Meet Me In St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944): USA

Reviewed by Collier Grimm. Viewed on DVD.

When Louis B. Mayer, of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, made a film he made a picture show. Typical MGM films were grandiose Technicolor spectaculars. When Vincente Minnelli was keen on making a musical about the highs and lows of a typical American family, Meet Me In St. Louis, Mayer had his doubts.

The film is set a year before, the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and centers around the Smith families four wild, and musically talented, daughters. Judy Garland stars as the second oldest daughter, Esther, who falls in love with the boy next door. Minnelli and Garland fell in love during filming, and the romance is quite obvious in Garland close-ups. She never looked better.

As the daughters learn life lessons and grow, the family struggles with a life changing decision- will they move from their beloved St. Louis. In the most famous scene, a distraught Esther sings a heart wrenching version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, which was introduced to 1944 audiences through this film. If you haven’t cried yet this holiday season, Garland will have you weeping on the floor by the end of this number.

The cast is fully loaded with classic film greats. Margaret O’Brien, who plays the youngest daughter ‘Tootie’, steals every scene she’s in and you can tell Garland’s a little perturbed. Marjorie Main plays the Smith’s cook and subsequent advice giver, while Harry Davenport plays the world’s most charming Grandpa. The songs aren’t bad either, and several became hugely famous hits for Garland. In fact the songs are so catchy, you may realize your humming “The Trolley Song”, while trimming the tree.

Meet Me In St. Louis is not your typical holiday movie, but I can guarantee after one viewing you will have yourself a merry little Christmas.