Rating: 
Summary: A Technicolor Postcard From The St. Louis World's Fair
Review: Why isn't this on DVD yet? "Meet Me In St. Louis" is a 1940s look back to a year in the life of the Smith Family of St. Louis, the year preceding the 1904 World's Fair. This movie is visually stunning. The Technicolor photography and the camera setups are amazing (the late-night candle distinguishing is all one shot), a testiment to the talent of Vincente Minnelli and his wonderful cast, particularly his soon-to-be wife Judy Garland, who was at her most beautiful and could transform any song into something magical.Garland gives generously to her costar, Margaret O'Brien, a sort of Shirley Temple for the forties, who is nothing short of brilliant as the morbid youngest daughter Tootie, with the fascination for "dead" dolls. Her Halloween scene is remarkable and hilarious. The minimalist plot--Will Dad take the job in New York? Will Esther marry the boy next door, John Truitt? Will Rose wind up an old maid, like Katie?--never gets in the way of the lavish staging of the musical numbers. "The Trolley Song" is like a great music video, and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is still a standard. Great for the Holidays or any day, this movie is always sure to bring a smile. Watch for a very young June Lockhart ("Timmy and Lassie", "Lost in Space")as Lucille Ballard, the much-maligned New York socialite.
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Summary: - if you have'nt seen - you've seen nothing in your life
Review: This is my all time favorite movie.The best Garland film even standin up to films like OZ. It's amazing, and happy. It's a love story of the girl next door- the boy next door who fall in love in the early 1900's. It's packled with humor, and all sorts of family issues. Above all it's filled with the beautiful Garland, and the ever- handsome Drake.
A sure winner, and I can't wait for it to be released on DVD. The only movie I have seen more than this one is Robin Hood- disney- and that's only becasue when i was five i watched nothing but. This is a movie you can't be disappointed in. It joins the talent of Minelli, and Garland, and will always be a hit on my list.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Very Best
Review: MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS is one of several films frequently mentioned when critics attempt to identify the single finest musical film to emerge from Hollywood--but unlike most other films on the critical short list MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS is not a musical that pops with razzle-dazzle production numbers, show stopping dance routines, and star turns; it is instead an intimate portrait of a large 1900s St. Louis family played out by an ensemble cast whose performances are shorn of typical movie-musical-mannerisms. And the result is nothing short of perfection. The script, which is not so much driven by plot as by character, discreetly makes use of our expectations by presenting us with what seems to be a series of stereotypical portraits and sentimental story lines... and then smoothly undercuts the stereotypes and sentimental story lines with an unexpectedly sly and faintly self-mocking humor. The ensemble cast, lead by Judy Garland, plays out the piece with such simplicity and conviction that one feels the film would have had equal success as a non-musical--and yet (and unlike a great many other musicals) the script seques naturally into the musical numbers, and the musical numbers in turn comment upon and contribute to the movement of the script. The score itself is also a very charming one, mixing a handful of Victorian-era favorites with songs written specifically for the film, including "The Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." As if all this were not enough, the look of the film is absolutely magnificent, presenting us with a slightly romanticized, picture-postcard-perfect vision of middle America as it slides from late-Victorian into the modern age. From costumes to sets to props, everything is meticulously created and then lovingly photographed in a luxurious Technicolor. MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS is generally considered to be one of Garland's three finest films--quite an irony, for when she first read the script she so disliked it she tried to have the studio cancel the project. It is also considered one of director Vincent Minnelli's finest films and is generally regarded as both MGM and Hollywood's single best musical of the 1940s. And as previously noted, many consider it the single finest film musical ever created. But whether you accord it that particular status, if you are a fan of the musical genre you will certainly agree that MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS is at least among a handful of musicals that deserve to be called the very best, a brilliant piece of cinematic art, a true landmark, and a cultural treasure worthy of every accolade. A personal favorite and highly, highly recommended.
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Summary: Americana at its Best!
Review: My husband and I watch this classic at least twice a year and just love the nostalgic look at America! Judy Garland is at her loveliest here, and each song is one you might go home singing to yourself after watching this movie. Judy's wistful rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" brings a lunp to my throat each time I hear it, and I'm certain that people of all ages will love the simple beauty of family life in turn of the century America portrayed in this film.
