Incontriamoci a Saint Louis

"The day was bright, The air was sweet, The smell of honeysuckle almost knocked you off your feet ..." This is unashamed nostalgia for an idealised America, dating back to an age of innocence before the two World Wars.

It is 1903, and the city of St. Louis is ablaze with excitement as it prepares to host the World's Fair. Here in the geographic heart of the USA, the very pleasant Smith family lives in a very pleasant suburb of the very pleasant St. Louis. We watch the Smiths through the seasons and into Spring 1904 as they fall in love, dress up for Hallowe'en, bottle their home-made ketchup and .... well, ride the trolley.

This is a world of tranquillity where nothing can threaten the homely complacency of Middle America. The evening meal is always a wholesome family gathering, the month of July is always sunny, big brothers are always handsome Princeton freshmen and the iceman's mare knows the neighbourhood so well that she stops at each home on her round without needing to be told. The only shadow which falls across the Smiths' domestic bliss comes when Alonzo, the paterfamilias, proposes to move the household to New York. However, Alonzo soon realises what a terrible mistake it would be to tear his wife and daughters away from their beloved MidWest: he relents, and family harmony is restored.

This heartwarming, exuberant musical is one of the very best ever made, and MGM knew exactly what it was doing in terms of box office success. The film was calculated to cash in on the zeitgeist of 1944, the year in which vast American armies were sent across to Europe and the war in the Pacific turned decisively in America's favour. Millions of young American men found themselves far from home in what was certain to be the last Christmas of the War, and millions of families back home missed them terribly: " Some day soon we all will be together, If the fates allow. Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow ..."

In this idealised America, everyone is prosperous, everyone conducts himself like a good citizen should, old folks are cheerful, healthy and alert, domestic servants feign grumpiness but actually adore their masters, and teenage girls are flirtatious but impeccably proper. There are strong American folk-resonances in the homespun wisdom of the family elders, the strong, straight young adults and the 'down home' hearthside gatherings and dances. It could be argued that the film invokes an America that has never in fact existed. This maybe so, but the Perfect America which we experience here exerts an emotional pull far stronger than any real place could command.

Vincente Minnelli directed the movie with panache. There are many subtle but sure touches - for example, two short scenes which establish the proposition that the family's happiness is inextricably linked to St. Louis. Alonzo announces the move to New York, and with clever choreography Minnelli turns him into a pariah in his own living-room. Esther and Tootie gaze at the snowmen which they will have to abandon in the yard, and we know without any dialogue to help us that the eastward migration isn't going to happen. With similar cinematic economy, Minnelli shows us the happy commotion around the Christmas tree without allowing it to distract our attention from Alonzo and Anna, whose wordless reconciliation sets the seal on the plot. This is directing of rare skill.

In films of the 1960's and 70's a stock device was used: a sepia-tinted photograph would 'come to life' with colour and motion, to show that the scene was laid in the past. Minnelli employs the trick elegantly in this film, and I am not aware of any example which pre-dates this one.

This is a 'formula' movie, but its ingredients are so fine and they are combined with such marvellous skill that the whole eclipses the parts. Among the elements which contribute to the project's success are the songs - and the film contains three classics: "The Trolley Song", "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and (of course) "Meet Me In St. Louis".

Judy Garland was 22 years old when she made this film (though she easily passes for a 17-year-old) and it was this movie which cemented her relationship with Minnelli. They married one year later and Liza was born in March 1946.

Predictably enough, the film has a happy ending. The teenage girls Esther and Rose are paired off, and the Smiths get to visit the World's Fair as one big happy family. As they look for the restaurant (once again, a meal signifies domestic harmony) they are distracted by the lighting-up of the city, a filmic metaphor for the approaching end of World War Two. The sisters are filled with awe at America's technological ascendancy, and that such miracles can be achieved by such folksy, simple people - "Right here where we live: right here in St. Louis!"

Many would call "Meet Me In St. Louis" to be a classic. I'm not sure I'd rate it that highly, although I'm not suggesting that it's a bad movie by any means. It's a very pleasant movie to watch, full of good old fashioned home town values. It follows the Smith family of St. Louis in the months leading up to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, beginning in the summer of 1903 and focusing very closely on the decision by father Alonso (Leon Ames) to take a new position in New York City and prepare the family for the move that they really don't want to make.

