Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Aside from the fact that Esther is a seriously manipulative psychopath, and Tutti has some bad death issues, Judy Garland manages to disguise her character beautifully.We're all fortunate that Garland refused to sing the original words to "Merry Little Christmas" -- 'Have yourself a merry little Christmas, It may be your last.' Her reasoning was that the audience would hate her. They sure would have, and it would have blasted the main character's cover permanently.Instead we got this wonderful collection of songs and silliness!

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS & SPECIALS. I HAVE NO AGENDAThe backdrop for Meet Me in St. Louis is St. Louis, Missouri in the year leading up to the 1904 World's Fair.It is summer 1903. The Smith family leads a comfortable upper-middle class life. Alonzo Smith (Leon Ames) and his wife Anna (Mary Astor) have four daughters: Rose (Lucille Bremer), Esther (Judy Garland), Agnes (Joan Carroll), and Tootie (Margaret O'Brien); and a son, Lon Jr. (Henry H. Daniels, Jr.). Esther, the second eldest daughter, is in love with the boy next door, John Truett (Tom Drake), although he does not notice her at first. Rose is expecting a phone call in which she hopes to be proposed to by Warren Sheffield (Robert Sully).Esther finally gets to meet John properly when he is a guest at the Smiths' house party, although her chances of romancing him don't go to plan when, after all the guests are gone and he is helping her turn off the gas lamps throughout the house, he tells her she uses the same perfume as his grandmother and that she has "a mighty strong grip for a girl".Esther hopes to meet John again the following Friday on a trolley ride from the city to the construction site of the World Fair. Esther is sad when the trolley sets off without any sign of him, but cheers up when she sees him running to catch the trolley mid journey.Even though the there is barely a story-line the film works. IT gets a tad slow here and there but Margret O'Brien steels every scene she is in. Judy Garland however is always a delight to watch. If you like her in this then make sure to see "In the Good Old Summertime". This film was beautifully filmed. If you can watch it on a Blu-ray.

This was the third time I watched this particular movie and the reason I watched this just now was because it was Christmas and this film had the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" sung by Ms. Judy Garland to Margaret O'Brien. Because I knew this film was made in 1944, part of me wondered when that song was written with those lyrics (much different than the revised ones written for 1957 when Frank Sinatra sang it and others after him would follow suit) during that time whether it was meant to address the audience of that period of their worries of their loved ones being overseas during the holidays and their concern of them ever coming back to them in the future. Anyway, this is such an entertaining musical with such great comedy and drama from not only Ms. Garland and O'Brien but also Harry Davenport as the grandpa and Marjorie Main as the maid. The best sequence involves Ms. O'Brien going out alone on Halloween involving a prank that was common during the 1903 period. Oh, and Ms. Garland also did great numbers like "The Boy Next Door" and "The Trolley Song". Oh, and no wonder she married director Vincente Minnelli after making this as she gets some of her best close-ups here! So on that note, that's a high recommendation of Meet Me in St. Louis. P.S. Great intro on the DVD from Judy and Vincente's daughter Liza Minnelli.

Greetings again from the darkness. There are, even amongst otherwise intelligent movie lovers, those who proudly proclaim "I don't like musicals". It's a somewhat understandable stance since so many of this genre are simply a group of songs linked together by a thin story with uninteresting characters. However, when done well, the musical can be a most enjoyable, emotional and entertaining ride. One of the best and most beloved is director Vincente Minnelli's Meet Me in St. Louis.If you were making a musical in 1944, your dream cast would certainly include Judy Garland. She was 22 years old at the time, just a few years removed from her iconic role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Ms. Garland was desperately trying to break free of her "Oz" and "Andy Hardy" teenage ingénue image and transition to adult roles. In fact, she pushed back hard at MGM against being cast in this film. Because of this, she initially struggled with the character of Esther until finally grasping the tone that director Minnelli was after. The result is clearly one of her best performances, and maybe her most beautiful look ever on screen.The story is broken into four sections … the four seasons leading up to the 1904 World's Fair to be held in St. Louis. The Smith family lives in a charming upper middle class Victorian home that serves as the centerpiece for most scenes … especially the intricate, winding mahogany staircase, and the elaborate gaslight fixtures throughout. Mr. and Mrs Smith are played by Leon Ames and Mary Astor (known best for The Maltese Falcon). They are joined in the house by a son Lon (Henry H Daniels, Jr), four daughters (Rose – Lucille Bremer, Esther – Judy Garland, Agnes – Joan Carroll, Tootie – Margaret O'Brien), a spry grandfather (Harry Davenport), and wise-cracking housekeeper (Marjorie Main). The family dynamics are such that numerous sub-stories are constantly being juggled.There are numerous pieces and tidbits associated with this film, so let's discuss just a few. While audiences today may find 7 year old Margaret O'Brien's performance as the youngest daughter Tootie to be a bit over the top, she won an honorary Oscar that year as the Best Juvenile Actor. Two sequences in particular stand out: the quite dark and harsh Halloween portion which accurately displays the dangerous activities of that era (today's trick or treat seems quite tame), and the song and dance routine performed in the parlor while wearing a nightgown. This is also the film where director Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland first met. They were married the following year and of course had a daughter, Liza Minnelli. All three were Oscar winners: Judy in 1940 for Best Juvenile Actor, Vincente for directing Gigi (1958), and Liza for Best Actress in Cabaret (1972).Sally Benson's series of short stories published in the New Yorker magazine inspired the film. The stories were based on Ms. Benson's childhood in St. Louis and she consulted on the script and set. In the movie, the Smith house is located at 1935 Kensington. For filming, the house was built on the MGM backlot on what became known as St. Louis Street. The street was used for many films, and the same house was used for the original Cheaper By the Dozen (1950). Sadly, the street fell into disrepair and was later destroyed and sold off by MGM (it's now condos and office buildings). Of course, this is a musical so the songs deserve mention. Many were original compositions for the film, including "The Trolley Song" (nominated for a Best Song Oscar) and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", the latter showcasing Ms. Garland in peak singing voice. The film was a huge box office success and was nominated for four Oscars (no wins). The set design and costumes are extraordinary, and the story is quite affecting as it focuses on family and what makes a home so special. This is a wonderfully sentimental taste of Americana at the turn of the century, and one of the best examples of how effective a musical can be in telling a story and connecting an audience to the characters.