The World's Greatest Fair (2004)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The World’s Greatest Fair is a documentary film which premiered in 2004. The topic is the Louisiana Purchase Exposition which was held in St. Louis in 1904.

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Directors: Scott Huegerich and Bob Miano

** Writers: Mike Ketcher and Jim Kirchherr

** Narrator: John David

** Run time: 117 minutes

 

THE CAST

Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):

 

** Mia Abeya – her grandmother, a member of the Igorot tribe of the Philippines, lived and worked in the Igorot Village during the exposition

** Harper Barnes – author of Standing on a Volcano: The Life and times of David Rowland Francis (2001)

** June Wuest Becht – Olympic researcher and historian

** Dr Carol Diaz-Granados – archaeologist, Washington University

 

** Robert Herman – collector and lecturer, the 1904 World’s Fair Society

** Dr Colin Holman – Music Director, St. Louis Brass Band

** Dr Jeffrey Hughes – Professor of Art History, Webster University

** Dr Robert Jackson – historian - author

 

** Karl M. Kindt – Adjunct Professor, Webster University

** John McGuire – journalist, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

** Sue Birk Oertli – lecturer, the 1904 World’s Fair Society

** Dr Warren Rosenblum – Professor of History, Webster University

 

** Dr Robert Rydell – Professor of History, Montana State University

** Dr Karla Scott – Director, African American studies, St. Louis University

** Sharon Smith – Bascom Curator, Missouri Historical Society

** Max Storm – collector and founder of the 1904 World’s Fair Society   

 

** Trebor Tichenor – ragtime historian

** Max Truax – vice-president, the 1904 World’s Fair Society

** Pamela Vaccaro – author of Beyond the Ice Cream Cone: The Whole Scoop on Food at the 1904 World’s Fair (2004)

** Dr Andrew Walker – Director of museum collections, Missouri Historical Society

 

Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the participants.

 

Archive footage is used when the narrator is talking.

 

Archive footage allows us to meet some of the people who were present at the fair (visitors or organizers), including the man who was the driving force behind the whole project: David Rowland Francis (1850-1927).

 

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the fair was to mark and celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase which was concluded by a treaty signed in 1803. The fair was supposed to take place in 1903, but this did not happen.

 

Planning the fair and construction of the numerous buildings needed for the fair took longer than expected. The fair had to be delayed until the following year (1904).

 

The World’s Columbian Exposition (in Chicago) had experienced the same problem ca. 10 years before. The purpose of this fair was to mark and celebrate the 400-year anniversary of Columbus and his discovery of America. The fair was supposed to take place in 1892, but this did not happen.

 

Planning the fair and construction of the numerous buildings needed for the fair took longer than expected. The fair had to be delayed until the following year (1893).

 

Holding the fair in 1904 (instead of 1903) was not a reason for the organizers to be sad. It was, in fact, a reason for them to be happy. Why? Because 1904 was the year of the third Olympiad.

 

The ancient Olympic Games had been revived at the end of the 19th century. The first modern Olympiad was held in Athens in 1896, because the ancient games were held in Greece. The second modern Olympiad was held in Paris in 1900. The third modern Olympiad was scheduled to take place in the US in 1904.

 

The city of Chicago wanted to host the games, but David Rowland Francis managed to beat Chicago in this race and ensure that the city of St. Louis was chosen to host the games. It was the first time the Olympic Games were held in the US.

 

In 1904, St. Louis had two temporary attractions at the same time. In 1904, visitors had two reasons to come to St. Louis: the first reason to visit the fair; the second reason to attend the Olympic Games.

 

The fair was open for seven months (from 30 April to 1 December), while the Olympic Games were held in one week (from 29 August to 3 September) as part of an extended sports program running from 1 July to 23 November.

 

It was the first and the last time the Olympic Games were held as a part of another event. After St. Louis 1904, the International Olympic Committee decided that the Olympic Games should always be a separate event and not a (minor) sideshow of another event.

 

THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

This film about the exposition of 1904 is divided into 18 chapters. With two exceptions (the first and the last chapter), each chapter begins with an on-screen message which shows the title. 

 

Here are the headlines (with a brief explanation in brackets):

 

# 01. Prologue (introduction)

# 02. Something to Prove (planning and preparations)

# 03. The Great Steel Phoenix (the Ferris Wheel)

 

# 04. The Mile of Mirth (the Pike) (entertainment)

# 05. The Light of Inspiration (inventions and technology)

# 06. Dead Man’s Curve (a train accident)

 

# 07. Dusty Comets (an automobile race to St. Louis)

# 08. An American Entrepreneur (Edward Garner Lewis)

# 09. A Different Tune (music at the fair)

 

# 10. The Third Olympiad (sports at the fair)

# 11. A Woman’s View (Jessie Tarbox Beals) (a female photographer)

# 12. Curiosities (a tribe from the Philippines) (the Igorot Village)

 

# 13. Savagery on Display (racism at the fair) (Ota Benga)

# 14. A World of Art (the Palace of fine Arts)

# 15. A Gentle Touch (horses at the fair) (Tom Bass)

 

# 16. The Issue of Race (blacks and whites at the fair)

# 17. Food Fact and Fiction (food and drink at the fair)

# 18. Epilogue (conclusion)

 

REVIEWS AND RATINGS

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 88 percent which corresponds to 4.4 stars on Amazon. There are six user reviews, all of which are positive. They offer ratings of 80, 90 or 100 percent.

