‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ 80th anniversary: Remembering Judy Garland’s Christmas musical film

Judy Garland‘s most iconic role is Dorothy Gale in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), and her most acclaimed is Esther Blodgett/Vicky Lester in “A Star Is Born” (1954). But this Judy fan of more than 40 years picks “Meet Me in St. Louis” as her favorite. Beautifully filmed in Technicolor, with one of Garland’s best soundtracks, as well as a film that changed the actress’s life in many ways, the Vincente Minnelli-directed Christmas musical film debuted eight decades ago on Nov. 22, 1944, in St. Louis, and had its New York premiere on Nov. 28. Read on for more about the “Meet Me in St. Louis” 80th anniversary.

Based on a series of stories by Sally Benson, “Meet Me in St. Louis” depicts a year in the life of the Smith family through a series of vignettes, from the summer of 1903 until the spring of the following year, culminating at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. The family struggles with patriarch Alonzo’s (Leon Ames) announcement that family will move to New York City after the holidays due to his job. Although mother Anna (Mary Astor) is unhappy about the decision, she supports her husband, while their children — Esther (Garland), Rose (Lucille Bremer), Tootie (Margaret O’Brien), Agnes (Joan Carroll), and Lon Jr. (Henry H. Daniels, Jr.) — lament the fact that they will miss the World’s Fair and lose touch with friends and potential romantic partners.

Garland had struggled with her “girl next door” image in MGM musicals like “Babes in Arms” (1939) and the “Andy Hardy” films, often alongside her friend Mickey Rooney. Although she had more mature roles in “For Me and My Gal” (1942) and “Presenting Lily Mars” (1943), the young actress continued to be insecure about her appearance. Minnelli decided to give Garland a more natural and mature look, and brought in a groundbreaking makeup artist who became a close friend of Garland’s.

Dorothy Ponedel had crashed the all-male make-up artists club a decade prior, and had perfected the screen siren image, soon becoming the go-to makeup artist of actresses like Marlene Dietrich and Mae West. With Garland, she first removed the nose discs and dental caps MGM had long used, and then employed her revolutionary methods of contouring and highlighting to give Garland her most mature and striking look on film up to that date. Garland was so appreciative that she demanded Ponedel for all her remaining films at MGM, and the two became lifelong friends.

Despite her appreciation for Ponedel, Garland still lacked self-confidence, was unhappy with the script and disliked Minnelli’s demanding style of directing. However, he won her over, and the two became romantically involved, although she was married to orchestra leader David Rose at the time. Shortly after her divorce, Minnelli became Garland’s second husband in 1945, their daughter Liza was born the following year and Minnelli would direct her four more times before their divorce in 1951.

Another of Garland’s concerns about the picture was that she would be upstaged by the seven-year-old O’Brien, who was gaining a reputation as one of the premiere leading child stars of the day and was known for her ability to cry on cue. Indeed, some of the most memorable scenes in “Meet Me in St. Louis” involve the Tootie character, including her confrontation with a grouchy neighbor on Halloween and her song-and-dance with big sister Esther at a grown-up party. In one of the most poignant scenes ever captured on film, Esther sings “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to a tearful Tootie, who is fretting about the move. For her work on this film and others that year, O’Brien received the Academy Juvenile Award.

Although “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane), has become a classic tune with its touch of nostalgia mixed with a dab of hope, the original lyrics were a bit more depressing, leading to Minnelli and Garland to ask for a revision. The original lyrics of “It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past” was changed to “Let your heart be light / Next year all out troubles will be out of sight.” That tune, and two more became Garland staples over the years. Esther pours all her lovelorn feelings into “The Boy Next Door,” while “The Trolley Song” is a more upbeat tale of how she lost her heart to “the handsomest of men.” “The Trolley Song” received an Oscar bid for Best Original Song (losing to “Swinging on a Star” from “Going My Way”), and it and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” are both included on the AFI list of 100 greatest songs from American films.

Garland’s concerns about the film, as well as her now-infamous tardiness and absences, caused delays in production, but they weren’t the only problems. O’Brien, Astor, and Carroll all suffered serious illnesses during filming, and heavy rains postponed exterior shoots. But Minnelli pulled it all together to create a magical combination of surreal fantasy and homey nostalgia, in full Technicolor with an incredible soundtrack.

And audiences adored the finished product. It finished second for the year, behind Best Picture winner “Going My Way,” and one of MGM’s most profitable films up to that time. Besides Best Original Song, “Meet Me in St. Louis” earned Oscar bids for Best Screenplay, Scoring of a Musical, and Cinematography (Color). It has been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry, and was ranked by AFI as the 10th greatest musical of all time.

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