Released in 1944 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) studios, Meet Me in St. Louis became one of Hollywood's most popular musicals. Mixing family melodrama with light comedy and whimsical romance, it features one of the entertainment world's most compelling voices, Judy Garland, and was directed by the man who would become Garland's husband, Vincente Minnelli, who was considered one of Hollywood's finest musical directors. An early example of Technicolor, Meet Me in St. Louis glows with extravagant warmth both visually and thematically, evoking nostalgia in its World War II audience for its depiction of American turn-of-the-twentieth-century domestic tranquility and prewar innocence.

The story centers on a year in the life of the Smith family as they anticipate the opening of the 1904 Exposition in St. Louis. The patriarch, Alonzo Smith, played by Leon Ames, is a hard working lawyer often oblivious to...