Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down.

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Sidney Buchman (screen play), Lewis R. Foster (story)

Stars:

James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains

Top Rated Movies #153 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Senate Majority Leader
Harry Carey	...	President of the Senate
Astrid Allwyn	...	Susan Paine
Ruth Donnelly	...	Mrs. Hopper
Grant Mitchell	...	Senator MacPherson
Porter Hall	...	Senator Monroe
H.V. Kaltenborn	...	H.V. Kaltenborn

Storyline

Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed on a lark by the spineless governor of his state. He is reunited with the state's senior senator--presidential hopeful and childhood hero, Senator Joseph Paine. In Washington, however, Smith discovers many of the shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys' camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss, Jim Taylor. Taylor first tries to corrupt Smith and then later attempts to destroy Smith through a scandal.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. senator | national film registry | afi | children | butler | 

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Taglines:

Capra at his greatest!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min 120 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Washington press corps was highly indignant at the way it was portrayed in the film. Consequently, a great deal of the initial reviews from the capitol were very negative. One of their chief objections was that the film made them all out to be drinking too much.

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Goofs

(at around 21 mins) In the montage as Jeff Smith wanders off after arriving in Washington, we see the display of the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives, and then supposedly a close-up of the document - only the "S"'s are written in modern style script and don't look like "F"'s as in the original document.

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Quotes

Diz Moore: You know, that guy's batty.

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Connections

Featured in Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009)

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Soundtracks

The Star-Spangled Banner
(1814) (uncredited)
Music by John Stafford Smith
In the score at the banquet

User Reviews

A true classic that lives up to it's reputation

Mr. Smith is as good as it's legend. Sometimes I'm disappointed when a universally acclaimed movie isn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be. But here, that is not the case. James Stewart is deservedly remembered most for this role. That's saying a lot given his impressive body of work. This is also Frank Capra's signature film along with Mr. Deeds. The idealism of Jefferson Smith might feel a bit anachronisitc today but, and I know this is a cliché, the world could use more people with his values. The supporting cast is also spot on. Jean Arthur plays the same type as she did in Mr. Deeds and Claude Rains is terrific as the mentor who betrays Smith. Strongly recommended, 9/10.