Cinema
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Frank Capra · 1939
Synopsis
Senator Sam Foley dies in office. In a Western state, Governor Hopper, controlled by Jim Taylor, boss of the political machine, appoints Jefferson Smith, head of the state's Boy Rangers, to replace him, whom his sponsors believe easy to manipulate. In Washington, where his secretary and the press mock him, Smith, on the advice of Senator Joseph Paine, a friend of his father, introduces a bill for a national boys' camp. The land chosen, at Willet Creek, is the very land that Taylor's machine intends to sell thanks to a dam included in a bill.
Context
The premiere took place on 17 October 1939 at Constitution Hall in Washington, before some four thousand guests, including forty-five senators; Capra wrote that part of the audience walked out before the end. Alben Barkley, Senate majority leader, judged the film stupid and reproached it for making senators look like a pack of crooks. Joseph P. Kennedy, ambassador in London, asked for its withdrawal from Europe in the name of the country's prestige. In 1942, French cinemas chose it as the last American film before the German ban.
Who it is for
A film of about two hours five minutes, in black and white; the hero holds the floor for nearly twenty-four hours.
Prizes and reception
Eleven Oscar nominations for a single award, that for best original story; James Stewart's first nomination. Added in 1989 to the National Film Registry.
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