150 Word Review: 'Meet Me In St. Louis' (1944)

I will be your tootsie wootsie

Photo: MGM

Released during the waning months of the Second World War, Meet Me In St. Louis is pure Hollywood escapism—an extra-strength dose.

Directed by the future father of Liza, Vincente Minnelli, Meet Me In St. Louis is a colorful, romantic look at a year in the life of a well-to-do family in 1903, years before the horrors of the 20th Century bloomed. Judy Garland stars as one of four sisters. Five years after The Wizard of Oz, she is all grown-up.

Mary Astor and Leon Ames charm as mom and dad. Tom Drake is the lead hunk. As Tootie, the youngest, a troublemaker, Margaret O'Brien dominates every scene she's in. The turn-of-the-century costumes are crackerjack, and then there's the lush music, including the Garland standards 'The Trolley Song" and 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.' This movie mixes hope and nostalgia and promises that our best days aren't behind us.

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