Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Director: Vincente Minnelli Watched: May 2018 Rating: 5/10 Told with four coming-of-age vignettes: Introductions -> Halloween -> Christmas Ball -> The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, Embraces the eponymous city and romanticizes the American family, Lovely costumes, cinematography, and production design, Fun soundtrack- brought us Garland's "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "The Trolley Song", But a flimsy plot, underdeveloped characters, and unimpressive acting combine to make this not much more than a forgettable feel-good musical. Gogyohka literally translates to "five-line poem." An alternative to the tanka form, the gogyohka has very simple rules. Five lines with one phrase per line. What comprises a phrase? Eye of the beholder- or the poet, in this case. #Gogyohka #PoemReview #Musical

Yeah, I know, me and all the rest who give this film its deserved one star will never convince the 10 star folks who gush with love for Judy of the vapidness and schmaltzyness of this dog (you can hear it barking all the way from St. Louis to my theatre in Brooklyn). Sure, it is slick, Minnelli was in his prime paying excruciating detail to what turns out, stuff that in the end, doesn't really matter or make a particularly good film. MGM threw plenty of money and the top technical talent in their employ at it and gave it the high-end Technicolor process, but none of that slickness does an outstanding movie make. The story is about an America that people would like to believe actually existed, but nothing even remotely resembling it ever did so it's really a lie from start to finish, and while that may make lots of people feel good, it can't make up for the banal story consisting of the silly, flirty mores that the writers of the 1940s project onto these fictional characters living in this make-believe turn-of-the-century fantasy world. Worse, even if you put aside the Pollyanna view of the period, there is no semblance of any recognizable human condition, be it 1890, 1940 or anything in between. If there were, if there was a focus on anything we could relate to as real, that would have been the saving grace, but there isn't. Thing is, I actually am a fan of musicals. I have no problem with people breaking into song -- you accept that when you sit down to watch a musical the same as you do for opera. It's the genre...accept it or just move on. I accept it, but only when the songs move the story along, when the music is memorable and when the lyrics are somewhat intelligent, and if we are lucky, even clever and witty. The paucity of such songs here barely rises to the level of a full fledged musical, most songs eschewing the above-mentioned criteria completely. One of them got turned into a traditional Christmas song, and whereas I might like musicals, I have come to HATE Christmas "favorites" because there are only about 20 of them and they are now played incessantly from October to the end of December, which means you can hear each of them about ten thousand times before the season is over...enough to make anyone hate ANY song or any season for that matter. Needless to say, that leaves me with only three or so songs in this movie that I might entertain as marginally tolerable and barely at that. That's a sad situation for a movie with the top of the pyramid, super "A List" star of MGM's musical stable. Also, why did I keep thinking I was hearing strains of GONE WITH THE WIND in the incidental music playing under some scenes? In fact, the dance party not only sounded like I was listening to the soundtrack of GWTW, but even LOOKED like it as well. And given that there was Harry Davenport reprising his identical GWTW role, it was a likness not difficult to miss...I guess Minnelli figured mimicking the biggest blockbuster of the era couldn't hurt his effort. Turns out, this is no GONE WITH THE WIND...or MY FAIR LADY or OKLAHOMA or CAROUSEL or CAMELOT or even THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN. Again, I understand it's a futile cause trying to get the Garland fans to tone down the adulation they give to this film, and fine, I never ever want to rain on anyone's parade -- if a movie makes anyone feel good on whatever level, far be it for me to tell them they shouldn't enjoy it; all I am saying is, as objectively as one can be with such things, this isn't one of the greatest, 10 star-worth musicals of all time as is claimed in so many of these posts. If it makes anyone feel good -- wonderful. But it's still horse-meat and grizzle served up as filet mignon.

