Editing Meet Me in St. Louis (section)

==Plot==
[[File:Meet-Me-in-St-Louis-LIFE-1944.jpg|thumb|300px|left|[[Margaret O'Brien]] and [[Judy Garland]] perform the song "Under the Bamboo Tree" in ''Meet Me in St. Louis'']]

The backdrop for the film is St. Louis, Missouri, in the year preceding the 1904 [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]] [[World's fair|World's Fair]].

In the summer of 1903, the Smith family leads a comfortable upper-middle class life. Alonzo Smith and his wife Anna have a son, Lon Jr., and four daughters: Rose, Esther, Agnes, and Tootie. Esther, the second-oldest daughter, is in love with the boy next door, John Truett, although he does not notice her at first. Tootie rides with iceman Mr. Neely and debates whether St. Louis is the nation's top city. Rose, the eldest daughter, hopes in vain to receive a marriage proposal from Warren Sheffield.

Esther finally meets John properly when he is a guest at the Smiths' party and hopes to meet him again on a trolley ride to the construction site of the World's Fair.

On [[Halloween]], Tootie and Agnes attend a bonfire. Later, after Tootie appears with a split lip and lost tooth, she claims that John tried to kill her. Esther confronts John, physically attacking and scolding him. After Esther returns, Tootie and Agnes confess the truth: John was trying to protect them from the police after a dangerous prank went wrong. Upon learning the truth, Esther apologizes to John and he kisses her.

Mr. Smith announces that he is to be sent to [[New York City]] on business and they will all move there after Christmas. The family is devastated by the news, especially Rose and Esther, whose romances, friendships and educational plans are threatened. Esther is also aghast because they will miss the World's Fair. Although Mrs. Smith is also upset, she reconciles with her husband and they sing a tender duet at the piano.

[[File:Meet-Me-in-St-Louis-1.jpg|thumb|270px|right|Margaret O'Brien and Judy Garland in ''Meet Me in St. Louis'']]
An elegant ball takes place on Christmas Eve. John cannot take Esther because he was too late to pick up his tuxedo. Esther is relieved when her grandfather offers to escort her instead. At the ball, Esther and Rose plot to ruin the evening of Warren's date Lucille Ballard by filling her [[dance card]] with losers. They are surprised to find that Lucille is warm, friendly, and not a snob. Lucille suggests that Warren should be with Rose, allowing her to be with Lon. Esther switches her dance card with Lucille's and takes on the clumsy and awkward partners. After being rescued by Grandpa, Esther is overjoyed when John appears in a tuxedo and they dance for the rest of the evening. Later, John proposes to Esther and she accepts, but their future is uncertain because she must still move to New York.

Esther returns home to find Tootie waiting impatiently for [[Santa Claus]] and worrying about whether she can bring all her toys with her to New York. After Esther sings Tootie a poignant rendition of "[[Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas]]", a [[Neuroticism|neurotic]] Tootie destroys the [[snowmen]] that they must leave behind. Esther reassures Tootie that they will be together no matter where they go. Mr. Smith, who has witnessed the girls outside, begins to have second thoughts. After thinking in the living room, he summons the family downstairs and announces that they will not move to New York, much to everyone's surprise and joy. Warren rushes into the Smith home, declares his love for Rose, and announces that they will marry at the first possible opportunity. Realizing that it is now Christmas, the Smiths celebrate.

The next spring, at the World's Fair, the family gathers overlooking the Grand Lagoon just as thousands of lights around the grand pavilion are illuminated.