When
Judy Garland first discovered that MGM was going to cast her in their
new musical film entitled Meet Me In St. Louis she was not happy.
She feared, and with good reason, that the film would set her career
back. She had finally been allowed to grow up on the screen. In For
Me And My Gal (1942) she was given a real romantic lead in newcomer
Gene Kelly, and she was the undisputed star of the film, with her name
alone above the title for the first time.
After
that she appeared in Presenting Lily Mars which was the first time
the studio made a real effort to make her look glamorous, even if it was
mainly for the finale at the end of the picture. She was seen for the first
time with her hair up and looking quite beautiful. True, she had also just
completed Girl Crazy (1943) as well, but even in that, her final complete
film with Mickey Rooney, she was a completely different character than in
all of the other Garland/Rooney pictures. In this film, Mickey chased Judy
rather than the other way around, and she was portrayed not as a teenager
deep in puppy love, but as a lovely young woman.
Now, after reading the St. Louis script, it appeared as though
the studio wanted her to revert back to playing a high school girl with
a crush on the boy next door.
Judy was dating Joe Mankiewicz at the time, and he was also instrumental
in allowing her to see herself as not just a little girl with a big voice,
but a desirable woman. At 22 years of age, Mankiewicz reasoned, Judy Garland
had the talent and ability to graduate to more adult roles. And Judy not
only agreed with it, but with Mankiewicz in her corner, for the first time
she summoned up the strength to actually resist the studio for her own
benefit.
Judy went to L.B. Mayer and complained, and for once he sided with her.
He went to producer Arthur Freed to discuss the matter, but was effectively
swayed in the other direction by Freed, director Vincent Minnelli, and
most importantly the reigning studio storyteller Lillie Messinger. Once
Lillie got a hold of a story, no one was immune. She was able to effectively
point out the charms and magic of the story. Mr. Mayer loved a good sentimental "all-American"
story and this had everything he loved. Next Judy went to see Minnelli
on her own, thinking that she might be able to persuade him, since she
was one of MGM's biggest stars, and he was a novice director.
Minnelli had directed only two films before, neither was a big financial
success. The best of the two, Cabin In The Sky, although a beautiful
film that critics liked, was an all-black film and in 1943 that meant a
limited audience. Judy was sure that not only would St. Louis be
a mistake but that she could persuade Minnelli that it really wasn't very
good!
< face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">In
his memoirs, Minnelli reports what happened when Judy came to see him
about the film: "She looked at me as if we were planning an armed
robbery against the American public. She later told me that she'd come
to see me thinking I would see it her way." Per Minnelli, Garland
says "It's not very good, is it?" to which Minnelli responded
with "I think it's fine. I see a lot of great things in it. In fact,
it's magical." Whether years later the exact words of the conversation
are remember by Minnelli is immaterial. Judy may have been going on an
early draft of the screenplay which was, according to most accounts,
not very good. But it was shaped up by the time rehearsals began. And
since Mayer switched and sided with Freed, and Freed stood behind Minnelli,
Judy had no choice but to acquiesce. Rehearsals began on November 11,
1943 and Judy did not exactly throw herself into the role. She was used
to the more contemporary, "wise cracking" dialog.
When filming began almost a month later on December 7, 1943 things weren't
much better. In fact, it's reported that when Minnelli was away from the
set, Judy would sometimes entertain the cast and crew with a devilishly
satire of Minnelli centered around his "perfectionism." This
skit would entail her acting out the part of an MGM bit actor who is paid
his set fee to say one line in every film in production: "I think
it may rain today." The bit actor comes to the Minnelli set fully
expecting to say his line, collect his pay, and leave. But Minnelli (again
acted by Judy) has other things in mind and suggests the actor try saying
his lines with a different inflection. Taken aback, the actor tries it
that way. The Minnelli suggests a different way, then another and yet another
until finally the bit actor is reduced to tears of frustration and confusion.
This
story illustrates how funny Judy could be when she wanted to be (her wit
is legendary in Hollywood and she was known as the perfect mimic). This could
also be seen as her way of dealing with a situation of which she had no control
and was not happy about. Judy had a practically photographic memory when
it came to lyrics and script, and she resented Minnelli's constant rehearsals
and multiple takes. Judy usually got her lines and hit her marks perfect
the first time. But with Minnelli, not only was he insisting that she rehearse
and endure long, multiple takes (he didn't like the idea of using the stand-in
for much of this), but he was breaking down her confidence. He was exacting
but in a quiet way. Her frustration grew as she began to question her merits
as an actress, feeling like she wasn't doing anything right. She went to
Freed to complain, who told her to bide her time and give him a chance. She
also reportedly complained to Mary Astor, who flatly said to Judy: "Just
go along with it, he knows what he's doing."