This was the third time I watched this particular movie and the reason I watched this just now was because it was Christmas and this film had the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" sung by Ms. Judy Garland to Margaret O'Brien. Because I knew this film was made in 1944, part of me wondered when that song was written with those lyrics (much different than the revised ones written for 1957 when Frank Sinatra sang it and others after him would follow suit) during that time whether it was meant to address the audience of that period of their worries of their loved ones being overseas during the holidays and their concern of them ever coming back to them in the future. Anyway, this is such an entertaining musical with such great comedy and drama from not only Ms. Garland and O'Brien but also Harry Davenport as the grandpa and Marjorie Main as the maid. The best sequence involves Ms. O'Brien going out alone on Halloween involving a prank that was common during the 1903 period. Oh, and Ms. Garland also did great numbers like "The Boy Next Door" and "The Trolley Song". Oh, and no wonder she married director Vincente Minnelli after making this as she gets some of her best close-ups here! So on that note, that's a high recommendation of Meet Me in St. Louis. P.S. Great intro on the DVD from Judy and Vincente's daughter Liza Minnelli.

Greetings again from the darkness. There are, even amongst otherwise intelligent movie lovers, those who proudly proclaim "I don't like musicals". It's a somewhat understandable stance since so many of this genre are simply a group of songs linked together by a thin story with uninteresting characters. However, when done well, the musical can be a most enjoyable, emotional and entertaining ride. One of the best and most beloved is director Vincente Minnelli's Meet Me in St. Louis.If you were making a musical in 1944, your dream cast would certainly include Judy Garland. She was 22 years old at the time, just a few years removed from her iconic role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Ms. Garland was desperately trying to break free of her "Oz" and "Andy Hardy" teenage ingénue image and transition to adult roles. In fact, she pushed back hard at MGM against being cast in this film. Because of this, she initially struggled with the character of Esther until finally grasping the tone that director Minnelli was after. The result is clearly one of her best performances, and maybe her most beautiful look ever on screen.The story is broken into four sections … the four seasons leading up to the 1904 World's Fair to be held in St. Louis. The Smith family lives in a charming upper middle class Victorian home that serves as the centerpiece for most scenes … especially the intricate, winding mahogany staircase, and the elaborate gaslight fixtures throughout. Mr. and Mrs Smith are played by Leon Ames and Mary Astor (known best for The Maltese Falcon). They are joined in the house by a son Lon (Henry H Daniels, Jr), four daughters (Rose – Lucille Bremer, Esther – Judy Garland, Agnes – Joan Carroll, Tootie – Margaret O'Brien), a spry grandfather (Harry Davenport), and wise-cracking housekeeper (Marjorie Main). The family dynamics are such that numerous sub-stories are constantly being juggled.There are numerous pieces and tidbits associated with this film, so let's discuss just a few. While audiences today may find 7 year old Margaret O'Brien's performance as the youngest daughter Tootie to be a bit over the top, she won an honorary Oscar that year as the Best Juvenile Actor. Two sequences in particular stand out: the quite dark and harsh Halloween portion which accurately displays the dangerous activities of that era (today's trick or treat seems quite tame), and the song and dance routine performed in the parlor while wearing a nightgown. This is also the film where director Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland first met. They were married the following year and of course had a daughter, Liza Minnelli. All three were Oscar winners: Judy in 1940 for Best Juvenile Actor, Vincente for directing Gigi (1958), and Liza for Best Actress in Cabaret (1972).Sally Benson's series of short stories published in the New Yorker magazine inspired the film. The stories were based on Ms. Benson's childhood in St. Louis and she consulted on the script and set. In the movie, the Smith house is located at 1935 Kensington. For filming, the house was built on the MGM backlot on what became known as St. Louis Street. The street was used for many films, and the same house was used for the original Cheaper By the Dozen (1950). Sadly, the street fell into disrepair and was later destroyed and sold off by MGM (it's now condos and office buildings). Of course, this is a musical so the songs deserve mention. Many were original compositions for the film, including "The Trolley Song" (nominated for a Best Song Oscar) and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", the latter showcasing Ms. Garland in peak singing voice. The film was a huge box office success and was nominated for four Oscars (no wins). The set design and costumes are extraordinary, and the story is quite affecting as it focuses on family and what makes a home so special. This is a wonderfully sentimental taste of Americana at the turn of the century, and one of the best examples of how effective a musical can be in telling a story and connecting an audience to the characters.