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Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

© David Macdonald

One of the great political dramas created by Hollywood is Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, from 1939. While this film, as does many older films, contains dated elements, it remains timeless in other areas, especially in its depiction of a society (in this case, political Washington D.C.) which so easily corrupts even the finest individuals. Only one man, it seems (and that would be Mr. Smith), can stand up to the powers that be and retain his integrity.

This film, directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart as Smith, is now regarded as a classic piece of Americana. One of the most famous scenes in all of cinema is Stewart's passionate filibuster on the floor of the Senate, in which he implores to all the other senators to remember what democracy is all about, and what the founding fathers of the United States wanted out of their government. This scene is greatly remembered, and the lingering feeling is that there is an overpoweringly strong message for America and its institutions. Yet Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was denounced as being anti-American by the very senators who had been invited to an exclusive showing of the film at the White House in 1939. And it is only because of an unconvincing final shot that the audience can be compelled to believe that decency can overcome mere politics.

Once you realize the charge of anti-Americanism, and then understand the date of this film, you will regard this film in a much different light. Capra did not present a white-washed, patriotic version of American politics, but a fairly candid (for the times) portrait of Washington. As the film begins, corrupt goings-on are already occurring. A senator from a western state has suddenly passed away, forcing the second state senator, Payne (played by Claude Rains) and his political buddies to appoint another senator who will play along with their corrupt scheme. The scheme is that they are secretly buying land which they will later sell, under fictitious names, to the government, which plans to build a dam in the area. Eventually, they find their man - Jefferson Smith, a youth leader who embodies all that is good and wholesome about America, and who, coincidentally, is the son of a man whom Senator Payne knew as a youth, back in the days when they worked together, fighting for the "lost causes".

Smith's dream, now that he is in Washington, is to build a boys camp, for boys to learn about nature, the great outdoors, and America. He, with the help of his secretary Saunders (Jean Arthur), drafts the bill, and on the very next day presents it to the Senate, not knowing that the land he wants for his boys camp is the same land that Payne and company are buying up to sell to the State. Smith soon finds out what is really going on, and attempts to correct the situation, but is told that he will be in big trouble if he squeals. Nevertheless, Smith walks into the Senate floor, about ready to say what is really going on (although, significantly, he had no plans to implicate Payne), until Payne stands up and accuses Smith of secretly buying up the land and planning to profit from innocent children. Smith is censured by the Senate committee, and is about to be voted out of the Senate chambers, until Smith stands up and holds the floor, in an amazing example of a filibuster which lasts for nearly 24 hours.

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