Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Sidney Buchman (screenplay)
Lewis R. Foster (story)
(more)

Release Date:

19 October 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Capra at his greatest!

Plot:

A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down.

Plot Keywords:

Political Corruption | Senator | Camp | Governor | Senate

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Jean Arthur	...	Clarissa Saunders
James Stewart	...	Jefferson Smith
Claude Rains	...	Senator Joseph Harrison Paine
Edward Arnold	...	Jim Taylor
Guy Kibbee	...	Governor Huber Hopper
Thomas Mitchell	...	Diz Moore
Eugene Pallette	...	Chick McGann
Beulah Bondi	...	Ma Smith
H.B. Warner	...	Senator Agnew - Senate Majority Leader
Harry Carey	...	Henry - President of the Senate
Astrid Allwyn	...	Susan Paine
Ruth Donnelly	...	Emma Hopper
Grant Mitchell	...	Senator MacPherson
Porter Hall	...	Senator Martin Monroe
Larry Simms	...	Hopper Boy (as Baby Dumpling)
H.V. Kaltenborn	...	Himself - Radio Broadcaster / Trailer Narrator
Pierre Watkin	...	Senator Barnes - Senate Minority Leader
Charles Lane	...	Nosey
William Demarest	...	Bill Griffith
Dick Elliott	...	Carl Cook
Billy Watson	...	Peter Hopper
Delmar Watson	...	Jimmie Hopper
Johnny Russell	...	Otis Hopper (as John Russell)
Harry Watson	...	Hopper Boy
Garry Watson	...	Hopper Boy (as Gary Watson)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Erville Alderson	...	Handwriting Expert (uncredited)
Harry Anderson	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Stanley Andrews	...	Senator Hodges (uncredited)
William Arnold	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Sam Ash	...	Senator Lancaster (uncredited)
Edwin August	...	Senator (uncredited)
Frank Austin	...	Inventor at Smith's Office Door (uncredited)
Harry A. Bailey	...	Senator Hammett (uncredited)
Tommy Baker	...	Boy Ranger (uncredited)
Kathryn Bates	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict	...	Senate Clerk (uncredited)
Wilson Benge	...	Hopper's Butler (uncredited)
Wade Boteler	...	Family Man (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley	...	Arthur Kim (uncredited)
Lynton Brent	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Ed Brewer	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Senator Dwight (uncredited)
Harlan Briggs	...	Mr. Edwards - Howling Citizen (uncredited)
Tommy Bupp	...	Boy Cheering for Smith in Meeting (uncredited)
Frederick Burton	...	Senator Dearhorn (uncredited)
Georgia Caine	...	Third Radio Speaker (uncredited)
Ken Carpenter	...	Announcer (uncredited)
Jack Carson	...	Sweeney Farrell - Newsman (uncredited)
Burr Caruth	...	Townsend (uncredited)
Maurice Cass	...	Handwriting Expert (uncredited)
Allan Cavan	...	Ragner - Newsman (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Reporter (uncredited)
George Chandler	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Davison Clark	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Dora Clement	...	Mrs. McGann (uncredited)
Shirley Coates	...	Assistant Bartender (uncredited)
Edmund Cobb	...	Senator Gower (uncredited)
Eddie Coke	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Dorothy Comingore	...	Woman at Station (uncredited)
Chester Conklin	...	Man in Press Section of Senate Gallery (uncredited)
Hal Cooke	...	Reporter (uncredited)
George Cooper	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Georgie Cooper	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Jack Cooper	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Nick Copeland	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Anne Cornwall	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Barber (uncredited)
Maurice Costello	...	Diggs - Newsman (uncredited)
Alec Craig	...	Speaker (uncredited)
Beatrice Curtis	...	Paine's Secretary (uncredited)
Lew Davis	...	Senate Clerk (uncredited)
Dulcie Day	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Wally Dean	...	Paine's Friend (uncredited)
Vernon Dent	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Depp	...	Hat Salesman / Secretary (uncredited)
Joe Devlin	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Clyde Dilson	...	Reporter (uncredited)
John Dilson	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Neal Dodd	...	Senate Chaplain (uncredited)
Ann Doran	...	Paine's Secretary (uncredited)
Lester Dorr	...	Taylor's Stooge (uncredited)
Robert Dudley	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Edward Earle	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Helen Jerome Eddy	...	Paine's Secretary (uncredited)
Jack Egan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Douglas Evans	...	Francis Scott Key (uncredited)
Eddie Fetherston	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Mabel Forrest	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Byron Foulger	...	Hopper's Secretary (uncredited)
Gladys Gale	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Frances Gifford	...	Hopper Girl (uncredited)
June Gittelson	...	Woman at Station (uncredited)
Mary Gordon	...	Woman (uncredited)
Jesse Graves	...	Black Committeeman (uncredited)
Lorna Gray	...	Woman at Station (uncredited)
Roger Haliday	...	Senate Guard (uncredited)
Wilfred Hari	...	House Boy (uncredited)
Harry Hayden	...	First Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Henry Hebert	...	Senator (uncredited)