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Summary: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Review: The first Technicolor film directed by Vincente Minnelli, Meet Me in St. Louis was a sentimental tale about a close knit family at the turn of the century. The story begins in the Summer of 1903 and is divided into four segments, taking the audience through the four seasons of the year, culminating with the family's visit to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in the Spring of 1904. There is virtually no plot to this movie, it is just a series of happenings, which take place in the lives of the Smith family during the year. The audience is aware of the change of seasons which are also accompanied by changes, which are happening in their lives such as childhood adventures (Tootie's Halloween), a new romance (Esther and the boy next door) and a dilemma (who will escort who to the Christmas dance). The most important earth shaking thing that happens in the movie is the probability that Mr. Smith (Leon Ames) will move his family to New York City. Problems arise in the family because of his decision. The climax of the movie shows the family attending the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, exclaiming what a wonderful city they live in and that it could only happen in St. Louis. All of the songs in Meet Me in St. Louis flowed nicely with the sequences. They more or less continued the dialogue. As Ted Sennett expressed in his book Hollywood Musicals, "...they emerged naturally from the feelings of the characters, especially Esther. Her secret longing for John Truett, expressed in 'The Boy Next Door,' eliminated the need for dialogue. Her joy at the prospect of spending a day with him at the fairgrounds bursts forth in 'Trolly Song,' and her sorrow of leaving St. Louis is tempered by compassion for her little sister in the warming 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.'" These songs by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane have long been remembered and enjoyed by people of all ages. Meet Me in St. Louis was released in the fall of 1944. It was an immediate success and became the second highest grossing film for MGM (Gone with the Wind was the first). This film was the turning point for MGM and Hollywood musicals, where the director put together all the elements that go into creating a musical - photography, décor, costumes, performances, score. I happened to enjoy this movie because the music was great, costuming was superb and the actors really complemented one another. They actually seemed liked an honest to goodness family. This movie was well-received at the time probably because it was released in the right place at the right time. In 1944, we had already been at war for three years and the people were weary. They needed a movie like this to take their minds off their troubles, to cheer them up and remind them of the way life used to be at the turn of the century.
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Summary: ONLY 5 STARS?!
Review: Just about the most perfect musical ever made! I've seen this film so many times that I've lost count! Each performance is absolute perfection! It is so much more than "just a musical". It is a slice of life from a long gone era. If you are a Garland fan you simply cannot miss this one. She is simply stunning to look at and that voice...that spectacular voice...
WHERE IS THE DVD? HURRY, HURRY...WE NEED THE DVD!!!
Rating: 
Summary: That Marvelous "Trolley Song"!
Review: When I was a littleGal, my folks had a collection of Decca 45s which we would all play from time to time, and the best of the whole lot was Judy Garland's bouncy "Trolley Song". In fact, that was why I was so interested in seeing "Meet Me in St. Louis" in the first place when I first did, years ago, to see the film where that happy song comes from. While I can understand exactly why so many people just love "Meet Me in St. Louis", I must confess I am not really one of the company. Why so? Well, there are two main reasons. One is Margaret O'Brien. I have never liked this cloying child actress; I think she's obnoxious. So when there was a whole episode in the movie featuring her at Halloween time, I just about lost my mind! So much for her. The second reason has to do with regional pride. The plot focuses on how this St. Louis family will have to be relocating to New York City because that's where dad Leon Ames is being promoted to. This idea is reviled by the entire rest of the family, who continually despair of having to live in a tenement in Manhattan. Well, as a lifelong resident of New York City, I was insulted by this attitude. First of all, people who had the money that this family did would not be living in a tenement, so that's just an ignorant idea. Second, well...I guess I have no clearly formed second reason except that it's insulting to hear your hometown run down over and over with no defense! Who wants these people in New York anyway? We already have the "Life with Father" cast and they're happy to be in a well-appointed brownstone. Now that this is off my chest, I can say a little more about what is GOOD in this movie. The parents Leon Ames and Mary Astor are great, as is old granddad, GWTW's Dr. Meade. Judy and her sisters wear lovely costumes that aren't really accurate, but that's okay with me. But "Meet Me in St. Louis" is mostly great for its score, a mixture of vintage pieces like "Under the Bamboo Tree" and original compositions like "The Boy Next Door". And of course, it certainly helps if the gal singing the score is Judy Garland, MGM's #1 female entertainer. By turns funny and winsome, Judy brings a freshness and vitality to this role that stands tall among her acheivements. It probably helped that she and director Vincente Minnellli were falling in love during the shooting and married soon after. So, "Meet Me in St. Louis" is a classic Metro musical--I would just like to lighten up on the NYC trashing and jettison the brat. But that's my personal preference; I'm sure most everybody else will absolutely love it.
