Meet Me In St Louis (1944)
(Vincente Minnelli, US 1944, 113 min., 35mm)
Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland’s first collaboration as director and star is this drama that follows the Smith family in 1903 St. Louis. The elder daughters both have romantic troubles. Rose (Lucille Bremer) is hoping that her beau, Warren, will propose to her over the phone from Yale. Esther (Judy Garland) is in love with John, her next door neighbor, who doesn’t know that she exists. As the family grows throughout the year, always anticipating the World’s Fair that will open in St. Louis the following year, father Lon (Leon Ames) receives a promotion that would take him and the family to New York City. The family prepares to leave their home, making for a melancholy holiday season. This film introduced two of Garland’s most recognizable numbers: “The Trolley Song” and the Christmas standard “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Also showing: Wednesday, December 23