Meet Me in St. Louis is an American musical film that grossed $12.8 million over a $1.89 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1944. It’s based on the novel by Sally Benson. It’s rated G (in Australia). The following are the 10 most recent IMDb reviews for the film.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) – 5.8
Warning: Spoilers
Act 1 – 5.3
Act 2 – 5.6
Act 3 – 6.4
Summer of 1903
About a family in St. Louis and the Worlds Fair is a big deal there even though it’s 6 months away
Esther falls for the new neighbor next door
Kid stuff on Halloween was awful
Halfway through the film father says they are going to leave after Christmas to move to NY for a new job and the rest of the family doesn’t want to go
Navigated the family dynamic and father ends up deciding to stay
Everyone gets a happy ending
Film is a love letter to St Louis
Some typical over the top acting and some annoying child actors do bring down the film
Judy Garland is the standout and gives a good performance
Pretty typical film for the time
Visually lush, but lacking spark
It’s funny, when I compare it to a Vincente Minnelli musical from just the year before, Cabin in the Sky, I find myself much more drawn to the latter. It has a completely different feel and much smaller budget, but it has a more interesting plot and much better musical performances, with the one exception I mentioned. I would say try the lesser known film instead.
Sometimes, the words Technicolor, musical, Golden Age don’t necessarily hit a sensitive chord and I blame it on the Millennial side of me, too blasé and hungry of modern significance. I could watch “The Wizard of Oz” for its status as an iconic classic, “A Star is Born” for its relevance and place in Judy Garland’s filmography. But Vincente Minnelli’s ode to Saint Louis never caught my attention despite its more than respectable reputation. And now that I saw it, and that I digested it, I realize how misinformed I was and I suspect this is a film I might want to watch again.
This is one of these pitch-proof movie where you keep waiting for something to happen… yet you realize that’s not even the point. Indeed, who needs plot when you have the Smithes? This is a family full of such colorful characters that there’s no room whatsoever for any plot or pre-written arc. Why should it anyway? Adapted from the happy memories of Sally “Tootie” Benson (yes, told from the little one’s standpoint), the film displays such an exhilarating form of happiness that spoiling it with a plot would be a cinematic sin.
So let’s visit the family! Leon Ames is Mr. Smith, father of one son and four daughters including Rose (Lucille Bremer), the second oldest Esther (Judy Garland) and the youngest one, Tootie (Margaret O’Brien), Mrs. Smith (Mary Astor) endure their shenanigans valiantly while they can count on the support of their cool and hilarious grandpa (Henry Davenport). These are the Smiths and as soon as they appear on the screen, we’re literally caught in their communicative amiability and optimism with the opening theme of the same title.
“Meet Me in Saint Louis” belongs to these vignette family-themed movies such as “Amarcord” or “Radio Days” where it’s just about getting a mood and feeling part of a loving community rather than watching something happening. And just when you think something ought to happen, false alarm, a new song pops up again to lift your spirit up and puts you in the most cheerful mood, even the “straight” sister Rose is fun to watch, especially during her shining moment where she gets quite a brush from her correspondent. And everything’s in good spirit, no character is laughed at but rather laughed with.
The closest to a plot comes when Mr. Smith announces to the family that they’re going to move to New York and the decision is irrevocable, by the time it happens, we got used to the seasonal enchantment of the city and can’t imagine the Smiths anywhere outside St. Louis. Even New York resonates like a place of doom for the family, but it’s deliberate since the film is a postcard recollection of middle-upper class family, from the perspective of Tootie, only spiced up with adult and romantic subplot and unforgettable musical numbers that were the perfect vehicles for Judy Garland.
If “Meet Me in Saint Louis” is incredibly catchy, it’s nothing compared to the “Trolley Song” and of course the “Have Yourself a merry Little Christmas” that became Hollywood standards and among Garland’s signatures. The two songs, listed in the AFI’s Top 100, convey two opposite emotions: joy and sheer sadness, the excitement of being part of a city and the resignation before living, the Christmas moment is particularly heartbreaking as it allows Margaret O’Brien to implode her full acting power and make thousands of souls cry with empathetic tears. That the comic relief of the film, that bratty little kid could pull off such a masterful performance is one of the unexpected effects of the film. She would deservedly win an Academy Juvenile Award for her incredible performance.
