Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

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

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)

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 film premiere was sponsored by the National Press Club in Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall and the 4,000+ person crowd included congressmen, supreme court justices, and Cabinet Officers. Frank Capra was seated next to Montana Senator Burton Wheeler who was one of many public officials who disliked the negative representation of Washingtonian politics and left the theater midway through in a huff. Capra described the aftermath as "the worst shellacking of my professional life".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Smith arrives in Washington on the train, he's seen walking towards the exit with a porter behind him carrying his bags. The next shot shows the same porter coming into the station carrying someone else's bags.

Quotes:

Jefferson Smith: [His voice very hoarse] Just get up off the ground, that's all I ask. Get up there with that lady that's up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won't just see scenery; you'll see the whole parade of what Man's carved out for himself...

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Simpsons: Beyond Blunderdome (#11.1)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

When Johnny Comes Marching Home

It works in a way no other movie could, THERE IS PROOF

Now, I must admit that this is one of my top five favorite films. There is a warmth, idealism, and kinda simple feeling of hope, that makes one believe that things will work out in the end. Capra knew exactly what he wanted, and it shines. Jimmy Stewart, in the role of his life, makes us believe, what we know is almost impossible in todays crass world.

Claude Rains is incredible as Senator Smith's evil mentor. Jean Arthur, as his confidant, plays the part so well,that we just want her to save the day.

The final scene, where the filibuster is taking place, is among the greatest ever made.

BUT THE PROOF, YOU ASK?

In the early 80s, I showed this film, over three days, to a group of 15 year old inner city teenagers. I taught Political Science in a very difficult school in Chicago. It was a new class, and not all of the "best" students took it.

I decided to show this film at the end of the year, just to see how long I could keep the students attention. I didn't expect much. Fifteen is a very tough age to keep any kind of attention span, and it was at the end of the day, 2:30 -3:15 pm. which made things worse. As the film began, there was rustling in the seats, boredom, that famous oh what a waste of time look...Mind you, this is 43 year old film, about a white Senator, in those "old" days, and being shown to a totally Afro-American crowd of 15 year olds, late in the day, (over a three day period, which meant the students would have to wait till the next day to see what was going on. ..By the end of the third day, Capra had worked his magic, and the entire class was spellbound by this film. They were there till the very end, and you could see how much they enjoyed seeing a film, that they wouldn't have looked at in a thousand years..Comments were wonderful. Any film that could accomplish this, more than 40 years after its conception, to a crowd that one would believe would have no interest deserves to be truly called a "great film."