Judy Garland

Margaret O'Brien

Mary Astor

Lucille Bremer

Leon Ames

Tom Drake

Marjorie Main

Harry Davenport

June Lockhart

Henry H. Daniels Jr.

Joan Carroll

Hugh Marlowe

Robert Sully

Chill Wills

Sidney Barnes

Judi Blacque

Victor Cox

Donald Curtis

Danny Daniels

Kenneth Donner

Mary Jo Ellis

Helen Gilbert

Buddy Gorman

Gary Gray

Sam Harris

Darryl Hickman

Charlotte Hunter

Victor Kilian

Beverly Luff

Matt Mattox

Bert May

Belle Mitchell

Mayo Newhall

Sid Newman

Robert Emmett O'Connor

John Phipps

Ellen Ray

Dorothy Raye

Beth Renner

William Smith

Myron Tobias

Dorothy Tuttle

Leonard Walker

Kenneth Wilson

Tom Batten

Dale Lefler

Albert Akst

Irving Brecher

Irene Sharaff

Cedric Gibbons

Jack Martin Smith

Arthur Freed

Edwin B. Willis

Vincente Minnelli

George J. Folsey

Lemuel Ayers

Fred F. Finklehoffe

Sally Benson

Irene

Jack Dawn

Charles Walters

George Stoll

Douglas Shearer

Paul Huldschinsky

Ralph Blane

Hugh Martin

Conrad Salinger

Victor Heerman

William Ludwig

Sarah Y. Mason

Doris Gilbert

Roger Edens

Dorothy Ponedel

Dave Friedman

Wallace Worsley Jr.

William H. Cunningham

Clarence J. Falk

Joe Edmondson

Standish J. Lambert

Frank McKenzie

Robert Shirley

Newell Sparks

William Steinkamp

Michael Steinore

John A. Williams

Donald Jahraus

A. Arnold Gillespie

Warren Newcombe

Mark Davis

Robert J. Bronner

Eugene Joseff

Natalie Kalmus

Henri Jaffa

David Crocov

Sidney Cutner

Robert Franklyn

Lennie Hayton

Wally Heglin

Frederick Herbert

Calvin Jackson

M.J. McLaughlin

Joseph Nussbaum

Comedy

Drama

Romance

Family

Meet Me in St. Louis

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

United States of America

A bit of cake and a song to blow away the wind of change.

A film that is firmly ticking all the boxes for those looking for a family classic to admire and tap your feet along with. This delightful musical deals with one family and their struggle to deal with the changing of the times at the turn of the century. When the Father is requested to move to New York permanently with his job, the rest of the family are not that keen to leave their memories and their beloved home in St. Louis, and in to the mix is the varying degrees of blossoming love involving the elder daughters and their respective beaus.

This film is just so gorgeous on many fronts, the colour beautifully realises the tremendous scope director Vincent Minnelli brings with his recreation of the era, the attention to detail is quality supreme. The story is good and earthy, a sort of tale to have the viewer hankering for the good old days before the world got itself in one big hurry. The songs are crackers, enjoy standards such as The Boy Next Door, The Trolley Song, and the simply precious Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. The cast are across the board doing good work but it is of course Judy Garland who carries the movie firmly on her slender shoulders, and here she has never been prettier, and her voice is practically as good as it ever was in her career.

A film for all the family to enjoy, a film that is from the top echelons of musicals, and a film that simply demands you relax and enjoy. 

Right, I'm off to get a piece of cake... 9/10

CinemaSerf

The trick with this film is not to look for anything serious or complicated in it. It is an engaging early 20th century bit of Americana - a charming costume drama peppered with gentle comedy, some fantastic songs, and Judy Garland probably the most comfortable in any role that I have sever seen her play (except, perhaps in "Easter Parade" released 4 years later in 1948). The story is set across a year in the life of the well-to-do "Smith" family from St. Louis. Mary Astor and Leon Ames try to raise their daughters "Esther" (Garland), "Rose" (Lucille Bremer) and the youngest, "Tootie" (Margaret O'Brien), whom I have to say stole most of the scenes the she was in (and I really don't like children in films). It tackles courtship - and a fairly clumsily carried out courtship at that - with Tom Drake ("Truett") and the poor men in the family - son "Lon Jr." (Henry Daniels) and "Grandpa" (Harry Davenport) are consistently run rings around... "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "The Trolley Song" and "Skip to My Lou" keep the toes-a-tapping - well maybe not the first one, so much - and the ensemble provide for a colourful, entertaining piece of cinema that Vincente Minnelli can be proud of. Sure it is a bit gloopy at times, but that's part of the overall sentiment of the film so if you have any cynical bones in your body - perhaps this is not for you.

English

Judy Garland's "The Boy Next Door" & "Meet Me In St. Louis"

Judy Garland Performs "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS | TCM