Meet Me In St. Louis Details

This portrayal of a perfect American family was too sugary for some critical tastes at the time, but it can be viewed today as a vintage MGM musical. Whatever the film's minor flaws, they are more than made up for by some dazzling musical numbers — such as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, The Trolley Song and Skip to My Lou — enhanced by the masterly direction of Vincente Minnelli at the top of his form. Providing a romanticised but still uplifting depiction of life in St Louis at the beginning of the 20th century, with Mary Astor as mom and Judy Garland as one of four daughters, this is a tale that only works against the backdrop of a more innocent age. It's delightful, and too good to miss.

Patchy but generally highly agreeable musical nostalgia with an effective sense of the passing years and seasons.