HotToastyRag It's sentimental favorite time here on Hot Toasty Rag. I'm sure everyone has their own favorite Judy Garland impersonator, but at my house, there's no comparison to my mom. And while she has been known to wave her hands in the air during "The Man That Got Away" or "I Could Go On Singing," it's "The Trolley Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis that is her signature Judy Garland performance. Years before watching the movie for the first time, I knew the "Clang Clang Clang" song by heart because of my mom. Therefore, my review for Meet Me in St. Louis is going to be unapologetically biased. Ironically, she doesn't even really like the movie! I'm the one who insists on keeping our VHS copy.Judy Garland, Lucille Bremer, and Margaret O'Brien are sisters in an all-American family in the early 1900s. Judy and Lucille have romantic problems to worry about, and Margaret doesn't always play nice with the other neighborhood kids. Add in Marjorie Main, the family's grumpy maid, two other children, a father-in-law, and a new invention called the telephone, and both parents, Leon Ames and Mary Astor, have their hands full! The film is chock-full of songs, with old-fashioned standards like the title song and "Under the Bamboo Tree," as well as new songs for the film, including "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." While the movie is upbeat and fun, it's also a little sad; Judy sings the Christmas song to a sobbing Margaret who has just destroyed her own snowman. I always feel sorry for Leon Ames's character in the film. Not only is he overrun by females in the house, but he's constantly put down, stifled, criticized, and left out of important family discussions. At that time, the turn of the 20th century, men were believed to rule their own roosts, but maybe they didn't. Meet Me in St. Louis is such a heartwarming piece of Americana; maybe it was realistic for the father figure to have less of a say in his house than the overwhelming majority. In any case, my heart still goes out to Leon, a character actor who was normally overlooked.I love this one, despite the sadness, because there were so many famous moments I was taught as a kid and looked forward to seeing for the first time onscreen after years of build-up. This might not wind up be your favorite Judy Garland movie, but you can rent it and see if you like it.

dougdoepke Justly legendary musical from MGM. It's just the sort of lavish production the studio specialized in. Nothing too serious beyond romantic mix-ups, along with happy endings you can count on. It's also perfectly cast with little Tootie (O'Brien) stealing the film under heavy competition from a starry-eyed Garland. Note that except for dad (Ames) the men have clearly secondary roles. Note too that it's the girls who get to flounce around in wardrobe's best period frocks, and a sight they are. The musical selections are outstanding. I especially enjoyed Tootie and Es's (Garland) cute little song and dance, Under The Bamboo Tree. And, just for spice, Tootie singing that she won't get drunk anymore! That is, when she's not plotting dark mischief.No need to go on about one of Hollywood's most revered musicals. Sometimes things just fall magically into place as they do here. I do have to say that I enjoyed the first "family" part more than the second more conventional "romantic" part. But that's just minor. Anyway, it's decades since I last saw the 100+ minutes, but am really glad I tuned in again. And so will you, if you haven't already.

romanorum1 The movie covers four seasons between the summer of 1903 and the spring of 1904. Based upon the recollections of Sally Benson (who wrote for the "New Yorker," 1941-1942), the spotlight is on the upbeat lives of the upper middle class Smith family that, residing in a suburban St. Louis Edwardian house, includes patriarch Alonzo Smith (Leon Ames), wife Anna (Mary Astor), four daughters, an uneventful son (Henry H. Daniels, Jr.), a wisecracking grandpa (Harry Davenport), and even an imperturbable housekeeper, Katie (Marjorie Main). The main excitement is, of course, the announcement that St. Louis will host the 1904 World's Fair (Louisiana Exposition, the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase). The other story lines mostly focus on three of the Smith daughters. For two older girls (Esther and Rose) the emphasis is, of course, on romance. At dinnertime, twenty year-old Rose (Lucille Bremer) gets a long distance telephone call from her boyfriend in New York, waiting for a proposal that never comes. Seventeen year-old Esther (twenty-two year-old Judy Garland) falls in love with the boy next door, John Truett (Tom Drake). For the youngest girl, Tootie (Margaret O'Brien), a little terror, the focal point is on mischief, especially on Halloween. But the biggest threat of the happy existence of the family is the announcement of the patriarch, a successful attorney, after he arrives home from work on Halloween evening. Mr. Smith notifies his family that he will accept a job promotion to New York City effective January 1904. Uprooting the family's comfortable existence will shatter everyone's dreams as the Smiths are intrinsically linked to St. Louis, the heart of Midwest America. Expertly directed by Vincente Minnelli, "Meet Me in St. Louis" is one of the most beautiful musicals ever created, despite its formulaic storyline (not unusual among musicals anyway). Minnelli's eye for period detail is stunning. There are the impeccable sets (like the colorful rooms in the Smith house and the electrical lighting of the Fair), music score, early twentieth century costumes, and first-rate artistic performances. In particular, dark-eyed and auburn-haired Judy Garland danced, sang, and looked as well as she ever did. Charming with old-time innocence, the film's musical scores are almost beyond comparison ("The Trolley Song," "Skip to My Lou," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," etc.). Note how deftly Director Minnelli handles the change from scene to song back to scene without skipping a beat. In fact, the songs are integrated with the storyline. Minnelli loved gorgeous color, especially red motifs. Note the shiny red automobile at the very beginning, reddish wallpaper, the family room table lamp, grandpa's fez, the hall bench seat across from the upstairs bathroom, the milk pitcher, the small rose wall picture, and the homemade ketchup. Then there are Judy Garland's winter dress and ruby red lipstick. Color red is also prominent in the four framed prints – sepia photographs that come alive in color – that herald each season. Each frame has its own character and does remind one of the Americana of Courier and Ives. The arrangement was probably copied five years later by Mervyn LeRoy in his "Little Women." As the coming-of-age members react to each predicament, there is that undertone of adieus that will change the family forever. Then there is that hint of a complex world (the Exposition itself) descending around the Smiths that foretell the end of the simple ways of the good old days (the period before World War I). But for the next few months the Smith family will be at its peak and the changes will be slight. It is the World's Fair that will garner attention. After all, as Esther remarks at the end, "I can't believe it, right here where we live, right here in St. Louis."

moviemattb This review won't be long because I do not have too much to say about this movie. So here it is. "Meet Me in St. Louis" is about the Smith family that are living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904. I don't find anything groundbreaking about this movie, because of the amount of praise it gets. Don't get me wrong, I like the movie but I don't think its a masterpiece or anything like that. For what it is, I think its fine and it is indeed watchable. The cast in this movie are good, especially for Judy Garland; although I like her more when she was in "The Wizard of Oz." I do love the film's cinematography and its setting. I really do enjoy the atmosphere of St. Louis as you go on out and have a wonderful time. The movie is also well directed and well written. The movie itself is not really a Christmas movie, but at the end, it does somehow leave you that Christmas feeling as Garland sings wonderfully with the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas;" the songs in the film are fine too. Again, there is nothing groundbreaking about it but I do think it is a fine relaxation of a movie as you just want to enjoy the atmosphere of St. Louis. So that is what I thought of "Meet Me in St. Louis," and I give it an 8 out of 10.