without check out review of the time it pure speculation whether this blatant rip off of meet me in st louis go undetected . it possible that critic and or or viewer weren not so analytical back then but against that be the fact that less than a decade have pass before the musical queen of the warner lot go up against the ex ( just ) musical queen of mgm . there be clue a plenty while both be base on well love reminiscence masquerade a short story by sally benson and booth tarkington respectively while both featured charming ( but with a touch of the cutis ) american family while both be set in the mid west and missouri and indiana respectively while both featured leon ames a banker patriarch while in both story the girl of the family fall for the boy next door ( who and this time around have relocate to the boy across the street ) while both family boast an outspoken maid in the respective shape of marjorie main and mary wickes plus a young member ( margaret obrien and billy gray ) whose tall story result in misunderstanding that lead to physical assault . both even have snowman for god sake . in most case the actor stand up well to their counterpart though rosemary de camp in the mary astor mother role would perhaps not have be as effective a astor at play bad a astor do in the maltese falcon . mary wickes have far more warmth and appeal than marjorie main and gordon mccrae could sing good than tom drake and gray have a slight edge on obrien . what the latter lack be minnelli eye for color and decor and a score by ralph blane and hugh martin and rely heavily on tried and true number from the period ( 1917 against the 1903 of st louis ) . see today it highly watchable and competently do but overall i feel that meet me in st louis would come off best in say another fifty year from now .