Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

In the year leading up to 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 6 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	...	Col. 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 | turn of the century | telephone call | streetcar | 

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Taglines:

The "Trolley Song" Picture !

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Halloween sequence on the street outside of the Smith home was primarily filmed from low angles, so that the movie audience would experience the Halloween night as though they were seeing it through the eyes of a child. When Tootie (Margaret O'Brien) embarks on her adventure to the Braukoff home, the houses appear to be large and looming.

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Goofs

During the Trolley Song the location of the fair was mentioned as at Huntington Park. The actual location of the World's Fair was Forest Park.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mrs. Anna Smith: Best ketchup we ever made, Katie.
[she tries to tasting ketchup, it is too sweet]
Katie (Maid): Too sweet.
Mrs. Anna Smith: Mr. Smith likes it all the sweet side.
Katie (Maid): All men like it on the sweet side. Too sweet, Mrs. Smith.

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Alternate Versions

A rare version, dubbed in Spanish, exists, which was issued on VHS in Spain several years ago. This version features the entire soundtrack dubbed, including the songs, and several scenes deleted involving Margaret O'Brien deleted, dealing with Halloween, immediately after "The trolley song". TNT, in Latin America, after prologue dealing about how this film was restored presented it in its complete version but with the Spanish dubbed soundtrack lifted from that old version, which was not restored. For that reason, after "The trolley song" and during several minutes the films plays in English (after Judy Garland "sung" in Spanish) and then the audio reverts back to the dubbed version. Although that dubbed version was available in Spain, some people believe that it was actually produced in Mexico.

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Connections

Referenced in The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)

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Soundtracks

You and I
(1944) (uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed
Played on piano by Mrs. Smith
Sung by Mary Astor and Leon Ames (dubbed by Arthur Freed and Denny Markas)

User Reviews

A fine relaxation of a movie

This review won't be long because I do not have too much to say about this movie. So here it is. "Meet Me in St. Louis" is about the Smith family that are living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904. I don't find anything groundbreaking about this movie, because of the amount of praise it gets. Don't get me wrong, I like the movie but I don't think its a masterpiece or anything like that. For what it is, I think its fine and it is indeed watchable. The cast in this movie are good, especially for Judy Garland; although I like her more when she was in "The Wizard of Oz." I do love the film's cinematography and its setting. I really do enjoy the atmosphere of St. Louis as you go on out and have a wonderful time. The movie is also well directed and well written. The movie itself is not really a Christmas movie, but at the end, it does somehow leave you that Christmas feeling as Garland sings wonderfully with the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas;" the songs in the film are fine too. Again, there is nothing groundbreaking about it but I do think it is a fine relaxation of a movie as you just want to enjoy the atmosphere of St. Louis. So that is what I thought of "Meet Me in St. Louis," and I give it an 8 out of 10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Meet Me in St. Louis

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$1,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$225,684, 8 December 2019

Gross USA:

$403,521

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$485,932

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1