I can go over and over about the film, its merit is to be so blatantly cheerful, never indulging to cheap thrills, even the love stories are sweetly naïve and idealistic, almost surreal but fitting for a fantasy picture whose purpose is to highlight the real thing about th film: family ties, and the bonds between sisters or parents and grandparents, the film is a non-stop delight, that can be regarded as itsch or campy but I find it more straightforward and honest than Minnelli’ “An American in Paris”. In a way, it’s a fine companion piece to Judy Garland’s Wizard of Oz with the same conclusion that there’s no place like home… and sometimes, we don’t cherish enough the place we live in.
My only complaint is Garland’s awful hairstyle, was she trying to imitate Katharine Hepburn or what?
Warning: Spoilers
Right around the beginnings of the 1900’s, the Louisiana State Purchase Exposition (or the St. Louis World’s Fair) was scheduled to take place in the Smith’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. The entire town is excited about having such an important event in their own backyard.
The movie starts out with the Smith’s neighborhood residents singing “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis.” Esther Smith (Judy Garland) is captivated by her new neighbor, John Truett (Tom Drake).
At about 20 minutes into the movie, the Smith family hosts a going-away party for the college-aged son, Lon (Henry H. Daniels Jr.). Esther’s older sister, Rose (Lucille Bremer), invites John and has Esther finally formally meet him. Esther and John are now both obviously interested in each other.
Later that week, Esther boards a trolley to see the fairgrounds in progress. She sings “The Trolley Song.” At the end of the song, Esther sings, “He stayed on with me and it was grand just to stand with his hand holding mine, to the end of the line!” As she sings the last part, she notices John has sat next to her and she becomes embarrassed.
Now we’re halfway through the movie and it’s halloween night. Esther and Rose’s little sisters, Agnes (Joan Carroll) and Tootie (Margaret O’Brien), dress up and go trick-or-treating with other kids form the neighborhood. Tootie had an incident where she though John Truett beat her up, but it turns out he was just trying to protect her from the police officers. The officers were out looking for the kids who pulled an awful halloween prank — they put stuffed-up clothes on the trolley track so it would look like a body.
Also on halloween night, Mr. Smith (Leon Ames) announces that he’s been transferred to New York. The family is devastated that they’ll have to move from their beloved city to one where they know no one. Mrs. Smith (Mary Astor) argues: “Agnes just ready to be promoted and Esther going to be a senior…and Rose is to be graduated next year.” Esther adds: “And what about me, and my life?” Mr. Smith is firm in his decision: “You’ll have to take that with you. It’s settled. We’re moving to New York.” A final word from Mrs. Smith: “I must say, you’re being very calm about the way you pack us off lock, stock, and barrel.” “I’ve got the future to think about…” Mr. Smith doesn’t budge on what he’s decided. The family goes to bed, disappointed and upset.
The next big event to happen in the movie is the local Christmas Eve dance. Rose doesn’t have a date, so the Smith’s maid (Marjorie Main) suggests that she goes with her brother, Lon. Rose doesn’t want to be the laughing stock of the dance, but Esther thinks it’s a fine idea. After all, she’s going with John.
But she soon finds out that John can’t go because he forgot to pick up his tux before the shop closed. Esther’s Christmas spirit is crushed, until her grandpa (Harry Davenport) offers to go to the dance with her instead.
At the dance, while Esther is dancing with her grandpa, John shows up and finishes the dance with Esther. At the end of the dance, late at night, John proposes to Esther. Esther accepts with an elated heart.
But when she gets home, she finds Tootie brokenhearted that they leave for New York in just hours. Esther sings the now-famous “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” while Tootie cries. Then, suddenly, Tootie runs outside and starts destroying the snowmen the Smith family built because they can’t move to New York with them.
All the while, Mr. Smith watches this from a window in the house. Esther leads the calmed-down Tootie up the grand staircase and Mr. Smith ponders all that has happened recently. He realizes what he needs to do and calls a family meeting right then and there. He announces that the family is not moving to New York! “I’ve got a few words to say. We’re not moving to New York. And I don’t want to hear a word about it. We’re going to stay right here. We’re going to stay here till we rot…New York hasn’t got a copyright on opportunity! Why, St. Louis is headed for a boom that’ll make your head swim. This is a great town. The trouble with you people is you don’t appreciate it because it’s right here under your noses. The grass is always greener in somebody else’s yard.” The family laughs together and exchanges thankful hugs. “Oh, papa, you’ve given us the nicest Christmas present anybody could ask for,” Esther says.
The next scene, the Smith family is headed off to the fair in the springtime. Esther and John are standing on a balcony together before joining the rest of the Smith family. When the lights of the fair turn on, Rose says, “We don’t have to come here in a train or stay in a hotel. It’s right in our own hometown.” Esther says to John, “I can’t believe it. Right here where we live! Right here in St. Louis.”
7/10
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