Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

Frank Capra, USA 1939, 125 minutes

In order that they can continue with their dodgy deals, Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) and press magnate Jim Taylor, arrange for naive, idealistic scoutmaster Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), to be appointed to the senate. However, Smith refuses to let himself be corrupted, exposing the shady skullduggery he sees going on around him. As Smith's moralising threatens to expose the deceitful duo, they decide to get rid of him by tarnishing his reputation.

Branded un-American upon its release, because it implied the White House was corrupt, this remains one of Capra's best works. Far from criticising politics, he expresses his unshakeable faith in democracy and its institutions, as well as in the triumph of right against might. Smith is innocent and pure, and in the end, only the voices of the children that support him are able to rescue him from the politicians' snare.

A replica of the Senate chamber was built for the film's most memorable scene - as Smith launches into an exhausting three day filibuster, refusing to yield the floor until he has spoken his mind. Like all Capra, this film could be dismissed as cornball idealism (or `Capra-corn' to give it its official title), but at its heart is a serious message. In an age when the majority of people dismiss anything that comes out of the mouths of politicians, we need reminded of the potential good that can come from politics when it is used as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. Smith's fight could be going on in the States today, or anywhere for that matter.

"Both Frank Capra and James Stewart were rarely better than this" - Vox

Review by Katia Saint-Peron
Taken from EUFS Programme 1996-97