Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

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

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:

Bill | Aide | Editor | Band | Lost Cause

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Aug. 5

11:30 AM

TCM

Cast

Jean Arthur	...	Clarissa Saunders
James Stewart	...	Jefferson Smith
Claude Rains	...	Sen. Joseph Harrison Paine
Edward Arnold	...	Jim Taylor
Guy Kibbee	...	Gov. Hubert 'Happy' Hopper
Thomas Mitchell	...	Diz Moore
Eugene Pallette	...	Chick McGann
Beulah Bondi	...	Ma Smith
H.B. Warner	...	Sen. Agnew (Senate Majority Leader)
Harry Carey	...	President of the Senate
Astrid Allwyn	...	Susan Paine
Ruth Donnelly	...	Emma Hopper
Grant Mitchell	...	Sen. MacPherson (Privileges and Elections Committee)
Porter Hall	...	Sen. Monroe (objecting to frivolity)
Pierre Watkin	...	Sen. Barnes (Senate Minority Leader)
Charles Lane	...	Nosey newsman
William Demarest	...	Bill Griffith (at station)
Dick Elliott	...	Carl Cook (at station)
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)
Larry Simms	...	Hopper boy (as Baby Dumpling)
H.V. Kaltenborn	...	Himself (broadcaster)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Erville Alderson	...	Handwriting expert (uncredited)
Stanley Andrews	...	Sen. Hodges (uncredited)
William Arnold	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Sam Ash	...	Sen. Lancaster (uncredited)
Edwin August	...	Senator (uncredited)
Frank Austin	...	Inventor at Smith's office door (uncredited)
Harry A. Bailey	...	Sen. Hammett (uncredited)
Wade Boteler	...	Family man (uncredited)
Ed Brewer	...	Senate reporter (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Sen. Dwight (uncredited)
Harlan Briggs	...	Mr. Edwards (howling citizen) (uncredited)
Tommy Bupp	...	Boy cheering for Smith in meeting (uncredited)
Frederick Burton	...	Sen. Dearhorn (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)
Dora Clement	...	Mrs. McGann (uncredited)
Edmund Cobb	...	Sen. Gower (uncredited)
Dorothy Comingore	...	Woman (at station) (uncredited)
Hal Cooke	...	Reporter (uncredited)
George Cooper	...	Waiter (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)
Dulcie Day	...	Senate reporter (uncredited)
Vernon Dent	...	Senate reporter (uncredited)
Clyde Dilson	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Neal Dodd	...	Senate chaplain (uncredited)
Ann Doran	...	Paine's secretary (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)
Jack Gardner	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Frances Gifford	...	Hopper girl (uncredited)
June Gittelson	...	Woman (at station) (uncredited)
Mary Gordon	...	Woman (uncredited)
Lorna Gray	...	Woman (at station) (uncredited)
Harry Hayden	...	Speaker (uncredited)
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Soapbox speaker (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten	...	Hopper's butler (uncredited)
John Ince	...	Sen. Fernwick (uncredited)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Frank Jaquet	...	Sen. Byron (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; 'He's just decorating a chair') (uncredited)
Evalyn Knapp	...	Reporter (What do you think of the girls in this town?) (uncredited)
Wright Kramer	...	Sen. Carlton (uncredited)
Vera Lewis	...	Mrs. Edwards (uncredited)
Arthur Loft	...	Chief clerk (uncredited)
Hank Mann	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Margaret Mann	...	Nun with cheering orphan boys (uncredited)
Philo McCullough	...	Sen. Albert (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Reporter (uncredited)
George McKay	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lafe McKee	...	Civil War veteran at Lincoln Memorial (uncredited)
James McNamara	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Robert Middlemass	...	Speaker (uncredited)
James Millican	...	Senate reporter (uncredited)
Charles R. Moore	...	Porter (uncredited)
Gene Morgan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
William Newell	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Alex Novinsky	...	Foreign diplomat (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Sen. Alfred (uncredited)
Frank Puglia	...	Handwriting expert (uncredited)
Ed Randolph	...	Senate reporter (uncredited)
Jack Richardson	...	Sen. Manchester (uncredited)
Russell Simpson	...	Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
Walter Soderling	...	Sen. Pickett (uncredited)
Harry Stafford	...	Sen. Atwater (uncredited)
Wyndham Standing	...	Sen. Ashman (uncredited)
Paul Stanton	...	Flood (newsman) (uncredited)
Count Stefenelli	...	Foreign diplomat (uncredited)
Robert Sterling	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Craig Stevens	...	Senate reporter (uncredited)
Carl Stockdale	...	Sen. Burdette (uncredited)
Dub Taylor	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Ferris Taylor	...	Sen. Carlisle (uncredited)
Arthur Thalasso	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Porter (uncredited)
Victor Travers	...	Sen. Grainger (uncredited)
Laura Treadwell	...	Mrs. Taylor (uncredited)
John Tyrrell	...	(uncredited)
Robert Walker	...	Sen. Holland (uncredited)
Myonne Walsh	...	Jane Hopper (uncredited)
Lloyd Whitlock	...	Schultz (newsman) (uncredited)
Dave Willock	...	Senate Guard (uncredited)
Florence Wix	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)

