Meet Me In St. Louis [G]

In the city of St. Louis lives a lovely family of girls, the two eldest of which are chasing boys. Whilst the eldest sister Rose, has a proposal on the way, second eldest, Esther is pining for the boy next door. And with news that they are soon to leave their beloved St. Louis and move to New York, can Esther get her beau in time? 

This has to be one of the most pointless musicals in cinema history. There was no story, the songs were admittedly catching, but genuinely mediocre, and it just suddenly ended. I honestly can’t see the appeal in this movie at all, even for then 40s when it was made. 

In the city of St. Louis lives a charming family of girls, the two eldest of which are chasing boys. Whilst Rose, the eldest in the family, has a proposal on the way, Esther, the second eldest, is pining for the boy next door. With all the excitement about the World’s Fair and the news that they are soon leaving their beloved St. Louis and moving to New York, can Esther get her beau in time? 

What’s most unusual and unsuccessful about this movie is the combination of the two genres: musical and melodrama. There are catchy, light-hearted show tunes scattered throughout the film to play against the dramatic actions of the youngest daughter Tootie, and it just doesn’t work. 

As I mentioned before, there is no story to speak of, merely a chain of subdued dramas that are quick to be resolved. Although the movie gave us memorable songs such as The Trolley Song and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, even those songs that are still heard today cannot save this film. 

Judy Garland stars as Esther and I have to honestly say that Judy reached her actor’s peak when she did The Wizard of Oz. Watching her in this film did nothing for me whatsoever. I’ll happily admit that she is a visual treat and that it’s amazing that someone with the face of a pixie can have such a strong and belting singing voice, but all in all that’s all I can credit her with in this movie. Sorry. 

I think the only thing that I liked in this film was the authentic costumes. Those ruffles and full skirts and corsets are always hypnotising to watch on screen, especially in dance and ball scenes. 

Starring Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Leon Ames, Tom Drake, Marjorie Main, Harry Davenport, June Lockhart, Henry H. Daniels Jr., Joan Carroll Hugh Marlowe, Robert Sully, Chill Wills, Gary Gray, and Dorothy Raye, Meet Me In St. Louis was a pointless musicalthat had romance, melodrama, show tunes, and comedy randomly scattered throughout. I have no strong desires to add it to my collection. 

Clang clang clang went the trolley. Ding ding ding went the bell. Zing zing zing went my heartstrings. From the moment I saw you I fell.