokey horror.

    Does Big count? It depends on whether Coney Island counts as a fair, really, since it's ongoing. If so, I love Big.

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    1. In poking around, I came up with another Tom Hanks movie: That Thing You Do. The Wonders play at several state fairs.

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  18. Late to this post, but had to say, great list! Brighton Rock would be my favorite movie that takes place around a fairground :)

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  19. Both Lost Boys and Strangers on a Train are amazing picks!

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