Characters: Pat Gilbert and Marguerite “Margy” Frake
Played by: Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain
Setting: 1940s, Des Moines
Margy Frake is a simple farm girl from Iowa who is reluctantly involved with her cow-obsessed neighbor Harry but who dreams of finding a man who will love her for who she is - something she hopes to find at the highly-anticipated state fair.
Pat Gilbert is a reporter for the Des Moines newspaper, friendly and widely-traveled but still searching for something to make it all worthwhile.
Pat and Margy meet by chance on a rollercoaster, as she is terrified and he keeps her from standing up during the ride. Afterward, the two decide to get acquainted, agreeing that they will see one another during the fair and make up their minds afterward whether or not to continue the relationship. Dodging her family’s suspicions, Margy meets Pat on the midway every night and falls more in love with him, and though he is seeking a job in New York and can’t be tied down, Pat falls in love with Margy as well. However, the perfect dream they have found at the fair can only last so long, and Pat and Margy both will have to make decisions that will change their lives forever.
