Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939

type: Movie

language: American English

duration: 129 min

genre: political

director: Frank Capra

Score: 8 / 10

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Senator who fights against a corrupt political system, and was written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story "The Gentleman from Montana".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

More details

author	Lewis R. Foster Sidney Buchman
award	Academy Award for Best Story National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
contentLocation	Washington, D.C.
director	Frank Capra
editor	Al Clark Gene Havlick
events	idealism
genre	comedy-drama political
keywords	boys camp brand bumble bumpkin crush expel federal government fidget filibuster frame graft last chance machine make up naivety newspaper story on edge political boss political machine radio station reform shout suicide by gunshot take advantage u.s. senator united states senate wash yokel
musicBy	Dimitri Tiomkin
nomination	Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Director Academy Award for Best Film Editing Academy Award for Best Picture Academy Award for Best Production Design Academy Award for Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment Academy Award for Best Sound Academy Award for Best Story Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
producer	Frank Capra
productionCompany	Columbia Pictures
publisher	Columbia Pictures
recordedAt	Washington, D.C.