Gone With the Wind
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939, 2 hrs 5 min. Dir: Frank Capra. Cast: James Stewart (Jefferson Smith), Jean Arthur (Clarissa Saunders), Claude Rains (Sen. Joseph Paine), Edward Arnold (Jim Taylor), Thomas Mitchell (Diz), Harry Carey (Pres. of the Senate).
Talk about a movie that brings out your patriotism from the outset--this one rolls the credits with music from "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
I'm not sure why I haven't seen this one before. It's got Jimmy Stewart (immediate plus) and it's about politics, especially bad politics. So thanks to Scott and Jenn for getting me Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for my birthday because I'd tried to rent it twice before but the tape was broke both times!
PLOT: The story of a naive senator's fight against political corruption. Stewart is an idealistic scoutmaster of the Boy Rangers, appointed to finish the term of a dead senator.
With Sen. Foley dead, Governor Hopper must appoint a replacement, but not on his own accord as he is a stooge for political boss Jim Taylor's machine that practically runs the state. They need someone for them and Sen. Joseph Paine to mold and "perform like a trained seal." Their top priority in the next month is protecting their plan to have the government build a dam on Willet Creek as a favor for Taylor (hence, corruption).
Jimmy Stewart plays Jefferson Smith, the ultimate American, explained by Gov. Hopper as:
"a simpleton of all times. Big-eyed patriot, knows Lincoln and Washington by heart, stands at attention in the governor's presence; he even collects stray boys and cats...A perfect man, never in politics in his life, wouldn't know what is was all about in two years let alone two months, and the important thing- and this is the genius of the stroke-it means votes. The hero of 50,000 boys and 100,000 parents."
So Jeff's off to Washington, where's he's awestruck by the elegance and history. My problem here is, he knows little of the political process, such as passing a bill, the role of committees, etc. And even someone who hasn't read much American history knows about the scandalous Washington reputation. Seems he should know something of politics, or he needs to watch CNN more often :) He does learn quickly that the press isn't his friend, with the way they egg you on just to splat the egg right back in your face. It's okay to be naive, but he's bordering on ignorance.
Jeff Smith is saved from complete embarrassment by his assistant Saunders (Jean Arthur), who's a political pro with a zest necessary to survive inside the Beltway. However, even she is a little corrupted by the money in Washington. Thus, it's up to Jeff to soften her heart and restore her faith in the American way. And he's just contagious enough to fall in love with.
With Jeff now in the Capitol, he wants to make a difference. On his first day he enlists a spunky young boy serving as one of the Pages to show him the ropes of the Senate Chamber. Smith: "I'm just going to listen." Page: "That's the best way to get re-elected."
But Jeff decides he wants to start a national Boys Camp in association with the Boy Rangers. But, OOPS! His plan is to have it set up next to Willet Creek, which is already taken by his corrupt state leaders. Sen. Paine and Taylor are none-too-happy by this turn of events, and set out to destroy Jeff's good name.
Jeff is set to quit because he knows he can't battle Taylor's machine of leaders, media, business, etc. Saunders to the rescue with all-American pep talk:
"You have plain, decent, common rightness. And this country could use some of that. So could this whole cock-eyed world. A lot of it. Remember the first day you got here? Remember what you said about Mr. Lincoln? You said he was sitting there waiting for someone to come along? You were right. He was waiting for a man who could see his job and sail into it, that's what he was waiting for. A man who could tear into the Taylors and root 'em out into the open. I think he was waiting for you Jeff. He knows you can do it. So do I."
Hooray! Saunders, aka Knute Rockne, convinces him to get back in the game.And thus begins the emotional fillibuster where Jeff holds the floor for 24 hours. The rules say he can hold the floor for as long as he can stand and talk and doesn't yield. He needs to drum up support in his state, but never realizes that Taylor is making sure that doesn't happen. So he tries to convince the senators what makes the country great, and that he's innocent of any trumped up charges.
"You're not going to have a country that can make these kinds of rules work, if you haven't got men that have learned to tell human rights from a punch in the nose."
And just when you think he's going to lose, a predictable person ends it all. But, in a dramatic, satisfying ending.Jimmy Stewart is the quintessential American actor, someone we all can relate to somehow. His acting is flawless. Director Frank Capra is in the same light as All-American, with such hits as It Happened One Night starring Clark Gable, It's A Wonderful Life with Stewart and Donna Reed and Arsenic and Old Lace with Cary Grant, to name a few.
And Jean Arthur...Wow! I love her! She's addictive from the colder-hearted beginning to her passionate defense of Jeff. I still like Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn more from that generation, but Arthur's on the list.
Mr. Smith was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning Best Motion Picture Story. Which isn't bad, considering it was released in 1939, the same year as Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach and Wuthering Heights, which to me makes that year the best in American film history.
The verdict: 