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 | Senate | Governor | Camp | Corruption

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Jean Arthur	...	Clarissa Saunders
James Stewart	...	Jefferson Smith
Claude Rains	...	Sen. Joseph Harrison Paine
Edward Arnold	...	Jim Taylor
Guy Kibbee	...	Gov. Hubert Hopper
Thomas Mitchell	...	Diz Moore
Eugene Pallette	...	Chick McGann
Beulah Bondi	...	Ma Smith
H.B. Warner	...	Senate Majority Leader - Agnew
Harry Carey	...	President of the Senate - Henry
Astrid Allwyn	...	Susan Paine
Ruth Donnelly	...	Mrs. Emma Hopper
Grant Mitchell	...	Sen. MacPherson
Porter Hall	...	Sen. Martin Monroe
Pierre Watkin	...	Senate Minority Leader, Barnes
Charles Lane	...	Nosey
William Demarest	...	Carl Griffith
Dick Elliott	...	Bill Cook
Billy Watson	...	Peter Hopper
Delmar Watson	...	Jimmie Hopper
John 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 - Radio Broadcaster / Trailer Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Erville Alderson	...	Handwriting Expert (uncredited)
Harry Anderson	...	Hoodlum (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)
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	...	Sen. Dwight (uncredited)
Harlan Briggs	...	Mr. Edwards - Howling Citizen (uncredited)
Tommy Bupp	...	Boy Cheering for Smith in Meeting (uncredited)
Harry Burkhardt	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Frederick Burton	...	Sen. 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	...	Sen. 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)
Gus Glassmire	...	Angry committee member (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	...	Sen. Fernwick (uncredited)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Mitchell Ingraham	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Frank Jaquet	...	Sen. Byron (uncredited)
Dick Jensen	...	Hoodlum (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)
Richard Kipling	...	Senator (uncredited)
Evalyn Knapp	...	Reporter Asking 'What Do You Think of the Girls in This Town?' (uncredited)
Wright Kramer	...	Sen. Carlton (uncredited)
Paul Kruger	...	Bodyguard (uncredited)
Bobby Larson	...	Boy Ranger (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)
Jack Low	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Jackie Lowe	...	Boy Ranger (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	...	Sen. 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	...	Sen. Alfred (uncredited)
Frank Otto	...	Fisk (uncredited)
Joe Palma	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Blanche Payson	...	Committeewoman (uncredited)
Frank Puglia	...	Handwriting Expert (uncredited)
Tom Quinn	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Ed Randolph	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Charles Regan	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Jack Rice	...	Lang (uncredited)
Jack Richardson	...	Sen. Manchester (uncredited)
Henry Roquemore	...	Senator (uncredited)
Johnny Russell	...	Otis Hopper (uncredited)
Walter Sande	...	Newspaperman with Pipe (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)
Larry Steers	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Count Stefenelli	...	Foreign Diplomat (uncredited)
Robert Sterling	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Craig Stevens	...	Senate Reporter (uncredited)
Landers Stevens	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Carl Stockdale	...	Sen. 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	...	Sen. 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	...	Sen. 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	...	Sen. 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	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Fred B. Phillips	....	makeup artist (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)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia Pictures of Argentina (1940) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia (1940) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• 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 | West Germany:120 min (TV)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U | Australia:G | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #5370) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Brazil:Livre | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Frank Capra received many letters over the years from individuals who were inspired by the film to take up politics.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Twice, Saunders says that Jefferson Smith is going to go "up" to Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington. Mt. Vernon is approximately 15 miles south of the Capitol in Washington [you can check that using Google maps], and is right on the Potomac River downstream from Washington, so it is not "up" in a north-south sense nor in the sense of elevation. The script should have had Saunders saying that Smith was going "down" to Mt. Vernon, which is how anyone living or working in Washington would have put it.

Quotes:

Jefferson Smith:Either I'm dead right, or I'm crazy!

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies: 10th Anniversary Edition (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Battle Hymn of the Republic

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."