Movie: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

“Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed on a lark by the spineless governor of his state. He is reunited with the state’s senior senator–presidential hopeful and childhood hero, Senator Joseph Paine. In Washington, however, Smith discovers many of the shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys’ camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss, Jim Taylor. Taylor first tries to corrupt Smith and then later attempts to destroy Smith through a scandal. Written by James Yu {jamestyu@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu}”

  • Director: Frank Capra
  • Release Date: 19 October 1939 (USA)
  • Run Time: 129 min
  • Country: USA
  • Genre: Drama

Tagline: Capra at his greatest!

Trivia: Neither the Republican nor Democratic parties are ever mentioned in the film.

Goofs: Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Jefferson Smith refers to “that lady that’s up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty.” Actually, it is the Statue of Freedom.

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