Like The Wizard of Oz or The Sound of Music, this is one of those musicals that has really stood the test of time. It’s the movie on whose set Judy met director Vincente Minnelli (they married soon after and had daughter Liza) and she stars as Esther, just one member of a warm family happily living in St Louis who is shocked when their father announces they will be moving to New York.
Set in 1903 as the family await the arrival of the next year’s World’s Fair, this provides a pretty depiction of the old South, with gentleman callers, trailing flowers and horse and cart rides. It’s not all flowers and parasols, however, as Esther falls in love with the boy next door just before dad makes his monumental announcement, and little Tootie (O’Brien) shows she’s darker than your average movie cutie by morbidly diagnosing all her dolls with terminal diseases.
Simply lovely stuff that will mainly appeal to girls, this features Garland belting out ‘The Trolley Song’ and delivering an unforgettable rendition of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’.
Is Meet Me In St Louis suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
None.
If you like this, why not try: Little Women, The Sound Of Music, The King And I, The Slipper And The Rose, The Wizard Of Oz,