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Soapbox Speaker (uncredited)
Fred Hoose	...	Senator (uncredited)
Philip Hurlic	...	Boy Ranger (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten	...	Butler (uncredited)
John Ince	...	Senator Fernwick (uncredited)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Frank Jaquet	...	Senator Byron (uncredited)
John Lester Johnson	...	Butler (uncredited)
Dickie Jones	...	Pageboy Richard Jones (uncredited)
Eddie Kane	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Robert Emmett Keane	...	Editor (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Joe King	...	Summers Newsman (uncredited)
Evalyn Knapp	...	Reporter Asking 'What Do You Think of the Girls in This Town?' (uncredited)
Wright Kramer	...	Senator Carlton (uncredited)
Paul Kruger	...	Bodyguard (uncredited)
Billy Lechner	...	Boy Ranger (uncredited)
P.H. Levy	...	Rabbi (uncredited)
Vera Lewis	...	Mrs. Edwards (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Arthur Loft	...	Chief Clerk (uncredited)
Jane Loofbourrow	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Jackie Lowe	...	Boy Ranger (uncredited)
Jack Low	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Jimmie Lucas	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Pompous Man (uncredited)
Stanley Mack	...	Senator (uncredited)
Mary MacLaren	...	Head Sister (uncredited)
Hank Mann	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Margaret Mann	...	Nun with Cheering Orphan Boys (uncredited)
Eric Mayne	...	Man in Senate Building (uncredited)
Philo McCullough	...	Senator Albert (uncredited)
Ralph McCullough	...	Assistant Bartender (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Reporter (uncredited)
George McKay	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lafe McKee	...	Civil War Veteran at Lincoln Memorial (uncredited)
Sammy McKim	...	Boy Ranger (uncredited)
James McNamara	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Robert Middlemass	...	Second Radio Announcer (uncredited)
James Millican	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Shoe Salesman (uncredited)
Charles R. Moore	...	Porter (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Man in Senate Building (uncredited)
Gene Morgan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Robert Morgan	...	Senate Clerk (uncredited)
William Newell	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Ray Nichols	...	Boy Ranger (uncredited)
Field Norton	...	Pompous Man (uncredited)
Alex Novinsky	...	Foreign Diplomat (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Senator Alfred (uncredited)
Frank Otto	...	Fisk (uncredited)
Joe Palma	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Blanche Payson	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Frank Puglia	...	Handwriting Expert (uncredited)
Ed Randolph	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Charles Regan	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Jack Rice	...	Lang (uncredited)
Jack Richardson	...	Senator Manchester (uncredited)
Henry Roquemore	...	Senator (uncredited)
Walter Sande	...	Newspaperman with Pipe (uncredited)
Russell Simpson	...	Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
Walter Soderling	...	Senator Pickett (uncredited)
Harry Stafford	...	Senator Atwater (uncredited)
Wyndham Standing	...	Senator Ashman (uncredited)
Paul Stanton	...	Flood - Newsman (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Count Stefenelli	...	Foreign Diplomat (uncredited)
Robert Sterling	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Craig Stevens	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Landers Stevens	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Carl Stockdale	...	Senator Burdette (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Bodyguard (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Ben Taggart	...	Pompous Man (uncredited)
Emma Tansey	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Dub Taylor	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Ferris Taylor	...	Senator Carlisle (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Bodyguard (uncredited)
Arthur Thalasso	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Edward Thomas	...	Butler (uncredited)
Frank M. Thomas	...	Hendricks (uncredited)
Layne Tom Jr.	...	Boy Ranger (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Porter (uncredited)
Victor Travers	...	Senator Grainger (uncredited)
Laura Treadwell	...	Mrs. Taylor (uncredited)
John Tyrrell	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Frederick Vroom	...	Paine's Friend (uncredited)
Bess Wade	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Max Waizmann	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Robert Walker	...	Senator Holland (uncredited)
Myonne Walsh	...	Jane Hopper (uncredited)
John Ward	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Billy Wayne	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lloyd Whitlock	...	Schultz - Newsman (uncredited)
Dave Willock	...	Senate Guard (uncredited)
Florence Wix	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Eleanor Wood	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
William Worthington	...	Committeeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Frank Capra

