Meet Me In St. Louis

Yesterday I saw Meet Me in St. Louis, the final movie in the TCM Big Screen Classics series for this year (see below for next year's selections).  Believe it or not, I had never seen this movie (on the big screen or otherwise) so I was really excited for this opportunity.  This movie is a series of vignettes about the Smith family, including Alonzo Smith (Leon Ames), his wife Anna (Mary Astor), their children Lon, Jr. (Henry H. Daniels), Rose (Lucille Bremer), Esther (Judy Garland), Agnes (Joan Carroll), and Tootie (Margaret O'Brien), Grandpa (Harry Davenport), and their maid Katie (Marjorie Main), in the year leading up to the World's Fair of 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri.  In the summer, Rose and Esther are plotting romances with Warren Sheffield (Robert Sully) and John Truitt (Tom Drake), respectively.  In the fall, Agnes and Tootie are involved in a Halloween prank gone wrong.  In the winter, the family learns that Alonzo has been transferred to New York City.  They celebrate their final Christmas in St. Louis at an elegant ball on Christmas Eve and, afterwards, Esther must soothe a distraught Tootie.  In the spring, the family makes a visit to the World's Fair and they marvel at the fact that St. Louis is their home.  This movie is absolutely charming and features some well known songs such as "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."  Garland gives a marvelous performance as Esther but, in my opinion, Margaret O' Brien absolutely steals the show as the irrepressible Tootie.  I loved her sassy performance in the song "Under the Bamboo Tree," her Halloween prank on a grouchy neighbor, and her poignant response to the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."  I really enjoyed all of the period costumes and the fantastic Smith family home, especially all of the gas lamps.  I loved this appealing and nostalgic look at a time gone by and I would highly recommend checking it out on the big screen (go here for information and tickets).

Note:  I have really enjoyed all of the movies in the series this year (I was able to see all of them except for The Wizard of Oz because it was screened during the Sundance Film Festival).  The selections for next year were recently announced and include An American in Paris, Love Story, The Color Purple, King Kong, A League of Their Own, Airplane!, Annie, The Blues Brothers, Ghost, Babe, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Psycho, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Fiddler on the Roof.  Are you excited to see any of these movies on the big screen?  I am looking forward to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which is one of my favorite movies!