Things got a little better, but didn't really get on track until Judy began
to see herself on film. Suddenly, under his direction, Judy not only looked
more beautiful and vibrant than ever before, but Minnelli was getting a
beautifully realized understated performance from her. And whatever qualms
she had about being a "teenager" or lost in the ensemble were
put to rest as well. Soon Judy was entrusting Minnelli with her trust.
But that trust came with a price.
Judy would be absent from the set of St. Louis for close to 3
weeks. Initially this was due to a lack of interest in the project. But
aside from that, Judy was beginning to show signs of the strain that the
previous years of overwork, malnutrition, and medications had caused. She
was going through the ups and downs that addicts begin to experience when
the drugs begin to take over. Judy was never a morning person, having been
raised in a Vaudeville atmosphere of late nights and late mornings. But
at MGM, she was expected to be at the studio usually at 5 or 6am. And she
had other commitments as well: Radio appearances; Personal appearances
for the war effort; and making records for Decca Records. All of this,
added to her fragile psyche and her low self esteem, created a time bomb
ticking away just waiting for the time to explode.
Mankiewicz
saw this and suggested she go to therapy to help solve her deep emotional
issues and restore her self worth. She agreed and went. But when the studio
found out, they put a stop to it - not believing that one of their stars
was "crazy"
(the world of psychoanalysis in the 1940's was still considered suspect
and charlatan by nature). In a few short years the studio would find themselves
paying for Judy to continue treatment.
Beginning in 1943 and ending in 1947, Judy Garland changed from a nervous
insecure young lady to a glowing, confidant woman in command of her talent
and happily exploring and learning all avenues of that talent, then back
again to an insecure young lady. The rise in happiness can be partly attributed
to Minnelli, Meet Me In St. Louis, Kay Thompson and the rest of
the legendary "Freed Unit." Everything that made the "Freed
Unit" so special first burgeoned with Meet Me In St. Louis.
Arthur Freed had been assembling a platoon of personnel, mostly from Broadway,
to populate his little kingdom. These people were bright, young and talented
individuals who would change the look and style of the movie musical forever.
For Judy Garland, being in this atmosphere was exciting and exhilarating.
She was allowed to flourish and experiment with all aspects of her performing.
Minnelli was perfect at this time to help guide her into his world of savvy,
articulate and witty people. She loved it. And she would do some of her
best work during this time and was, for the most part, quite happy. Judy
and Minnelli began dating towards the end of production of Meet Me In St.
Louis, and although many people thought the union was all wrong, for
Judy it was the right man at the right time. At least as far as her career
goes. Kay Thompson was a new addition to the Freed Unit, one of the many
transplants from Broadway. Kay would take Judy under her wing and develop
her singing style even further than her mentor, Roger Edens had. This would
be Judy's closest friendship to any woman in her entire life. Kay had a
sophistication and style that was classy, brassy, and highly stylized.
Judy thrived.
The
affair with Joe Mankiewicz over (he had evidently gone to the studio to argue
that Judy needed professional psychiatric help and ended up walking out on
his contract because Mayer and Judy's Mom wouldn't listen), Judy put all
of her energies into St. Louis and her relationship with Minnelli.
The end result is several wonderful performances given by Judy, most of them
under Minnelli's direction.
Judy Garland wasn't the only performer on the set causing problems. If
you look at the timeline to this site, you'll see in great detail the constant
barrage the company was under due to one illness or accident after another.
As with so many films, accidents happen. St. Louis was no exception.
On March 31, 1944 one of the extras suffered a hit on the head by one of
the light standards (CLICK
HERE to read about it). A cameraman was hit on the head with a piece
of carbon. Joan Carroll had to be sent back to wardrobe (which on a lot
the size of MGM could amount to a long trek) because she was given two
right shoes to wear. Harry Davenport was 77 and was doing double duty on
the set of Kismet so was ill and/or away from the set frequently.
One memo states: "Wait for Margaret's hair to be dressed - wrong hair-do
because script clerk did not give right hair change to hairdresser." Both
Margaret and Joan Carroll (Agnes) were underage so had to be schooled for
3 hours with 1 hour of "recreation."
This was California law, MGM would get around it as best they could. Their
teacher, who was on the set at all times, was reportedly a formidable woman
who had no qualms stopping the production because either Margaret should
go home or in on instance, that it was simply too late for Joan Carroll
to continue working.
Mary Jo Ellis, one of the cast members, had to be taken home due to fainting.
