Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Short description
Jefferson Smith is a young, idealistic man who leads a club for boys in his home state. When a United States senator dies, he is appointed to fill the vacant seat, chosen by the state's political machine precisely because he seems harmless. He arrives in Washington expecting to work alongside the senior senator he admires, unaware that the men who sent him there intend to use him to push through a corrupt scheme involving a dam. As the newcomer begins to understand what is really happening around him, he finds himself the target of a campaign to discredit him, and the press treats him as a joke. With help from his secretary, who knows how Washington works, he decides to fight back on the Senate floor, revealing the corruption behind the project and drawing out those responsible.
Frank Capra directed the film, working from a screenplay by Sidney Buchman. It followed several of the director's successes in the 1930s, including It Happened One Night and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and came before Meet John Doe and It's a Wonderful Life. James Stewart plays Jefferson Smith, with Jean Arthur as Clarissa Saunders, Claude Rains as Joseph Paine, Edward Arnold as Jim Taylor, Guy Kibbee as Governor Hopper and Thomas Mitchell as Diz Moore. Columbia Pictures produced the film, which runs 130 minutes.
The film was made for about 2 million dollars and took roughly 10 million at the box office, a strong return. On IMDb it holds 8.1 from around 129,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.8 from far fewer votes. A film critics' rating of 8.5 from 98 reviews is in line with the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- James Stewart (1908-1997) understood that roles like this came to an actor once in a lifetime, and that it could very well elevate him to the peak of cinematic Olympus. His partner, Jean Arthur (1900-1991), later recalled that Stewart took the role very seriously. Moreover, he would get up at 5 a.m. and drive to the set himself, driving very slowly to avoid an accident.
- In 1989, the film was included in the National Film Registry for preservation in the Library of Congress. Films of cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance are entered into the registry.
- In Nazi-occupied France in 1942, a ban was imposed on the screening of American films, and the last film shown before the ban came into force was "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Eyewitnesses claim that this film was shown non-stop for 30 days at one Parisian cinema.
- The film caused a wave of indignation in Washington, but the same film was banned in fascist states of Europe, where it was considered to be promoting democracy. According to director Frank Capra (1897-1991), the film was dubbed in some European countries in such a way that the content would conform to the official ideological line.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
