Dir. Vincente Minnelli, US, 1944, 113 mins, re-issue
Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor, Leon Ames, Lucille Bremer, Tom Drake
Review by Jean Lynch
In a film crammed full of memorable songs, the most enduring has to be the beautiful, poignant ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’, sang by Judy Garland to Margaret O’Brien, making for a very timely Christmas theatrical re-issue.
Esther Smith (Garland) is comforting tearful Tootie (O’Brien) because the wealthy Smith family are spending their last Christmas in the home they love, in St Louis, the place they love, as their father has announced he has received a promotion – to New York. While the film charts a year in the life of the four Smith sisters, with their lives and loves, its the snowy Christmas scenes that most punch home the message that family and the home are what matter most. We’ve already seen what are frankly quite everyday goings-on, not least Esther falling for the boy next door (Drake), but in the potential loss of what we take for granted we suddenly realise their importance. The film was originally released at the tail end of the Second World War, a time when families were being torn apart and losing loved ones, and everyday stability was under constant threat, so this was – and remains – a reminder and reassurance to hold close all that we hold dear.
The film also harks back to a nostalgic time, to America at the turn of the century, looking forward to the 1904 World State Fair coming to St Louis, effectively making the town the centre of the world which, of course, it already is for the Smith Sisters. A celebration of innovation, technology and exploration, the fair stood for pride and optimism, the place that America in 1944 was fighting for. The trolley cars, the horse and carriages, the balls and the debutantes, all belong to this mythical not-so-long-ago bygone era. Today, over 60 years on, the nostalgia, complete with its traditional nuclear family and its values, resonates all the more.
On the set on which she met her future husband, Garland is all grown-up and doe-eyed. The chemistry between her and the young O’Brien sparkles. However, it is O’Brien who most delights as Tootie, whether dueting with Garland, trick-or-treating in the very creepy Hallowe’en scene, or breaking the audiences’ hearts as she smashes the snowpeople she’d so lovingly built. Tootie is the child in all of us, her reactions our reactions when faced with circumstances beyond our control.
But most of all, Meet me in St Louis is a sumptuous musical, drenched in glorious technicolor and making full use of its effects to evoke the turning seasons and the feelings that they bring. Not just a feelgood movie but one that is as comforting and reassuring as hot milk and cookies and as warming as a winter waterbottle in a snuggly bed.
So grab your loved ones, wrap up warm and head to the cinema to enjoy a rare treat on the big screen, and have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
xx - posted on 23/05/2012 13:13:28