Directed by
Frank Capra

Writing credits
Lewis R. Foster		(story)
Sidney Buchman		(screenplay)

Produced by
Frank Capra	....	producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Joseph Walker

Film Editing by
Al Clark
Gene Havlick

Art Direction by
Lionel Banks

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

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur S. Black Jr.	....	assistant director (as Arthur S. Black)

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

Visual Effects by
Slavko Vorkapich	....	montage effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Irving Lippman	....	still photographer (uncredited)

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

Other Companies

• 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:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Canada:F (Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This was reportedly Jean Arthur's favorite film of her own.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the governor enters the Smith's home (with the band playing) we see, from the outside, Ma closing the door almost shut. When the scene shifts to inside the house, Ma is again closing the same door.

Quotes:

Jefferson Smith: Because of just one, plain, simple rule: Love thy neighbor. And in this world today, full of hatred, a man who knows that one rule has a great trust. You know that rule, Mr. Paine, and I loved you for it, just as my father did. And you know that you fight for the lost causes harder than for any others. Yes, you even die for them, like a man we both knew, Mr. Paine.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years at the Movies (1994) (TV)

This movie is awesome! No complaints here!

`Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' is not as well known of a movie as it should be. It is a very good movie that is very interesting and a very good way to learn how some things involving the Senate work. This reviewer absolutely loved this movie and wishes she could run out and buy it right now. It definitely grabs the audience's attention and keeps it there. While watching this movie, this reviewer was laughing, smiling, getting really, really angry, learning, and even getting a little teary-eyed. How can a movie that brings out all those different emotions in someone not be great, or even spectacular! `Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' is definitely one of the best movies ever made despite the fact that it is mostly about politics! It's still interesting!

While watching this movie, the audience might be thinking that the acting isn't half bad and is actually quite realistic. They would be right too! All of the acting is really very good and it draws the audience in and keeps them in. This movie was so close to not having one single cheesy line or unbelievable acting job that it's really a shame that it did. At the very end of the movie Saunders, played by , stands up from her seat in the balcony and yells `Stop Jeff! Stop!' and then falls to the floor. The line and the way says it is very, very cheesy and something the audience might find themselves laughing at. That line is just about the only time in the entire movie where the acting was lacking. James Stewart was, of course, phenomenal. He is a very good actor and one that should be remembered for a very long time. He's awesome!

The only other not so great thing about `Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' is the ending. It's a happy ending but, well, it just ends. It's an abrupt ending. It ends so abruptly that the audience isn't even expecting it to end when it does. It has one of those endings where the audience knows a bunch of things that will be happening, they just aren't shown happening. This reviewer doesn't really care for those kind, it is much better when you get to see the things carried out. Although the ending could have been better `Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' is still an awesome movie and the ending doesn't take away from that at all!

This movie is so great that every person in the world should be able to see it because it is definitely worth the time it takes to see it.