Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

 

Meet Me in St. Louis follows a year in the life of the Smith family, beginning in the summer of 1903, several months before the opening of the St. Louis World’s Fair (technically, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition). While the Smiths do have a son, (Lon Jr., played by Henry H. Daniels Jr.), he is quickly dispatched to Princeton so that his sisters (well, three of them…well, really, mostly just two of them) can become the narrative focus. They all live a rather idyllic existence, and much of the film is taken up with simple everyday moments of their lives. The eldest sister, Rose (played by the luminous Lucille Bremer), keeps hoping that her beau will propose. The teenage Esther (Judy Garland in one of her best roles) tries to catch the attention of the boy next door, John Truett (Tom Drake). The youngest daughter, Tootie (Margaret O’Brien, quite effective for such a young performer), has a couple of adventures involving Halloween pranks. The tomboyish Agnes (Joan Carroll) doesn’t get much individual screen time, but juggling the plots of five children, not to mention parents and friends, would be challenging. Most of the main narrative is really quite charming in its depiction of everyday life for a middle-class family right after the turn of the last century, and the colorful cinematography provides a luminosity that’s seldom been replicated. It’s really only the announcement by Mr. Smith (the always reliable Leon Ames) that he is moving the entire family to New York after Christmas that pushes the narrative in a melancholier direction. The rest of the family comes around, of course, but they are initially saddened by how their lives are likely going to be overturned by the move. They won’t even be in town for the arrival of the World’s Fair in the spring! Of course, the dramatic tension and all of the personal crises prompted by the father’s announcement will be resolved; it is an MGM musical, after all. Meet Me in St. Louis is quite the showcase for the talents of Garland and O’Brien, in particular, and they are ably supported by the some of the best of the stable of supporting actors who were always well-cast in the numerous roles they were given to play. Here, among others, Mary Astor is the embodiment of motherly affection as Mrs. Smith, Henry Davenport makes the perfect grandfather, and Marjorie Main brings just the right amount of sassiness to the role of the family’s maid, Katie. And then there are the wonderful songs, some of which became a part of Garland’s repertoire for the rest of her career: “The Trolley Song,” “The Boy Next Door,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Overall, Meet Me in St. Louis is one of the best embodiments of the kinds of stellar musicals created during the studio era by some of the most talented filmmakers at the height of their skills.

Oscar Win: Honorary Award for Best Juvenile Performer (Margaret O’Brien for Meet Me in St. Louis, The Canterville Ghost, and Music for Millions)

Oscar Nominations: Best Screenplay, Best Color Cinematography, Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, and Best Original Song (“The Trolley Song”)