Several cast members would be sick at one point or another. It should be
pointed out that on a sound stage such as they had at MGM in the 40's,
and before good air conditioning, a balmy set would be a breeding place
for cold/flu germs to hop from one person to the next. Especially since
half their time was sitting around waiting for the director to set everything
up for a few takes. They would entertain themselves as best they could.
But
those were the least of the problems that seemed to plague the set of Meet
Me In St. Louis. This film seemed to be the "sickest" film
on the lot - with practically everyone coming down with some sort of illness
- real or imagined.
Real: Joan Carroll's appendectomy. On February 2, 1944 shooting is halted
as Joan is rushed to the hospital. The "ever so caring" studio
places Joan on suspension - even though Arthur Freed sends her flowers
and she sends him a "thank you" note.
This
seemingly callous treatment may have been caused by recent events with the
OTHER child actress on the set - Margaret O'Brien. Margaret's mother is convinced
that the studio is working her daughter way too hard. So on January 31, 1944
a two week period began without Margaret. Her mother feigned illness as the
cause, originally. But as you will see in this letter from Margaret's mother,
her absence was really a mother protecting her child, not illness: CLICK
HERE to read the "apology" from Margaret's mother which arrived
some time after their departure. Margaret's mother had decided (with justification)
that the studio had been working her daughter too hard - so she took it upon
herself to take the child away from the studio for a few weeks. Naturally
this caused quite a stir at the studio - upset the production schedule, and
added thousands of dollars to the budget. CLICK HERE to
read memo by Dave Friedman dated this day which begins the "layoff"
of the company due to Margaret O'Brien's unscheduled absence which last
through early February. CLICK
HERE to read related memo. The
children weren't the only ones causing delays due to illness, Mary Astor
and Harry Davenport were both ill as well - and as noted on the previous
page, many delays were caused by accidents (which was normal for any film).
And there you have it - Minnelli's first chance to show what he can do
as a director - which he does to meticulous detail!
Minnelli's use of color and movement in the film is nothing short of
genius. In an interview, he stated "You have to have great discipline
in what you do. I spent a great deal of time in research, and finding
the right things for it. I feel that a picture that stays with you is
made up of a hundred or more hidden things."
This is apparent upon repeated viewings of the film. There are so many
little things filling out the backgrounds - yet they blend in naturally
so as not to look to over done. Take Grandpa's room. Now here is a "man's" room
of the time. Filled with muted colors and all kinds of masculine brick-a-brack.
Minnelli raided the MGM props and costume departments, looking for just
the right things with which to clothe them and surround them. He also
worked closely with art director Jack Martin Smith; set decorators Edwin
B. Willis & Paul Huldchinsky; costume designers Sharaff and Irene;
as well as Jack Dawn on make-up and of course George Folsey on photography.
In fact, Minnelli was such a perfectionist that he drove practically
everyone crazy! He would take hours making sure the set was perfect,
the camera angles/movements were perfect - THEN get to the actors. At
which time he would rehearse and rehearse with them until he found everything
to be perfect, then filming would finally begin.
This
was especially maddening for Judy. Judy had just this side of a photographic
memory. People still speak with awe about the way in which she could read
a script for the first time and speak it like she had rehearsed it for months.
The same with music, she would hear a song once or twice on the piano, then
sing it right back to the composer. A TRUE natural talent. So, just like
the kid in school who's to "fast" for the class, so Judy was too "fast"
for Minnelli. And it drove her crazy. She would try to get out of the
studio, only to be stopped at the gate and summoned back to the set for
more rehearsals.
The credit for Judy's new appearance doesn't belong solely to Minnelli. The bulk of the credit goes to "Dottie" Ponedel. Minnelli had specifically asked for "Dot" to be Judy's make-up artists. This was a first at the time. Up to this time, all of the major make-up artists who worked on the stars were men. Sure, there were women assistants, but never before had one woman been given the task of making up a star of Garland's caliber. It was Dottie who was responsible for Judy's beautiful new look as shown for the first time in Meet Me In St. Louis. Dottie was a "no nonsense" type of person, and it's been reported several times that if there were no cup of water around, Dottie would simply dip her make-up brush in the nearest cup of coffee and continue! Meet Me In St. Louis was the first time Judy and Dottie worked together. Dottie reportedly looked at Judy's inserts for her nose and said "What are those?" When Judy told her, Dottie said "Throw them out, you don't need all that junk, you're a pretty girl." It was Dottie who gave Judy the new look that would last the rest of her career. From this moment on, Judy insisted that only Dottie would do her make-up in all of her subsequent films.
