Meet Me In St Louis review

Re-released in a new 35 mm print, this classic MGM musical is one of Hollywood's greatest feelgood movies. Made during World War Two, it casts a nostalgic eye over a middle-class family in turn-of-the-20th century America.

The eldest of four daughters, Rose (Lucille Bremer), is searching for a suitable beau, while her sister Esther (Judy Garland) is hankering after a boy from their genteel neighbourhood. But their pop (Leon Ames) plans to move them to faraway New York...

Alongside his expressive command of colour, framing and production design, Vincente Minnelli masterfully incorporates a series of irresistible songs into the daily routines of the household. But although Meet Me In St Louis seems to endorse suburban, familial conformity, there are troubling undercurrents, most famously the scene where the youngest child tearfully hacks down the lovingly-assembled snowpeople. There's also an undeniable poignancy in watching a beautiful, auburn-haired Garland at her most vivacious.