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Meet Me in St. Louis Overview:

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) was a Family - Musical Film directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by Arthur Freed and Roger Edens.

The film was based on the short stories 5135 Kensington written by Sally Benson published in The New Yorker and as a Novel (June 14, 1941 - May 23, 1942 (magazine) and 1942 (novel)).

SYNOPSIS

On nearly every list of the best Hollywood musicals of all time, Minnelli's slice of Americana set during the 1904 World's Fair was unusual for its failure to employ a "backstage" plot device to set up the songs More important, it served to reestablish Garland's career and established Minnelli (Garland's future husband) as a major American filmmaker. The story of the well-to-do Alonzo Smith (Ames) and his family is a nostalgic portrait an idealized happy American household, where the biggest worries concern the romantic futures of daughters Garland and Bremer and a possible move to New York. With songs like "The Boy Next Door," "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas," and the famous "Trolley Song," this soon became MGM's second most successful film, bested only by Gone With the Wind.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Meet Me in St. Louis was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1994.

Academy Awards 1944 --- Ceremony Number 17 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best CinematographyGeorge FolseyNominated
Best Music - ScoringGeorgie StollNominated
Best Music - SongMusic and Lyrics by Ralph Blane and Hugh MartinNominated
Best WritingIrving Brecher, Fred F. FinklehoffeNominated
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Meet Me in St. Louis BlogHub Articles:

Win Tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics: Meet Me in St. Louis” (Giveaway runs now through Nov 24)

By Annmarie Gatti on Nov 18, 2019 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Win tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics: Meet Me in St. Louis (75th Anniversary)” on the Big Screen!In Select Cinemas Nationwide Sun Dec 8 and Wed Dec 11 “But the main thing is, Tootie, that we’re all going to be together, just like we’ve always been. That’s what reall... Read full article

The Saint: Mary Astor in "Meet Me In St. Louis"

By Vanessa Buttino on May 2, 2013 From Stardust

The Saint: Mary Astor in "Meet Me In St. Louis" The Smith House at 5135 Kensington Ave, St. Louis When I was around the age of 13 or so, I desperately wanted to live in the Smith household. Full of jolly family members, a crotchety old maid, and lovely Victorian decor, the Smith house conj... Read full article

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and Margaret O'Brien at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival

By Raquel Stecher on Nov 30, -0001 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog

I had the pleasure of attending a very special screening of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). It took place in the TCL Chinese Theatre (Grauman's Chinese) and actress Margaret O'Brien was in attendance. Seeing O'Brien at the TCM Classic Film Festival was an experience I'll never forget. In fact, I saw he... Read full article

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Meet Me in St. Louis Quotes:

Grandpa: You'll all be safe with me; I've got twelve guns in my room!
[after John tells Esther he couldn't pick up his tuxedo from the tailor because he was busy playing basketball]
John Truett: This is a fine going away present I'm giving you for Christmas. I'll bet you really hate me.
Esther Smith: Oh, no, John, I don't hate you! I just hate basketball!
Esther Smith: I can't believe it. Right here where we live - right here in St. Louis.
Johnny Tevis: Tootie, if you don't hit Mr. Braukoff in the face with flour and say "I hate you", the Banshee will haunt you forever!
John Truett: Gosh, Miss Esther, I hope I'm not too presumptuous, but you don't need any beauty sleep.
Esther Smith: What a nice compliment.
See More Quotes from Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis Facts
Van Johnson and Robert Walker were considered for the role of John Truett
The book on which the film is based originally ran as a weekly feature in the New Yorker Magazine in 1942. For the film many of the actions attributed to Tootie were actually done in real life by Sally Benson's sister Agnes. Also in reality, Benson's father moved the family to NYC and they never did come back for the World's Fair.
Director Vincente Minnelli worked hard to make the movie as accurate to the times as possible. Not only did its novelist, Sally Benson, give explicit directions as to the decor of her home down to the last detail, but the movie's costume designer took inspiration for many of the movies costumes right out of the Sears & Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and Marshall Fields catalogs from the time period.
Also going on at the time of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition were the Third Summer Olympic Games. They were the first Olympic Games to be held in the United States. Originally awarded to Chicago, President Theodore Roosevelt had the Games switched to St. Louis so that they would run at the same time as the World's Fair. This turned out to be a huge mistake. The Games merely became a side attraction to the fair's other events and turned out to be a first class disaster. They took nearly six months to complete and were very poorly run. Many competitors went to their graves without knowing that they had competed in the Olympics. As a result of these Games, the Olympic movement almost came to an end.
Margaret O'Brien was awarded a Special Oscar for Best Child Actor.
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