 

On Amazon there are at the moment 45 global ratings and 27 global reviews. The average rating is 4.3 stars which corresponds to a rating of 86 percent.

 

Most reviewers (83 percent) are positive: they offer 4 or 5 stars. But a small minority (9 percent) is negative: they offer only one or two stars. Why are they so negative? Why are they so angry?

 

Here are some of the negative comments made by the critical reviewers:

 

A one star review

“In the end, it is nothing more than a cavalcade of anecdotes without larger meaning.”

 

In my opinion, this conclusion is totally unfair.

 

A two star review

“Seriously marred by politically correct liberal propaganda. Otherwise [this is an] interesting documentary.”

 

Some statements in the film can be described as politically correct, but not as liberal propaganda. And these statements are not numerous. They are not dominating.

 

In my opinion, the claim that this film is “seriously marred by politically correct liberal propaganda” is totally unfair.

 

A three star review 

“The train wreck, the minorities, the cannibals… sure it was part of the story, but why focus so much attention on it? There is no need. The other material stands on its own.”

 

This reviewer objects to three topics:

 

** The train wreck = chapter 6

** The minorities = chapters 12 and 16

** The cannibals = chapter 13

 

Four of 18 chapters focus on topics he does not want to hear about. He says: “Why focus so much attention on it?”

 

It seems he has no sense of proportions.

 

What would happen if these four chapters were deleted from the film? The result would be a film that sees the 1904 Fair in St. Louis through rose-colored glasses; a film from which all controversial aspects had been removed. 

 

In other words: a film which could truly be described as one-sided and unbalanced.

 

In my opinion, the objections made by this reviewer are totally unfair.

 

CONCLUSION

I understand the numerous positive reviews. If you ask me, the average ratings on IMDb and Amazon are very appropriate. Scott Huegerich and Bob Miano have created a great film about the World’s Greatest Fair. What is so good about it?

 

# 1. It is what I call an ABC-product: accurate, balanced and comprehensive.

 

# 2. The combination of the narrator and the participants who are interviewed gives the film a good variation.

 

# 3. Archive footage is well-chosen.

 

# 4. The music which plays in the background is well-chosen.

 

# 5. The film has a good flow.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS # 1. David Rowling Francis (1850-1927) was the driving force behind the fair. He was a politician and a diplomat:

 

** Mayor of St. Louis 1885-1889

** Governor of Missouri 1889-1893

** US secretary of the Interior 1896-1897

** President of the organizing committee for the Olympic Games in the US 1900-1904

** US ambassador to Russia 1916-1917

 

PS # 2. The train wreck which is covered in chapter 6 happened on 10 October 1904. 

 

A train heading for St. Louis, packed with passengers who wanted to visit the fair, collided with a freight train which was going in the opposite direction. 

 

The collision happened near Warrensburg (Missouri). 30 people were killed and more than 50 were injured.

 

PS # 3. It is obvious to compare this film about the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis in 1904 with the film Expo: Magic of the White City about the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893.

 

The film about the 1893 fair is interesting but flawed. For details about the film and the flaws, see my review:

 

Expo: Magic of the White City (2005)

 

REFERENCES

 

** All the World’s a Fair by Robert Rydell (1984)

 

** From the Palaces to the Pike: Visions of the 1904 World’s Fair by Timothy J. Fox and Duane R. Sneddeker (1997)

 

** Standing on a Volcano: The Life and times of David Rowland Francis by Harper Barnes (2001)

 

** Beyond the Ice Cream Cone: The Whole Scoop on Food at the 1904 World’s Fair by Pamela Vaccaro (2004)

 

** America's First Olympics: The St. Louis Games of 1904 by George R. Matthews (Hardcover 2005) (Paperback 2018)

 

** There Will Be a Wreck! An Account of the 1904 World’s Fair Missouri Pacific Train Wreck by Lyndon Irwin (2005)

 

** Reporting Live: Articles and Letters from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair by Lyndon Irwin (2008)

 

** The 1904 Anthropology Days and Olympic Games by Susan Brownell (2008)

 

** Whose Fair? Experience, Memory, and the History of the Great St. Louis Exposition by James Gilbert (2009)

 

*****

 

 A poster for the exposition in St. Louis

*****

David Rowland Francis

(1850-1927) 

The driving force behind the 1904 exposition

*****

 

 Jessie Tarbox Beals

(1870-1942) 

The only female photographer at the 1904 exposition

*****