Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

In the year before the 1904 St Louis World's Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York.

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Irving Brecher (screen play), Fred F. Finklehoffe (screen play),

Stars:

Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Judy Garland	...	Esther Smith
Margaret O'Brien	...	'Tootie' Smith
Mary Astor	...	Mrs. Anna Smith
Lucille Bremer	...	Rose Smith
Leon Ames	...	Mr. Alonzo Smith
Tom Drake	...	John Truett
Marjorie Main	...	Katie (Maid)
Harry Davenport	...	Grandpa
June Lockhart	...	Lucille Ballard
Henry H. Daniels Jr.	...	Lon Smith Jr.
Joan Carroll	...	Agnes Smith
Hugh Marlowe	...	Colonel Darly
Robert Sully	...	Warren Sheffield
Chill Wills	...	Mr. Neely

Storyline

St. Louis 1903. The well-off Smith family has four beautiful daughters, including Esther and little Tootie. 17-year old Esther has fallen in love with the boy next door who has just moved in, John. He however barely notices her at first. The family is shocked when Mr. Smith reveals that he has been transfered to a nice position in New York, which means that the family has to leave St. Louis and the St. Louis Fair.

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Plot Keywords:

love | boy next door | ice cream | toy monkey | cigar smoking | 

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Taglines:

The "Trolley Song" Picture !

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Genres:

Family | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le chant du Missouri

Filming Locations:

La Grande Station, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,707,561 (estimated)

Gross:

$7,566,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First intended as a duet for Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts in the Broadway production of "Oklahoma!", the Rodgers & Hammerstein song "Boys and Girls Like You and Me" had been discarded from that 1943 Broadway triumph and replaced with "People Will Say We're in Love". MGM producer Arthur Freed then purchased screen rights to the song, planning to interpolate it into the film score as a Judy Garland solo, but her rendition was cut from the picture. Miss Garland's Decca album of songs from the film included the song in an arrangement similar to her MGM prerecording. Later, the ballad was chosen to be crooned by Frank Sinatra to Betty Garrett in another Arthur Freed production, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, but again the tune was deleted. The footage of Judy singing the song to Tom Drake no longer exists, but on the Warner Home Video special-edition DVD, the original audio recording is played over Garland-Drake production stills. Only about two or three seconds of footage from this sequence may be seen on the trailer in which Tom Drake's name is screened. It shows a medium shot of Tom Drake, and in the background, you can see some buildings supposedly under construction as they would appear in the surviving production stills.

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Goofs

Various scenes include views of mountains. However, St. Louis is in the middle of the prairie and does not have any mountain ranges nearby or visible.

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Quotes

John Truett: Gosh, Miss Esther, I hope I'm not too presumptuous, but you don't need any beauty sleep.
Esther Smith: What a nice compliment.

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Connections

Featured in The Long Day Closes (1992)

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Soundtracks

"The Trolley Song"
(1944)
Music by Ralph Blane
Lyrics by Hugh Martin
Sung by Judy Garland and chorus (uncredited)

User Reviews

A bit of cake and a song to blow away the wind of change.

A film that is firmly ticking all the boxes for those looking for a family classic to admire and tap your feet along with. This delightful musical deals with one family and their struggle to deal with the changing of the times at the turn of the century. When the Father is requested to move to New York permanently with his job, the rest of the family are not that keen to leave their memories and their beloved home in St. Louis, and in to the mix is the varying degrees of blossoming love involving the elder daughters and their respective beaus.

This film is just so gorgeous on many fronts, the colour beautifully realises the tremendous scope director Vincent Minnelli brings with his recreation of the era, the attention to detail is quality supreme. The story is good and earthy, a sort of tale to have the viewer hankering for the good old days before the world got itself in one big hurry. The songs are crackers, enjoy standards such as The Boy Next Door, The Trolley Song, and the simply precious Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. The cast are across the board doing good work but it is of course Judy Garland who carries the movie firmly on her slender shoulders, and here she has never been prettier, and her voice is practically as good as it ever was in her career.

A film for all the family to enjoy, a film that is from the top echelons of musicals, and a film that simply demands you relax and enjoy.

Right, I'm off to get a piece of cake... 9/10