Dir. Frank Capra (1939)
Not rated Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is about a young man named Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) who goes from being the leader of his local Boy Rangers group to a member of the United States Senate. His state's governor appoints him on a whim, and soon he is in Washington D.C. with a seat in the Senate chambers. Smith is a naive young man with many things going for him, including his looks and charisma, but he is obviously very unexperienced when it comes to the world of politics. Days into the job, Smith already finds himself in a huge conflict. As a newly minted senator, Smith has a dream of instilling a national boys camp for young boys all over the country who are too poor to afford any kind of summer camp or vacation. This interrupts plans that are brewing between the political leaders in Smith's home state, who are planning to buy the same land and build a dam that Smith wants to build the camp on. To prevent this from happening, a group of politicians (many of whom were Smith's own friends and advisors) created a false accusation that Smith already owned the land where he wanted the camp to be built, and the bill that he was proposing was created just to profit himself. In an attempt to prove the accusations are false and that he is innocent, Smith launches a filibuster that lasts nearly 24 hours. Mr. Smith speaks non-stop this entire time, spouting about the political ideals made by the American forefathers. During this time, the men who made the false accusations against Smith collude with the papers to get the public to hate him. When Smith's Boy Rangers rally to try to defend him, they're met with attacks from the public who support the state's politicians. Mr. Smith is close to giving up all hope, and after nearly a day of speeches, he collapses from exhaustion on the senate floor. Realizing what pain he has caused an innocent man, Senator Paine who helped start the accusations came forward and told the Senate President that Mr. Smith was innocent and it was him who should be expelled. Mr. Smith, who is barely conscious at this point, is met with cheers from the entire audience in his support. I did not know I could love older, black and white films until I watched those directed by Frank Capra. And Hitchcock, but that is completely different. I'm not trying to be derogatory towards black and white films, but it is rare for me to watch an older film and actually genuinely like it based off the story alone. Usually it's more like I am watching it and trying to appreciate the film for its kitchy-ness or just to say that I've seen this really old movie that everyone else has seen. When I watched It's A Wonderful Life and now this film, I think I got it. I wasn't just watching an old movie for old movies' sake, so I felt like I had accomplished something pretty big. Capra's movies are the definition of pick-me-ups. This movie was 2 hours long, but it goes by so fast, and then you're instantly in a better mood. Who wouldn't want to watch that? Also, after watching numerous films featuring Jimmy Stewart, I can safely say his role as Jefferson Smith is my favorite by far. Of course he is kind of the same in every film, or at least the way he speaks is, but he looks so young and naive in this movie and really fits the role. I really just wanted to reach through the screen and give him a hug. I really can't find a flaw with this movie. It is recommended.
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AuthorCasey Land Archives
January 2018
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