In 1944 director Vincente Minnelli ushered in a golden era of Hollywood musicals with Meet Me In St Louis. He also met his wife-to-be, Judy Garland, who stars as one of four sisters whose lives are rocked by news that their father (Leon Ames) plans to uproot their idyllic existence in St Louis to accept a job offer in New York. Nominated for four Oscars, Meet Me In St Louis is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicals of the era.

Keep It In The Family

Aside from Meet Me In St Louis, Liza Minnelli is the most famous co-production credited to Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli. Here she gives a gushingly affectionate (obviously!), but still very charming introduction to the film. She throws in some cutesy titbits about her mother's initial reluctance to make the movie, and how her father's earnest appeal not only changed her mind, but also marked the point at which they both fell in love. Aah...

Roddy McDowall won't make you feel nearly as warm and fuzzy with his narration of a half-hour documentary The Making Of An American Classic. Instead he provides a zippy and authoritative voiceover for what is mostly a compilation of clips and photo-montages. Considering the movie was made 60 years ago, you'll be sympathetic to the shortage of cast interviews. And in any case, this provides plenty of juicy behind-the-scenes gossip about the tussle between MGM head Louis B Mayer, the studio's lower-ranking executives, and the writers who were enlisted to "spice up" Sally Benson's novel.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Sing-Along

Composer Hugh Martin also makes an appearance to talk about scoring classic show tunes like The Trolley Song ("Clang, clang, clang went the trolley!"), and reveals that the song sheet for Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas almost ended up in the wastepaper basket. He features again with his late writing partner Ralph Blane in a "Soundie" short, rare footage in which their musical group, The Martins, perform a rendition of Skip To My Lou three years before using the same arrangement in Meet Me In St Louis.

The audio commentary is a very studied affair, with Garland biographer John Fricke going into enormous detail about the history of the production. However, the sense that he's reading straight off the page at times produces a dour and hurried feel. A neat addition to the track are a selection of archived interviews with screenwriter Irving Brecher, Garland's co-star Margaret O'Brien, and the ubiquitous Hugh Martin, whose anecdotes provide some much needed heart.

The modest range of extras add up to a very thorough, if occasionally dry, exploration of the making of the musical, and its historical context. The one nagging disappointment is the restoration, which fails to do justice to Vincente Minnelli's vibrant Technicolor. Surely Ms Garland deserves a much glossier makeover?