The movie was directed by Vincente Minnelli. He met Garland on the set. Later, they married. The critics liked the movie. In 2005, Richard Schickel wrote, "It had wonderful songs [and] a sweetly unneurotic performance by Judy Garland ... Despite its nostalgic charm, Minnelli infused the piece with a dreamy, occasionally surreal, darkness and it remains, for some of us, the greatest of American movie musicals."