The County Fair

About the production

The County Fair was one of several rural-themed dramas that Tourneur produced during his American period, showcasing his ability to work with smaller budgets while maintaining artistic quality. The film featured authentic fair scenes with real livestock and period-appropriate settings. Tourneur was known for his meticulous attention to visual composition, and this film demonstrates his signature use of natural lighting and carefully constructed mise-en-scène.

Themes

Themes & topics

Historical background

The County Fair (1920) emerged during the silent-film era. As summarized in a film publication, Aunt Abigail and her adopted daughter Sally are threatened with the loss of their home through foreclosure of a mortgage held by Solon Hammerhead. Archival records and catalog entries help place the work within film-history surveys of the period.

Why this film matters

Preserved under Wikidata ID Q7727816, The County Fair is valued as a screen drama within catalog and archive collections. Wikipedia's "The County Fair (1920 film)" entry connect it to broader histories of cinema exhibition and restoration.

Making of

Maurice Tourneur brought his distinctive European artistic sensibility to this American rural drama, employing innovative camera techniques and natural lighting that elevated the simple story. The production faced challenges in securing authentic fair settings, with the production team eventually coordinating with an actual county fair in rural California to film the climactic race scenes. Tourneur was known for his collaborative approach with actors, often allowing them to contribute to character development. David Butler, playing the jockey, reportedly drew on his own experiences growing up around horses. The film's modest budget required creative solutions, including the use of local residents as background performers and the incorporation of real fair activities into the narrative. Tourneur's meticulous attention to detail extended to the smallest props and costumes, ensuring period accuracy throughout the production.

What critics said

Trade and archival sources offer limited day-one review coverage for The County Fair. Modern reception rests on its availability in collections, repertory screenings, and reference works that document 1920 cinema.

Did you know?

• Director Maurice Tourneur was a French filmmaker who became among the leading respected directors in Hollywood during the silent era, known for his artistic visual style.
• David Butler, who played the jockey Pete, would later become a prominent film director, helming over 100 movies including 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' (1938) and 'Road to Rio' (1947).
• The film was based on a popular stage play of the same name, which had been touring American theaters for several years before its adaptation.
• William V. Mong, who played the villainous Abner Weatherby, was a prolific character actor who appeared in over 300 films between 1910 and 1938.
• This was one of the last films Tourneur made in America before returning to France in 1922.
• The horse racing sequences were filmed at a real county fair in California, with local residents serving as extras.
• The film's themes of rural virtue versus urban greed reflected the post-World War I American mood that romanticized country life.
• Helen Jerome Eddy was known as 'The Girl of a Thousand Faces' for her versatility in playing various character types.
• The movie was part of a wave of 'back-to-nature' films that emerged in the early 1920s as a reaction to rapid industrialization.
• Original prints featured hand-coloring techniques for certain scenes, particularly the fair sequences, to enhance visual appeal.

Visual style

The film's cinematography, overseen by Tourneur himself, demonstrates his characteristic use of natural lighting and carefully composed frames. The fair sequences feature dynamic camera movement for the period, with tracking shots that follow the horse racing action. Tourneur employed deep focus techniques to create layered compositions, particularly in scenes set on the farm. The visual style contrasts the warm, natural lighting of outdoor rural scenes with the darker, more shadowy interiors of the villain's home. The cinematography effectively uses the landscape to reinforce the film's themes, with sweeping shots of farmland representing freedom and virtue, while confined spaces suggest moral corruption.

Innovations

The County Fair showcased several technical innovations for its time, particularly in its outdoor filming techniques. Tourneur's use of natural lighting in exterior scenes was advanced for 1920, demonstrating the growing sophistication of location cinematography. The horse racing sequences employed innovative camera placement to create dynamic movement and excitement, using techniques that would influence later action films. The film also featured effective use of continuity editing to maintain narrative clarity across different locations and time periods. The production's ability to integrate real fair activities into the fictional narrative demonstrated an early form of documentary-style filmmaking within a dramatic context.

Music

As a silent film, The County Fair would have been accompanied by live musical performances during its original theatrical run. The typical score would have included popular songs of the era, classical pieces, and specially composed incidental music. For dramatic scenes, theaters often used somber classical pieces, while the fair sequences would have featured upbeat, lively music to match the action. The emotional climax of the horse race would have been accompanied by increasingly dramatic musical arrangements. Some larger theaters employed small orchestras, while smaller venues used piano or organ accompaniment. The score was designed to enhance the emotional impact of key scenes and provide audio cues for the audience.

Famous quotes

A home is more than walls and a roof - it's where the heart lives

Sometimes the smallest person can make the biggest difference

True wealth isn't measured in dollars, but in character and kindness

Memorable scenes

• The climactic horse race sequence at the county fair, with Pete riding against overwhelming odds to save the farm
• The emotional confrontation between Nellie and Abner Weatherby where she refuses his marriage proposal
• The tender scene where Aunt Abigail and Nellie share their fears about losing their home
• The introduction of Pete as the mysterious drifter who brings hope to the struggling family
• The final celebration at the farm where the community comes together to celebrate their victory

What audiences thought

The County Fair was well-received by audiences in 1920, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas where its themes resonated strongly. The film's straightforward morality tale and relatable characters appealed to mainstream American moviegoers of the era. Audience reports from various theaters indicated strong emotional responses to the film's climactic race sequence and its resolution. The movie performed especially well in the Midwest and South, where county fairs were an integral part of community life. Contemporary newspaper advertisements emphasized the film's 'all-American' themes and family-friendly content, contributing to its broad appeal across different demographic groups.

Film connections

Influenced by

• European melodrama tradition
• American stage plays
• D.W. Griffith's narrative techniques
• Victorian morality tales

This film influenced

• Subsequent rural melodramas of the 1920s
• Underdog sports films
• Family farm dramas
• David Butler's later directorial work

Film restoration

The County Fair is considered to be a partially lost film. While some reels and sequences survive in film archives, a complete version is not known to exist. Fragments of the film are held by the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art's film department. The surviving elements provide insight into Tourneur's visual style and the film's narrative structure, though gaps remain in the available footage. Film preservation organizations continue to search for missing reels in private collections and international archives.

Where to watch

• Available for viewing at film archives with special appointment
• Occasionally screened at silent film festivals and classic cinema events
• Fragments may be accessible through academic film studies programs
• Some surviving sequences available through specialized film preservation websites