Rating:
Summary: Judy Garlands best
Review: This movie is one of the vary best of this time period. A loving family with real problems for a change, and the music and voice of judy Garland make this movie sparkle. I always watch this movie when I'm sad, or just need a flashback to my childhood. I recomend this movie to everyone, weather your a fan of old movies or not. Even if you hate everything that Judy Garland did,you'll love this movie.
Rating:
Summary: My All Time Favorite
Review: This movie traces every season, combining romance, tribulation, humor and wonderful music, including Judy Garland singing,"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". It's best feel good movie ever made. Can't go a single Christmas without watching it again. It's a great movie for young and old. The little girl, Tudy, does a wonderful job of winning the audience, adding a capricious touch of mischievious innocense to the already lovely story.
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Summary: One of the Truly Great American films.
Review: The three great Judy Garland masterpieces - 'The Wizard of Oz', 'Meet me in St. Louis' and 'A Star is Born' - are so precious because they deal with the idea of 'Home', one far more important than anything as trivial as love and death. In these films, the tension, the poignancy, the angst arises from two impossible desires - to escape home, to assert one's own identity, to achieve space and privacy; and the terror of losing home, security, one's 'place'. 'Louis' dramatises this with an amazing intensity, and should rightly be called a tragicomedy. The film is concerned with female space, rarely leaving the home; a space defined by an often absent Father who nevertheless determines actions with the power of a God (or Santa Claus): in group compositions, he is usually to be found on a higher level to the women, looking down on them. From the outset, this domestic space is recognised as a prison: one of the first images we see are the 'bars' of the staircase; Esther's first dress (in a film where costumes are vital emotional signifiers) is striped like a convict's uniform; the recurring visual motif is of female characters, especially Esther, framed, in doorways, mirrors, and especially windows, looking out on a life they cannot join. This emphasis on female confinesment, on life restricted to interior spaces, anticpates the great melodramas of the 1950s, of which director Minnelli himself was to become a master. 'Louis' is credited as a milestone in musical history because it is the first film to integrate the songs into the emotional lives of the characters, rather than simply as show-stopping extravaganzas (what about 'Show Boat', though?). In music, characters can express what must be withheld in real life (heightened in this film by the colour, choreography, lighting, and Minnelli's 'commentary' in his compositions, such as the statue overlooking the piano as Esther and Rose sing). Paradoxically, this confinement does offer a lot of freedom, a space where the women can control their activities away from the male gaze. The other recurrent motif in the film is theatre, putting on shows, costumes and identities, pretending, playing ruses. This element of performance, of course, shows how the 'natural' unit of the family is actually a construct; but, more positively, it allows the girls to try out different roles and possibilities before the inevitable one of marriage - it also creates the atmosphere for magical transforations, such as an old man turning into a young beau behind a Christmas tree. After all, the father here is no domineering monster - his sense of frustration at being tied down to the family, his talent and capabilities being thwarted or underused, is beautifully done, hinting at the crises in masculinity Minnelli would later explore in classics like 'Some Came Running'. 'Louis' is a deliberately nostalgic film, looking back in the middle of an apocalyptic war to turn-of-the-century Americana. But this period in the film is also a time of modernity, of new inventions, new modes of transport, and the World Fair itself. The unchanging way of life of the Smiths is already in danger, while the comparative freedom of the youngest daughters hint at changes to come. The film is structured around seasonal set-pieces, asserting continuity, but these seasons, such as Halloween, are also breaks from the norm, where the fragility of the family is acknowledged, with the many references to Death and spinsterhood. The Smiths are such a wonderful, funny, loving, intelligent, resourceful family, that the various crises, literal and latent, thrown their way, makes the film all the more emotionally upsetting, reaching a shocking climax with the snowman decapitation (although the earlier scene in which Tootie trick-or-treats the emotionally dead couple with the dog, is a nightmare vision of another kind of family life, crowned by a terrifying tracking shot). If only all families could be like the Smiths. Among an astonishing cast, Judy Garland is quite simply sublime - yearning, tragic, amused, and, in the fisticuffs porch scenes with Tom Drake, radiantly erotic.
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