Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American political comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold. The film is about a newly appointed United States Senator who fights against a corrupt political system, and was written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story "The Gentleman from Montana". The film was controversial when it was first released, but successful at the box office, and it made Stewart a major star. It was also loosely based on the life of Montana U.S. Senator Burton Wheeler, who underwent a similar experience when he was investigating the Warren Harding administration.
Plot
The governor of an unnamed western state, Hubert "Happy" Hopper, has to pick a replacement for the recently deceased U.S. Senator Sam Foley. His corrupt political boss, Jim Taylor, pressures Hopper to choose his handpicked stooge, Horace Miller, while popular committees want a reformer, Henry Hill. The governor's children want him to select Jefferson Smith, the head of the Boy Rangers. Unable to make up his mind between Taylor's stooge and the reformer, Hopper decides to flip a coin. When it lands on edge – and next to a newspaper story on one of Smith's accomplishments – he chooses Smith, calculating that his wholesome image will please the people. At the same time, his naivety will make him easy to manipulate.
Awards
Cast
- Alec Craig
- Ann Doran
- Anne Cornwall
- Astrid Allwyn
- Bert Moorhouse
- Beulah Bondi
- Brooks Benedict
- Byron Foulger
- Charles Lane
- Charles Sullivan
- Chester Conklin
- Claude Rains
- Craig Stevens
- Dick Jones
- Dorothy Comingore
- Eddie Kane
- Eddy Chandler
- Edmund Cobb
- Edward Arnold
- Edward Earle
- Emma Tansey
- Erville Alderson
- Eugene Pallette
- Ferris Taylor
- Florence Wix
- Frances Gifford
- Frank O'Connor
- Frank Puglia
- Frederick Burton
- Frederick Vroom
- George Chandler
- George Cooper
- Gino Corrado
- Grant Mitchell
- Guy Kibbee
- H. B. Warner
- Hank Mann
- Harry C. Bradley
- Harry Carey
- Harry Hayden
- Harry Tenbrook
- Jack Carson
- James Millican
- James Stewart
- Jean Arthur
- John Dilson
- John Russell
- Lafe McKee
- Lester Dorr
- Lloyd Ingraham
- Lorna Gray
- Mary Gordon
- Maurice Costello
- Philo McCullough
- Pierre Watkin
- Porter Hall
- Robert Sterling
- Russell Simpson
- Ruth Donnelly
- Sam Ash
- Stanley Andrews
- Thomas Mitchell
- Vera Lewis
- Wade Boteler
- Walter Sande
- Wilfred Lucas
- William Demarest
- William Worthington
- Wyndham Standing