Parents Say: age 7+ 
10 reviews
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A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this is an excellent classic for the whole family. Some kids, like young character Tootie, might be upset by the thought of the family having to leave their beloved home, but ultimately this is a sweet, upbeat movie that's entirely appropriate for young elementary school kids and up. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
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Community Reviews
- Parents say (10)
- Kids say (9)
age 7+
Based on 10 parent reviews
DanDB Adult
November 21, 2019
age 10+
Some issues in an otherwise forgettable musical
Overall, a nice, if slightly boring and contrived, musical. Two scenes gave me some pause: at a party scene early in the film Judy Garland's character and her younger sister perform a dance with racist overtones and, as other reviewers have mentioned, the Halloween scene is bizarre and promotes bratty and downright brutish behavior from children (references are made to "killing" and "torturing" people on Halloween by throwing flour at them). I would only watch this with children mature enough to understand the concept of outdated racial stereotypes and inappropriate behavior from other children.
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ftm68_99 Adult
January 16, 2021
age 11+
While there's nothing inappropriate for children, I'm not sure younger than 11 would enjoy it
I certainly disagree that the song sung by two sisters at a party that another reader referred to is racist. A dialect is used in the song, but so what? People use an Irish, or a southern or a "New Yawk" dialect or accent in a film sometimes, but is that to be considered racist? Not in my world.Otherwise, this movie shows a family that truly love one another without being maudlin about it. That it's funny, poignant, and exciting is icing on the cake. As are the songs, each of which is like one of those tiny silver balls that placed on a cake's icing.
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What's the Story?
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS covers the activities of the Smith family during 1903. Alonzo Smith (Leon Ames), a banker, might need to move the family to New York. This distresses his daughters, Ether (Judy Garland) and Rose (Lucille Bremer), who have their eyes set on a couple of young men. Esther has decided to marry "the boy next door," John Pruitt (Tom Drake), even though they have not yet met, while Rose is attracted to Warren Sheffield, and a bit impatient because he has not proposed.
Is It Any Good?
The movie's pleasures are in the period detail, the glorious songs and the loving and nostalgic look at a time of innocence and optimism. It was a time where a long-distance call was almost as thrilling as having the World's Fair come to your very own city. We see the family over the course of a year, celebrating Halloween and Christmas, riding the ice truck in the summer and building snowmen in the winter. They face the prospect of having to leave St. Louis so that Mr. Smith can accept a promotion. They wonder whether the older girl's two boyfriends will propose. They treat each other with great loyalty and affectionate tolerance. And then they live happily ever after.
In a cast that includes Mary Astor as Smith's wife, Lucille Bremer as another Smith daughter, and Marjorie Main as the housekeeper, the most fascinating character is played by 6-year-old Margaret O'Brien, who won a special Oscar for her remarkable performance. Its songs are a heady combination of period tunes and newly minted numbers by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, the best of which are The Boy Next Door, The Trolley Song, and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how they would feel if they had to pick up and move to a new city, or how they felt if they did recently. The father in this movie has a hard decision to make about whether he should take the new job, even though his family doesn't want to move. What are the best reasons for going, and what are the best reasons for staying? Who should make the decision? Do you agree with what he decided? Why does Tootie knock down her snowmen? Why is she proud of being "the most horrible"? What is most special about the town you live in? Would you like to live back in the time of this movie? What would you like best about living in those days?
Movie Details
- In theaters: November 28, 1944
- On DVD or streaming: April 6, 2004
- Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor
- Director: Vincente Minnelli
- Studio: Warner Bros.
- Genre: Musical
- Run time: 113 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: June 3, 2023
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Meet Me in St. Louis
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FAQs
Meet Me in St. Louis Movie Review? ›
User reviews205
Many would call "Meet Me In St. Louis" to be a classic. I'm not sure I'd rate it that highly, although I'm not suggesting that it's a bad movie by any means. It's a very pleasant movie to watch, full of good old fashioned home town values.
User reviews205
Many would call "Meet Me In St. Louis" to be a classic. I'm not sure I'd rate it that highly, although I'm not suggesting that it's a bad movie by any means. It's a very pleasant movie to watch, full of good old fashioned home town values.
