DIRECTOR: Vincente Minnelli
BOTTOM LINE: Produced by Arthur Freed for MGM, this greatest of all movie musicals does not have any particular gay plot, but, with extraordinary stylish direction by Vincente Minnelli, three classic songs by gay songwriter Hugh Martin (with his songwriting partner Ralph Blane), and musical arrangements by the great Roger Edens, the movie has GAY written all over it. A favorite of gay men since its opening in December 1944, it stars Judy Garland in her first adult role, and boy, does she look stunning in her Irene-designed costumes against a backdrop of Lemuel Ayers‘ lovingly designed early 20th-century interiors and George Folsey’s superb Technicolor cinematography.
Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith family in St. Louis, leading up to the opening of the World’s Fair in the spring of 1904. Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe lovingly adapted the film from a series of short stories by Sally Benson originally published in The New Yorker magazine. With Mary Astor and Leon Ames as the parents, Garland, Lucille Bremer, Joan Carroll and an extraordinary Margaret O’Brien as the children, Tom Drake as the boy next door, June Lockhart as a neighbor, Harry Davenport as the grandfather and Marjorie Main as the family’s loyal cook.
Judy gets to sing THREE of her iconic songs, all written by Martin and Blane:
The Trolly Song
The Boy Next Door
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