As Judy's appearance blossomed so did her acting. Although still a high school girl, the role of Esther Smith is light years away from the characters Judy had previously played. Instead of a peppy "teen" or "juvenile", Esther Smith is a young lady on the verge of womanhood. And Judy plays her with a subtleness and a sort of softness that effectively makes you believe that this character is real. That her emotions are real. Even though the film is a "musical" there are many wonderful scenes that rely on Judy's incredible comic timing. Once again, very subtle and never once forced. This is the film in which Judy completes her transition to mature leading lady. From here on out, Judy would always be presented as a beautiful and desirable woman.
Meet Me In St. Louis has a look and feel all its own. Minnelli and his crew took great care in creating this singular palette. For the scene in which Esther and John go through the house turning out the lights, Minnelli went to great pains in creating just the right mood. To achieve the right multiple lighting effects when Esther and John turn out the lights, Minnelli had the technicians use everything from conventional dimmers to actual window blinds. The scene is beautifully effective in showing the deepening of Esther and John's romance as the rooms slowly darken.
A very happy accident occurred when filming the lights from the kitchen beaming onto the nighttime snow. The scene is Esther and Tootie looking out the window on Christmas Eve, just before Esther sings "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", and there is a quick shot of the back yard. This beautiful shot actually was an accident. When it was filmed by the Assistant Director, the word came back from the lab that film wasn't exposed properly. Happily, the beauty of the scene remained intact.
The film had it's official premiere in St. Louis, Missouri on November 22, 1944. Running 113 minutes, it was a smash! No one objected to the Halloween Sequence, and audiences everywhere fell in love with the Smiths of S. Louis. Judy Garland's status went from "star" to "superstar" - and there was no denying that while Margaret O'Brien was cute and funny and quite the scene stealer - the REAL star of the picture was Judy. Now, in her first color film since The Wizard Of Oz (and one song in Thousands Cheer in 1943), Judy Garland blossomed into a beautiful, talented young woman - the epitome of what young girls everywhere wanted to be - and what the boys overseas were fighting for.
When it was released in 1944, Meet Me In St. Louis became an instant hit, and was MGM's biggest grossing film to date after Gone With The Wind. However it must be noted that Gone With The Wind was actually a David O. Selznick production that MGM owned the release rights to, and would eventually own the entire film. Meet Me In St. Louis was 100% an MGM production. The film would go on to be nominated for 4 Academy Awards: Color Cinematography -- George Folsey ; Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Georgie Stoll; Song "The Trolley Song" -- Music and Lyrics by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin; and Screenplay -- Irving Brecher, Fred F. Finkelhoffe . It wouldn't win any Oscars, but it did win a lasting fame and place in film history that few films of 1944 would be able to achieve.
Among other things, the film has one of Judy Garland's three best film performances (the other two being The Wizard of Oz and A Star Is Born). It's also considered one of, or THE, best efforts of many of the people involved. It's the film that launched Vincent Minnelli on his stellar directing career as the greatest director of film musicals. It broke new ground as an "integrated" musical - and in doing so, paved the way for further experimentation and freedom for Arthur Freed and the "Freed Unit" - this unit at the studio would be responsible for practically ALL of the great musicals of the 1940's & 1950's.
Both Judy and Margaret O'Brien would reprise their roles in a radio version of the film for CBS Radio in 1946 - and in 1947 Judy would join the AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Show) Show Time Players in performing a version of Meet Me In St. Louis for the "Show Time" radio program.
The film would inspire imitations - Summer Holiday (another Freed effort in 1948); On Moonlight Bay & By The Light Of The Silvery Moon (both Doris Day vehicles at Warner Bros and both with Leon Ames as the father, and a cast of characters almost identical to St. Louis) - but none would have that special magic that Meet Me In St. Louis has. Like all great cornerstone films of any genre, Meet Me In St. Louis was the right people in the right place at the right time making the right film. Two Broadway versions of the film, in 1960 and 1988, would be popular - as are the various touring companies that have brought the film to the stage - but in all cases, the film is so indelible that comparisons are always made (and usually not in favor of the stage version!). Now, more than 50 years after its release, Meet Me In St. Louis continues to work it's magic on audiences of all ages.
Over the years, Meet Me In St. Louis has remained one of the best film musicals ever made. Gene Kelly would always call it "my favorite musical". Today, the film still has resonance and power. This is due to its simple themes of family and home. Made during a time when America was embroiled in World War Two, and so many families didn't know if their loved ones would come home, the film gave them hope in lovingly looking back to an era that even then was a distant memory.
Now, 100 years after the era it portrays, Meet Me In St. Louis still grabs us and makes us believe in the idealized world of the Smith family of St. Louis, Missouri. And even today there are precious few films that can so expertly give us that special warm feeling that Meet Me In St. Louis still gives. A true American classic that will last as long as people want to see good, quality entertainment.