IMDb > Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 4)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) -- 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.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Sidney Buchman (screenplay)
Lewis R. Foster (story)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 October 1939 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Capra at his greatest! more
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. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(20 articles)
Top Ten Movies About U.S. Politics
 (From CinemaSpy. 3 November 2009, 9:45 PM, PST)

This week's cover: Stars on the set!
 (From EW.com - PopWatch. 1 October 2009, 6:00 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Required viewing for anyone elected or appointed for public office. more (182 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (USA) (complete title)
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Runtime:
129 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Frank Capra received many letters over the years from individuals who were inspired by the film to take up politics. more
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. more
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. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" based on a novel?
What was the original ending?
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49 out of 58 people found the following comment useful.
Required viewing for anyone elected or appointed for public office., 2 June 1999
10/10
Author: Lenny Mucci (marquis192@hotmail.com) from South Jersey, USA

Since the beginning of the art form, movies have generally fallen into two categories: the realistic, and the fantastic (fantasy-based). There are some that point out that the films of Frank Capra unduly fall into the latter, that they are completely far-fetched and fastened in their own time, and even invented a pejorative term "Capra-esque" to describe any non-cynical, heartwarming picture that has a message. His great films, like It Happened One Night, It's a Wonderful Life, and of course, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, however, are not fixed in a single era, but all eras, the truest definition of a classic. And considering it was released among true powerhouses in 1939, a year as important to movies as 1998 was to baseball, its ideals, story, and general excellence shine as bright today as it did over 60 years ago.

A Senator from an unnamed, middle America state dies and a new one must be appointed by Governor Hubert Hopper, a puppet whose strings are held by newspaper magnate Jim Taylor. They need to find one that would be easily controlled by the now-senior Senator Joseph Paine (played brilliantly by Claude Rains), so a bill allowing a building of a dam near land by the Willett Creek owned by Taylor can pass in the Senate. After his initial choice is rejected by Taylor, and Taylor's handpicked man is shot down by the public, the governor chooses Jefferson Smith, played to perfection by James Stewart, a boy scout leader and local hero who is both wholly idealistic in his patriotism for America but naive and blind to the actual process. After he gets embarrassed by the local print media, Mr. Smith begins to learn the harsh realities of DC. Paine, Smith's boyhood hero, takes him under his wing and suggests that Smith try to create a bill. Smith agrees, and with his assistant, Clarissa Saunders (played by Jean Arthur), they create a bill to create a campground for boys from all over the country to learn about each other and the civic process, much to the initial dissuasion by Saunders. Smith then wants to choose a site near the Willett Creek, the same site where the dam is to be built and when his superiors and true string-pullers find that out, major complications ensue.

Although the basic premise is David vs. Goliath, the story is wholly originally and was probably one of the earliest pictures to suggest the government as corrupt. The characters are played excellently by all principal actors, with Mr. Smith you root for whole-heartedly, Mr. Taylor you root against for his sheer arrogance and greed, and Mr. Paine, who you pity as you see a man who lost his initial zest to serve the public and is now a jaded shell of his former self. A great performance was given by Harry Carey, Sr., who plays the Vice President/President of the Senate for comic relief. The lines where completely believable and the parts of Smith's final filibuster that were shown give the most impact. There is a beautifully shot scene with images of the monuments and sights of Washington with several national anthems synchronized as the score. The climax is as tension-packed as drama can get, and while the ending may seem rather sudden, and everything isn't completely or neatly resolved, it works perfectly and ends the movie on a happy note.

Obviously, few if any people elected to public office has the moral character, conviction, and general good heartedness of Jefferson Smith, and I doubt whether the government would be better if it was. The movie showed an ideal, a supposed "lost cause" of truth in government. And although it is next to impossible for Capra and the eternal good guy Jimmy Stewart to ever fully change the world of politics with just a motion picture, at least it shows that maybe once in a great while, being the good guy has its definite rewards. If (using the same analogy of the 1998 baseball season) The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind were the Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa of 1939 moviemaking, then this would be like Cal Ripken voluntarily ending his Iron Man Streak, something done with full class and the highest respect in mind, and that elevates an ideal of being the good guy and sticking to your dedication brings the greatest of riches. This picture is flawless in all respects and a true classic, with thought-provoking ideas, wit, a little bit of platonic romance, and an excellent cinematography and score, and deserves the rank as a 10 out of 10. And in giving this rating, either I'm damn right or I'm crazy.

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