Meet Me in St. Louis

The Smith family in St. Louis between 1903 and 1904. The city is preparing for the World's Fair and each of the four daughters has her own business. Esther is in love with John Truett next door. Then the father announces that his work is taking them to New York, and the whole house comes apart. Vincente Minnelli directed. Judy Garland plays Esther and Margaret O'Brien plays her little sister Tootie, with Mary Astor, Tom Drake and Marjorie Main in the cast. It was shot in Technicolor and became MGM's most successful musical of the forties. Garland resisted the project at first, finding the script weak. At that time she was dealing with severe emotional problems, an acute addiction to amphetamines and numerous physical ailments. Minnelli's patience won her over, and the two married after filming. Three standards came out of it, all by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane: The Trolley Song, The Boy Next Door and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The original lyrics of the Christmas song were considered too melancholy and were rewritten. It took 5 million dollars domestically on first release and was the second-highest-grossing film of 1944. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1994. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 99 percent. Who it is for: viewers who like classical Hollywood musicals and Judy Garland. Who it is not for: anyone waiting for events. The film happens inside one house across four seasons and its tension is a decision about moving.