Even though "Meet Me in St. Louis" was conceived and produced as a Hollywood musical, there's nobody singing during one of its most prominent and memorable (and one of my favorite) scenes.

It's Halloween night at the Smith household in 1903. When Grandpa first hands bags of flour to Agnes and Tootie, dressed up as "drunken ghosts," in the family's kitchen, modern audiences are naturally a little confused.

That's because trick-or-treating wouldn't become fashionable across the U.S. until the 1940s.

The mischievous nature of the prank for which he's arming them is revealed as their mother instructs the children to not throw too much flour when people answer the doorbell. Bending down, Grandpa advises the girls that if they wet the flour a little before they throw it, it makes it harder for the victim to get it off.

When the pair of ghosts venture outdoors, the first thing they see is a bonfire in the street with a group of other youngsters tossing boards and old furniture onto the flaming pile.

Agnes and Tootie approach to hear the costumed group dividing themselves according to which houses they're going to "hit," with specific debate centering around who's going to take the Braukoffs (rumored to have a "fierce bulldog").

Told to go home because........

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