Meet Me in St. Louis premiered in St. Louis, MO on 22 November 1944.
Based on Sally Benson's 1942 novel of the same name (which took her original 8 short stories that had been published in The New Yorker from June 1941 and May 1942, and added 4 more stories), 6 writers worked with Benson on the adaptation (only Irving Brecher and Fred Finklehoffe received on-screen credit), and Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin wrote "The Boy Next Door," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and "The Trolley Song" for the film.
Meet Me in St. Louis was an enormous box office hit and received 4 Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Song ("The Trolley Song"), Best Cinematography - Color (George Folsey), and Best Score (George Stoll). It did not receive an Oscar. 7-year-old Margaret O'Brien received an honorary Juvenile Academy Award for her work.
Director Vincente Minnelli began an affair with Judy Garland during the production (Minnelli was 19 years older than Garland) and they married in 1945.
Meet Me in St. Louis is now considered to be one of the best musicals ever made.