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).

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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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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 really coun... 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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Quotes from

Esther Smith: It's our last dance in St. Louis. I feel like I'm going to cry.


Grandpa: Excuse me, young man, but in the great country of China, when a stranger admires one of your possessions, it's common courtesy to offer it to him.
Kid at the ball: That's very interesting...
Grandpa: Well I spent many years in China, and if you want me to feel thoroughly at home, you might offer me your partner.
Kid at the ball: Huh?
Grandpa: Spoken like a true gentleman.


Esther Smith: I can't believe it. Right here where we live - right here in St. Louis.


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Facts about

Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland met on this movie, and married soon afterwards. Minnelli was the director for the film. Garland claimed she married him because she felt extremely beautiful during the film.
First intended as a duet for Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts in the Broadway production of "Oklahoma!", the Rodgers & Hammerstein song "Boys and Girls Like You and Me" had been discarded from that 1943 Broadway triumph and replaced with "People Will Say We're in Love". MGM producer Arthur Freed then purchased screen rights to the song, planning to interpolate it into the film score as a Judy Garland solo, but her rendition was cut from the picture. Miss Garland's Decca album of songs from the film included the song in an arrangement similar to her MGM prerecording. Later, the ballad was chosen to be crooned by Frank Sinatra to Betty Garrett in another Arthur Freed production, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, but again the tune was deleted. The footage of Judy singing the song to Tom Drake no longer exists, but on the Warner Home Video special-edition DVD, the original audio recording is played over Garland-Drake production stills. Only about two or three seconds of footage from this sequence may be seen on t
The street on which the Smith home stood was built specifically for "Meet Me in St. Louis." Located on MGM's vast Backlot #3 that was at Jefferson and Overland Boulevards in Culver City,it was known at the studio as "St. Louis Street" and all of the houses that were on it were used in various film and television shows throughout the next 27 years, until Lot 3 was demolished to make way for an apartment and condominium project. Even in 1970, the last year of Lot 3's existence, the Smith home still looked like it did in 1944, minus the set dressings, of course.
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National Film Registry

Meet Me in St. Louis

Released 1944
Inducted 1994
(Sound)




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Also directed by Vincente Minnelli




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