Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 film which tells the story of Jefferson Smith, an idealistic young man who is sent to Washington to fill the unexpired term of a deceased Senator. There, Smith is taken under the wing of the publicly esteemed but actually corrupt Senator Paine, whom he naively admires because he was his late father's best and oldest friend. As time goes on, however, the young Mr. Smith becomes increasingly dismayed by the corruption he finds in the halls of government.
The film stars Claude Rains as Paine and James Stewart as Smith. Also appearing are Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee, Charles Lane, and Thomas Mitchell.
The film was directed by Frank Capra, who also directed James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life, and was written by Lewis R. Foster and Sidney Buchman.
It has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Trivia
- The film premiered in Washington, D.C. on October 17, 1939.
- It was also made into a television series of the same name that ran during the 1962-63 season, starring Fess Parker and Red Foley.
- In 1977, Tom Laughlin remade the film as Billy Jack Goes to Washington, part of the Billy Jack series (This film was very unsuccessful).
- It was loosely remade in 1992 as The Distinguished Gentleman, starring Eddie Murphy.
Cultural Effects
When it was first released, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was attacked as an anti-American pro-Communist film for its portrayal of corruption in American Government.
The film was banned in Nazi Germany, and in other Fascist countries such as Italy and Spain, dubbing was used to alter the message of the film to conform with official ideology, according to Capra.
In 1942 when a ban on American films was imposed in Nazi-occupied France, the title theaters chose for their last movie before the ban was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. One Paris theater owner reportedly screened the film around the clock for 30 consecutive days prior to the ban.
In the spring of 2005, U.S. media attention over the "nuclear option" focused extra attention on what was already the dramatic climax of the film, when Smith launches a lengthy and defiant filibuster.
Awards
- Best Picture (nomination)
- Best Actor (nomination) - James Stewart
- Best Supporting Actor (nomination) - Claude Rains
- Best Supporting Actor (nomination) - Harry Carey
- Best Writing, Original Screenplay - Lewis R. Foster and Sidney Buchman
- #5 at AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers.
External links
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