Writing credits
Sidney Buchman		(screenplay)
Lewis R. Foster		(story)
Myles Connolly		contributor to screenplay construction and dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
Frank Capra	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Joseph Walker		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Al Clark
Gene Havlick

Art Direction by
Lionel Banks

Costume Design by
Robert Kalloch		(gowns) (as Kalloch)

Makeup Department
Faye Hanlin	....	hair (uncredited)
Helen Hunt	....	hair (uncredited)
William Knight	....	make-up (uncredited)
Fred B. Phillips	....	make-up (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur S. Black Jr.	....	assistant director (as Arthur S. Black)
Rex Bailey	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Richard McWhorter	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Charles Vidor	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Walter Holscher	....	set designer (uncredited)
George Montgomery	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Cary Odell	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Jack Wrenn	....	prop master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Edward Bernds	....	sound engineer (uncredited)
John P. Livadary	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Fred Jackman Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Slavko Vorkapich	....	montage effects
John Hoffman	....	montage effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
George Hager	....	head electrician (uncredited)
William Jolley	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
George F. Kelley	....	second operative camera (uncredited)
Al Layter	....	assistant electrician (uncredited)
Irving Lippman	....	photographer: production stills (uncredited)
Irving Lippman	....	still photographer (uncredited)
James Lloyd	....	head grip (uncredited)
Enzo A. Martinelli	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Adolph L. Schafer	....	special portrait art (uncredited)
Victor Scheurich	....	first operative camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Forrest T. Butler	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)
Ray Howell	....	head of wardrobe (uncredited)
Roselle Novello	....	wardrobe: women (uncredited)

Music Department
Morris Stoloff	....	musical director (as M.W. Stoloff)
R.H. Bassett	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Ben Oakland	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
James D. Preston	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Joseph Sistrom	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Harold Winston	....	dialogue director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Television (????) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• British Film Institute (BFI)  with appreciation to (2002 restoration: Library of Congress)
• Chase Productions  sound recording courtesy of (2002 restoration: Library of Congress)
• Columbia Pictures  sound recording courtesy of (2002 restoration: Library of Congress)
• Library of Congress, Motion Picture Conservation Center  restored by (2002 restoration)
• National Film Archive, The  with appreciation to (2002 restoration: Library of Congress)
• Sunset Gower Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #5370) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The song "Auld Lang Syne" is sung towards the beginning of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" at the banquet honoring Jimmy Stewart's appointment to the Senate. The same song is sung at the end of It's a Wonderful Life (1946) when the townspeople have come to Jimmy Stewart's rescue.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Senator Paine snaps at the end, he refers to Jim Taylor as "Willie Taylor". Since Kapra was under extreme budget controls it was deemed too expensive to re-shoot the scene. Most people never notice.

Quotes:

Jefferson Smith: You see, boys forget what their country means by just reading The Land of the Free in history books. Then they get to be men they forget even more. Liberty's too precious a thing to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bob Roberts (1992)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

A National Treasure

James Stewart and Frank Capra. One needn't know much more going in to be assured that this will be an enjoyable film. Together they take on the Washington elite with this dramatic comedy about a naïve Washington outsider who gets appointed to the Senate and stands alone against corruption and graft. Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) is appointed from an unnamed state after one of its Senators dies. He is appointed because the political fat cats need someone who will not seem like a crony, but who will not stand in the way of a graft scheme for a pork barrel dam that will make bigwig Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) millions. When the wide eyed Smith gets to Washington, he discovers the corrupt bill because the dam will stand in the way of his own proposed bill for a children's camp. When he tries to stop the project, Taylor's political machine frames him to make it seem like he is the one taking graft. This leads to the dramatic confrontation in the Senate, where Smith filibusters in an attempt to get the truth out.

This film is wonderful in so many ways. The story is a classic struggle between good and evil. In typical Capra style, the protagonist and antagonists are exaggerated so there is no confusion as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. If there is one clear message in Capra's films it is that those with strong moral fiber never give up hope. He likes to create utterly hopeless situations for characters to test their integrity, and rewards unswerving adherence to basic values and principles by triumph against the odds.

I was dismayed to see a comment, obviously from a young viewer of this film, that said that the characters weren't realistic because no one used profanity. This is a sad testimonial to our culture, when it inconceivable to young people that there was once a time when profanity was the exception and not the rule.

Stewart is brilliant as the idealistic and awe struck kid from the backwoods who is overwhelmed by the glory of Washington, with its monuments and history. The story brings us a confrontation between political expediency and idealistic principles with the message that the truly great men are the ones that don't compromise their principles to hold on to power. Stewart also brings a whole treasure chest of bumbling comedic sight gags that make him all the more lovable in the part.

Jean Arthur is fabulous as the tough and savvy assistant who is jaded by Washington politics, but gets a fresh injection of fervor as she listens to Smith's noble homespun philosophies. Claude Rains is also masterful as the adulterated Senator, who sold his soul to corruption for a chance at the presidency. He plays the simultaneous sense of guilt and ambition with a torment that is clearly ripping his heart out, and the power of both emotions portrayed in his performance makes his character both repugnant and pitiable.

This film is a national treasure. It is in my top 50 list of all time. The story of corruption in politics and the greatness of the men who resist it is timeless and would not be lost on the politicians in Washington today. A 10/10.