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- This article is about the 1944 film. For the song of similar name featured in the film see Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 romantic musical from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of four sisters living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904. It stars Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Leon Ames, Tom Drake, June Lockhart, and Marjorie Main.
The movie was adapted by Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe from a series of short stories by Sally Benson, originally published in The New Yorker. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli. Minnelli and Garland met on the set and married the next year. In this film, Garland debuted the standards "The Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In 2005, Time.com named it one of the 100 best movies of the last 80 years.
Synopsis
The backdrop for Meet Me in St. Louis is St. Louis, Missouri on the brink of the 1904 World's Fair. The story centers on the middle-class Smith family, who lead a comfortable and happy life. The family has four daughters, Rose, Esther, Agnes and Tootie and a son, Lon. Esther, the 2nd eldest daughter (Garland), is taken aback by the boy next door, John Truitt (Drake), although he does not notice her at first. Life seems perfect for the family until Mr. Smith (Ames) reveals that he has earned a position at a law firm in New York and the whole family will have to leave St. Louis before the Fair.
Awards
It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Color, Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture, Best Music, Song (Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin for "The Trolley Song") and Best Writing, Screenplay.
Remakes
Meet Me in St. Louis was remade in 1959 for television, starring Jane Powell, Jeanne Crain, Patty Duke, Walter Pidgeon, Ed Wynn, Tab Hunter and Myrna Loy. It was directed by George Schaefer from the original Brecher and Finklehoffe screenplay.
It was remade again for television in 1966. This was a non-musical version starring Shelley Fabares, Celeste Holm, Larry Merrill, Judy Land, Rita Shaw and Morgan Brittany. It was directed by Alan D. Courtney from a script written by Sally Benson herself. This was to be a pilot for a TV series, but no network picked it up.
A Broadway musical based on the film was produced in 1989, with additional songs.
Source material
Benson, Sally. The New Yorker
- "5135 Kensington: January, 1904" Jan 31, 1942 - Tootie and Grandpa visit the fairgrounds
- "5135 Kensington: February, 1904" Feb 8, 1942 - Mr. and Mrs. Smith go out and the girls have a gay time at home
- "5135 Kensington: March, 1904" Mar 28, 1942 - The family visits the World's Fair
- "5135 Kensington: April, 1904" Apr 11, 1942 - Not moving to New York
- "5135 Kensington: May, 1904" May 23, 1942 - A last look at the Fair
External links
1944 films | Best Song Academy Award nominees | Films based on short fiction | MGM films | Musical films | St. Louis, Missouri | United States National Film Registry | Films shot in Technicolor
Heimweh nach St. Louis | Le Chant du Missouri | Meet Me in St. Louis | Vi mötas i St. Louis
"Meet Me in St. Louis"