Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

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:

Boy | Senate | Corruption | Senator | Political Corruption

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 24

2:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Jean Arthur	...	Saunders
James Stewart	...	Jefferson Smith
Claude Rains	...	Senator Joseph Paine
Edward Arnold	...	Jim Taylor
Guy Kibbee	...	Governor Hopper
Thomas Mitchell	...	Diz Moore
Eugene Pallette	...	Chick McGann
Beulah Bondi	...	Ma Smith
H.B. Warner	...	Senator Agnew - Senate Majority Leader
Harry Carey	...	President of the Senate
Astrid Allwyn	...	Susan Paine
Ruth Donnelly	...	Emma Hopper
Grant Mitchell	...	Senator MacPherson
Porter Hall	...	Senator 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:

In 1941 Columbia was sued by Louis Ullman and Norman Houston, both of whom claimed that this film was plagiarized from their respective written works. Screenwriter Lewis R. Foster testified that he wrote the story specifically for Gary Cooper, and director Frank Capra testified that he had seen only the synopsis of Foster's story and had intended to use it as a sequel to Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). Columbia won the case.

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:

[when Smith is announced as the newly appointed Senator]
James Taylor: I want you to let the ballyhoo boys loose, plan a celebration, and declare a holiday.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Smallville: Prototype (#6.21)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair

Want to Get Your View Across? Why Not Filibuster?

The media and those in Washington, D.C. cringed in 1939 when Frank Capra (Oscar-nominated for directing) come out with "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". Capra, fresh off amazing successes like "Lady for a Day", "It Happened One Night", "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town", "Lost Horizon" and "You Can't Take It With You", used his power to slap some bigwigs in the face with a powerful medium---the motion picture. The result was an immediate backlash by publications and politicians, but cheers from critics and the audience. As with society, the critics and the masses won out as the movie is a masterpiece in every way. A U.S. Senate vacancy leads to a dilemma. Who should be put in office? Everyone believes the apparently naive and gullible James Stewart (Oscar-nominated) is the logical choice because he will be easy to manipulate and he won't rock the boat. Stewart, the leader of the Boy Rangers (a local camp association for youngsters), gets blind-sided by many high-ranking officials who have alterior motives (Oscar nominees Harry Carey and Claude Rains in particular) when his idea for a national boys' camp goes by the wayside. Thus the only thing left for Stewart is to beat those in charge by beating them at their own game---creating a filibuster (a never-ending governmental argument for his cause). Stewart is solid as always here and the supporters (love interest/reporter Jean Arthur and drunk newspaper man Thomas Mitchell included with the aforementioned players) are all terrific throughout. The Oscar-winning screenplay is deceptively intelligent and Capra just had the uncanny ability to mix comedy, drama and interpersonal characterizations together to make consistently wonderful American film experiences. 5 stars out of 5.