A lot of the Hollywood studios during the War years made these nostalgic films about a simpler time when no foreign foe threatened our way of life. MGM's contribution to these films was not bettered served than by Meet Me In St. Louis. It's a simple story about the Smith family in 1904 St. Louis eagerly awaiting the World's Fair that would take place in their town. And to my knowledge no other World's Fair had as enduring a theme song as the one written for this fair, serving as the title song for the film.

The Smith family consists of parents Leon Ames and Mary Astor and their five children, son Henry Daniels, Jr. and daughters in descending order, Lucille Bremer, Judy Garland, Joan Carroll, and Margaret O'Brien. Grandfather Harry Davenport lives with the clan and so does live-in maid Marjorie Main who functions like Alice in the Brady household. A good meal and an occasional wisecrack to keep everyone in line.

Everyone's excited about the upcoming fair, St. Louis's rival city Chicago had one a decade earlier and Buffalo did three years earlier, but this one promises to be the most extravagant of all. Ames gets an opportunity in business and wants to move the family to New York, but one by one the family has or develops obligations and ties to St. Louis that makes them reluctant to leave. Not to mention they don't want to miss the fair.

Vincente Minnelli directed Meet Me In St. Louis and it was his first opportunity to work with Judy Garland whom he would marry after the film was finished. Judy got to do three of her most identified songs from the Hugh Martin-Ralph Blane score that was blended with some traditional music of the times. The Boy Next Door, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and The Trolley Song all come out of Meet Me In St. Louis and were staple items at Garland concerts for years. One of the Oscar nominations that Meet Me In St. Louis received was for The Trolley Song for Best Original Song. It lost to Bing Crosby's Swinging On A Star that year. The other nominations were for musical scoring, color cinematography, and screenplay.

Margaret O'Brien did a remarkable job in this film, this was probably her best role while a child star at MGM. Not that she was the youngest and most appealing of the kids, she was that. But Minnelli did a great job in directing her. She had all the fears and trepidations of a child growing up and not wanting to leave all she's known and loved in St. Louis. Her acting reached its zenith in the scene where she destroys the carefully made snowmen in her yard and in the Halloween scene where she is induced to play a practical joke on a neighbor the rest of the kids regard as scary. Her number with Judy Garland, Under The Bamboo Tree is a gem.

Meet Me In St. Louis was one of the earliest and best films coming out of the Arthur Freed unit at MGM. It was films like these that gave the Freed unit and MGM its reputation for turning out the best in musical film entertainment. It can never be duplicated because you don't have studios with all that talent under contract.

In its way the film itself is as nostalgic as the time it celebrates. I guarantee your heart strings will go Zing Zing Zing as you hear Judy Garland sing the score from Meet Me In St. Louis.

What a wonderful old movie! This film just drips quality throughout with its terrific direction, acting, singing, writing and production. While not the best MGM film ever made, it certainly is among the best musicals they made. That's because not only are there a modest number of songs, but those in the film are awfully enjoyable--particularly the final song, HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE Christmas. It was pure magic and is probably Judy Garland's best adult performance--she is radiant and on the top of her game.

I think another reason I love this movie so is that it is not just a bunch of songs thrown at the audience, but a very enjoyable slice of life film about a wonderful family filled with great characters. From the tough but loving father to the bratty littlest child (played by Margaret O'Brien in her best performance),they all are special and sweet without being too saccharine.

This makes a wonderful Christmas movie and is best viewed on Christmas Eve with the lights turned low.

FYI--If you have a chance, get a hold of the wonderful two-disk set. The second disk has an amazing set of extras--enough to keep you very busy and very happy. One of the shorts, "Bubbles", is NOT good but still well worth seeing despite its creepy characters, as you get to see Judy Garland performing like a pro at age 7!

This film is beautiful! The songs are great and the performances are wonderful! The script has a lot of great lines, the funniest coming from Tootie (wonderfully played by Margaret O'Brien). There is one scene at the dinner table, when Rose is making a phone call, and says something, then the grandfather says "Good evening, Joe." Hilarious! The songs are fantastic. I can't remember who wrote them though. The best was "Trolley Song" where you actually see Judy Garland enjoying herself. "Boy next door" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" are beautifully staged, with Garland showing her sensitive side. The costumes are also beautiful, and that's all I have to say really on that subject. Now for the performances. Judy Garland looks beautiful here, and is obviously enjoying herself. The parents are also good, and they even sing a very nostalgic song. The grandfather and John Truitt are very well done also, but the scene-stealer is a really young Margaret O'Brien, who made me laugh and cry at the same time. ("I was drunk last night dear mother", when she hurts herself and blames it on John Truitt, and when she is seen in the snowy garden knocking all the snowmen over because she doesn't want the family to move). It is a little long, but you will love this musical. 10/10. Bethany Cox