What I found most compelling in this was a couple of the performances. First was that of Judy Garland as Esther, one of the Smith daughters. Garland, of course, had become famous five years earlier with her spectacular turn as Dorothy in "The Wizard Of Oz" - a role that probably overshadowed everything else she did in her very successful career. This would have been her first significant "adult" role, and she handled it very well. Her success in "The Wizard" was no fluke, and this movie provided her with the opportunity to once again showcase her talent, particularly as a singer. The other performance that struck me was that of Margaret O'Brien as Tootie Smith - the youngest of the Smith sisters. O'Brien became a busy enough actress (mostly in television guest roles) but watching her in this made me surprised that she didn't become a bigger player in Hollywood. She was very good as Tootie - and there's one scene in particular in which she's simply spectacular, set on Christmas Eve 1903 as she breaks down into a raging tantrum over the family's pending move. Garland and O'Brien shared a song and dance scene in a performance of "Under The Bamboo Tree." This was also the movie in which Garland met her future husband, Vincente Minnelli, who was the director. There are a number of good musical numbers, and I was actually surprised to discover that it was in this movie that the song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" debuted.

What's lacking in this movie is any truly compelling story. I suppose the "glue" that holds it all together is the evolution of the romance between Esther and John Truett (played by Tom Drake.) But there's really no single narrative running through this, aside from the family's lack of enthusiasm about their move. But basically it's a series of vignettes moving us through the months from the summer of 1903 to the opening of the World's Fair at the movie's end. And yet, even with a story that isn't all that meaningful, this is an easy movie to watch and enjoy. It features a good cast - including June Lockhart (another well known actress in a very early role) and there's a sense of fun and humour involved in it. I really appreciated the vignettes around Halloween and Christmas in 1903 St. Louis. (7/10)

This movie is sheer delight from start to finish. I'm sure St. Louis in 1904 wasn't really the same as its depicted here...but it should have been! Only the most jaded cynic imaginable could not be charmed by this film.

The songs are perfect, the cinematography, the set direction, costumes, everything really - MGM movie magic at its best! Vincente Minelli did a superlative job of direction, and the cast simply could not be bettered. Judy Garland gives what I feel is the most relaxed and charming performance of her career, and sings like an angel, not like the jittery bundle of nerves she would become in later life. Tom Drake is very winning as the "Boy Next Door" we should all be so lucky to have. But Margaret O'Brien absolutely steals the picture as the adorable but irrepressibly morbid Tootie, a refreshing change from the normally saccharine moppets of Hollywood's golden years. Marjorie Main also swipes a scene or two as the mouthy cook, and Mary Astor and Leon Ames give sterling support as the parents. Their "make-up" scene at the piano is beautifully done.

What a wonderful antidote this movie is when you need to retreat from the harsh world and have your spirits lifted for a while.

If there was no other reason why Judy Garland married Vincente Minnelli, then this film supplies the reason for how he won her hand. It's a valentine to her talents and, as an example of MGM's gilt-edged manufacture, it's a sold gold entry.

Yes, Tom Drake was a bit wan as Judy's love interest but everyone else in the cast, maybe even including the too-glamorous Lucille Bremer, are just right, especially the inimitable Marjorie Main. Mary Astor, already deep in the throes of her extended bout with alcoholism as the family's matriarch shows nary a sign of her illness, such was the wizardry of the makeup artists, costumers, hair dressers and the cinematographer. And Judy, too, already addicted to the medications that her tyrannical studio bosses used to keep her nose to a very demanding grindstone, looks as wholesome and lovely as one could wish, particularly in the "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" number.

It's one of those Golden Age classics that always repays a return viewing and its naysayers are in a rather lonely minority, in my opinion.

It's summer 1903. The Smiths live comfortably in St. Louis. Esther Smith (Judy Garland) has a crush on the new next door neighbor John. Tootie Smith (Margaret O'Brien) is the youngest of four daughters. Rose Smith (Lucille Bremer) is desperate to get married. The family and their friends are eager to see the World's Fair. Then father has news. He's getting a big promotion in New York City, but it seems nobody else is happy with the move.

This has an old Hollywood glow about it. I'm not just talking about the glowing Technicolor. It's the songs with a couple big iconic all-timers. It's the old fashion family film. It's the sincere energetic golly-gee performances of Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien. It's the overall sense of goodness. It doesn't have one mean bone in its body. I do like the Halloween section where it turns a bit spooky, but it always has its sweetness. It's so darn sentimental.