Garland, under contract at MGM, was initially opposed to starring in this sentimental family tale. The part required her to portray a teenager, and, at age 21, she longed to be rid of the juvenile roles in which she had traditionally been cast.
How did Tootie get hurt in Meet Me in St. Louis? ›John Truitt drags Agnes and Tootie out of the way, so they don't get hurt or caught by police. As a result, Tootie splits her lip and loses a tooth. She is carried into the house sobbing and saying, “John Truitt tried to kill me!” prompting Esther to go next door and beat him up.
What is the plot of the movie Meet Me in St. Louis? › Does Esther marry John in Meet Me in St. Louis? ›Their plan backfires when Lucille turns out to be nice and insists that Rose be with Warren, while she goes with Lon, Jr. Embarrassed, Esther gives Lucille her dance card, then braves the clods. To her delight, John eventually shows up and, under a wintery moon, kisses her and proposes.
Is Meet Me in St. Louis appropriate for kids? ›Parents need to know that this is an excellent classic for the whole family. Some kids, like young character Tootie, might be upset by the thought of the family having to leave their beloved home, but ultimately this is a sweet, upbeat movie that's entirely appropriate for young elementary school kids and up.
What was the age difference between Judy Garland and her last husband? ›Deans, who was 12 years Garland's junior, came to her hotel room in New York to deliver drugs and they hit it off, dating off and on for a few years before Deans proposed marriage in 1969.
Did Judy Garland like Meet Me in St. Louis? ›Judy Garland considered Meet Me in St. Louis her favorite film, and rightly so, as it introduced three of her classic songs: “The Boy Next Door,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “The Trolley Song.”
How old was Judy Garland before she died? ›Judy Garland, 47, Found Dead.
Why do the kids throw flour in Meet Me in St. Louis? ›
Another tradition that was popular but isn't discussed much was portrayed in the 1944 film “Meet Me in St. Louis”, which takes place in 1903. A young child would try to seek revenge on a grumpy old man from the neighborhood by ringing the doorbell and throwing flour in the face of said grump.
Why was dinner to be an hour early in Meet Me in St. Louis? ›Upon request from Esther, Katie asks Mrs. Smith if they could have dinner an hour earlier because her sister is having trouble with her husband.
How old was Esther Smith supposed to be in Meet Me in St. Louis? ›Seventeen-year-old Esther Smith falls in love with boy-next-door John Truett and tries to get him to notice her. Meanwhile, twenty-year-old Rose is preoccupied with getting her long-distance beau to propose before she is deemed an old maid.
What happens at the end of Meet Me in St. Louis? ›Lon is enthusiastic about his promotion and the move, but his family is upset and unhappy at the thought of leaving St. Louis. Anna, loyally, agrees that if he wants to move, they will move. As Lon and Anna celebrate their love and togetherness, the children accept the future move to New York that their father wishes.
What happened to the house in Meet Me in St. Louis? ›The Benson house at 5135 Kensington Avenue in St. Louis no longer exists. After being sold, it fell into disrepair, eventually became uninhabitable, and was demolished in 1994. The house had also been used in the film Cheaper by the Dozen.
Who hit Tootie? ›Tootie claims that John hit her by the trolley tracks, and although Esther at first refuses to believe her, she changes her mind when a clump of hair is discovered in Tootie's hand. Enraged, Esther storms over to John's house, accuses him of being a bully and then beats and bites him.
Does Meet Me in St. Louis have a happy ending? ›The movie ends with the Smiths rejoicing at the fair. Judy Garland ended up marrying director Vincente Minnelli not long after the making of Meet Me In St. Louis.
Is Meet Me in St. Louis Based on a true story? ›In June 1941 The New Yorker published the first in a series of eight vignettes by Benson, based around the Smith family of St Louis. The family was a thinly veiled adaptation of Benson's own, with each story drawn from her own childhood.
Is the movie Meet Me in St. Louis a Christmas movie? ›Louis is a 1944 American Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Is Meet Me in St. Louis a golden age musical? ›Sally Benson's autobiographical stories about her childhood in St. Louis inspired this charming and nostalgic musical, one of the most beloved films of MGM's Golden Age.