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Movie Info:   
Title:  Mr. Smith goes to Washington

My Rating: 4 ½ star

Released: 1939

Directed by: Frank Capra

Stars:

  • James Stewart, (It’s a Wonderful Life)  as Jefferson Smith
  • Jean Arthur, (You Can’t Take it With You, The More the Merrier,) as Clarissa Sanders
  • Harry Carey, (So Dear to My Heart, China’s Little Devils,) as the President of the Senate
  • Claude Rains, (Casablanca, Notorious) as Senator Joseph Paine
Rating: NR 


Premise:  When Jefferson Smith, (James Stewart) is elected as U.S. Senator, he has a dream to create a boys camp in his home state, so that they could enjoy and learn about the qualities that make America great.  Unfortunately, corruption has replaced many of those principles for members of the senate, and greed has become the motivating factor for many of the nation’s leaders.  Jefferson Smith with the help of Clarissa Sanders (Jean Arthur,) his legislative aide, must take on the political machines, the cynical congressmen, and political maneuvering in order to pursue justice and, “just plain commonsense rightness.”

Production:  You can almost know it’s a classic when you hear the words Frank Capra.  Director of “It’s a Wonderful life,” and many other cherished and treasured American classics, Frank Capra definitely made his mark on the world through the wonderfully simple but beautiful black and white films of his day.  “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” is no exception.  With an all star cast, and its gentle fun at the expense of congress, this movie is timeless.  Many of its principles are just as relevant today as they were more than seventy years ago when it first came out, and the values present are ones that many more modern filmmakers tend to forget.

Cautions:

  • Some VERY brief language
  • Some slight drunkenness/intoxication
This movie really is very clean.  There are only a few spots regarding language, and a few scenes with the characters drinking and getting slightly intoxicated.  However, there is nothing very major here at all.  I wish most of our more recent movies were as clean as this one is. 

Conclusion:

I know that Nicole already reviewed this movie, but I felt like “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,”  deserved a little more attention in detail.  This is a family favorite, and it is also a recognized classic by most of today’s film critics.  If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I would strongly urge you to rent it or buy it, sit back with some popcorn, and enjoy one the most endearing American classics ever created.

 
 
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

 I recommend going out and getting this movie as soon as possible. After the events of the Health Care Bill Saturday it felt like something straight out of this movie!

Plot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Smith_Goes_to_Washington

This movie is classified as a comedy, but I really didn’t find it funny. I found Jefferson Smith’s love of Washington DC refreshing as well as his passion to do the right thing. The events that transpire mirror DC and our elected officials today. *Spoiler* While good triumphs in the end, the ending seems abrupt. My love of justice wanted to see evil punished, but the overall movie is excellent for the whole family.