An unforgettable film about courage, freedom, and democracy
Only one director in the history of movies consistently made powerful, heartfelt films of social significance, and that’s Frank Capra, and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is one of his best. This uplifting classic beautifully mixes humor, drama, and romance to present a gripping look at the fragility and importance of freedom and democracy. It tells its story so entertainingly, it’s considered one of the greatest films ever made and earned eleven Academy Award nominations (winning one). Its timeless impact caused the American Film Institute (AFI) to name it the 5th Most Inspiring Film of All-Time and moviedom’s 26th all-around Greatest Film. And with upcoming US elections, it’s a perfect reminder of what America, at its best, stands for.
“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” begins as a US Senator dies and the idealistic young head of the Boy Rangers (aka Boy Scouts), “Jefferson Smith”, is appointed in his place, chosen because he's a naive average guy who was never in politics. The expectation was that he wouldn’t interfere with a graft scheme masterminded by corrupt political boss “James Taylor”, who had his front man “Senator Joseph Paine”, bury it in a bill that's about to get passed. Naturally, things don’t go as planned.
Turns out that years ago, "Paine" was close to "Smith's" father, as the two championed lost causes together until "Smith's" father was murdered doing so. "Paine" had no idea who "Smith" was when he was chosen for the senate seat, and now that he knows, he feels conflicted toward the young man, feeling fatherly while warning "Smith's" secretary "Clarissa Saunders" to “keep ‘Smith’ away from anything that smacks of politics”.
Wanting to make a difference while he's a senator and having no idea of "Paine's" corrupt side, "Smith" decides to follow his dream, and with the help of "Saunders", embarks on passing a bill of his own for a national boy's camp. It just happens to conflict with “Paine” and “Taylor’s” graft scheme, and what plays out is a gripping chronicle of an honest man fighting a mighty and vicious web of political corruption.
Not only is the film entertaining, but “Smith’s” blistering battle exposes politics at its ugliest, bringing to light many troublesome issues that persist today, like using lies to sway public opinion for one’s own gain, burying something in a bill to get it passed, intentionally using the press to manipulate the truth, how the press can save the day with the truth or destroy it with lies, and how what people say doesn’t always match what they do. But the film offers hope as it speaks to the forgotten American ideals of liberty, justice, freedom of speech, how one individual can make a difference, and the strength of living by the moral code of “Love Thy Neighbor”. It’s powerful stuff, and I get teary every time I watch it.
It’s also a stellar example of how movies can educate while entertaining, for “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” gives an enlightening look at America’s political workings. In a push towards realism, exact studio set recreations, down to the finest details, were made of the Senate Chambers, Senate committee rooms, cloak rooms, the National Press Club, and more. Then there’s the scene when “Smith” first arrives to his desk in the Senate. A wisecracking page boy has to explain everything to him, which gives us an understanding of it all at the same time. There’s also the wonderful scene when the sarcastically snippy “Saunders” explains to the wide-eyed “Smith” how to get a bill passed. While watching with amusement, we also learn the process.
As legendary American broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite said in a 1998 AFI interview, “[‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’] had a great impact to the nation in bringing the workings of the Senate to the knowledge of a great number of persons who had no concept at all of what the Senate Hall looked like, or how the desks were arranged, or how Senators rose to speak. It was a very educational movie in that regard, as movies are, highly educational when they deal with the real life subject of that kind”.
But don’t be fooled into thinking the film merely informs, for any educational aspects are added bonuses, as is the film’s patriotism (when “Smith” visits national monuments and statues of the founding fathers). All of that adds tone and color to a rather deep tale of a well-intentioned dreamer being hit with the harshness of reality and struggling to not lose his integrity under insurmountable odds. It’s funny, dramatic, poignant, and enthralling from all directions thanks to Frank Capra.
Capra began his film career writing and directing silent comedies (including the best of silent comic star Harry Langdon), where he learned that above all, films must entertain. As such, there’s lots of comedy in the darkly themed “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”. Lighthearted characters and situations make us laugh at the most serious things, such as “Saunders” witty and biting comments about how to get a bill passed, how the press mocks “Smith” with outrageous photos and headlines, and even the way Capra shows “Smith” punching reporters in the face.
Capra also keeps us entertained by his technical expertise. An example is the gorgeously composed shot of “Smith” and “Saunders” shown nearly in silhouette at the Lincoln Memorial in a key dramatic scene, making their encounter grippingly intimate, intense, and highly emotional. There’s also the meeting between “Smith” and “Paine’s” daughter “Susan” (who "Smith" calls "about the prettiest girl I ever did see"), where Capra shows only "Smith's" hat (as he fidgets with it and drops it) as a humorous symbol of “Smith’s” awkward and insecure emotional state.
Another spectacular use of cinema is the climatic moment when "Smith" reads letters in the Senate. He's at the end of his rope, and the way Capra films it (with the tightest close-up in the film, and a silent soundtrack) makes one paralyzed with anticipation about what will happen next. Capra also intersperses other characters’ reactions, helping guide and inform our own feelings. This is the work of a master of cinema, and it justly earned Capra a Best Director Academy Award nomination (his fifth).
Born in Sicily, Italy, Frank Capra moved to the US when he was five, and pursued and lived the American Dream. At the age of 24 he directed his first film, the 1921 documentary short "La Visita Dell'Incrociatore Italiano Libya a San Francisco", before finding his way to comedy with his next film, 1922's "Fultah Fisher's Boarding House". By 1928, he was working for Columbia Pictures directing features, including 1933’s "Lady for a Day”, which earned him his first Best Director Oscar nomination. Nineteen films later came 1934's "It Happened One Night", which won Capra his first Best Director Oscar, won Columbia its first Best Picture Oscar, and turned the Poverty-Row studio into a respected force in Hollywood. As Columbia's shining creative star, Capra was given total artistic control over his films. Influenced by the Great Depression, he decided to make films that addressed social themes and started doing so with 1936’s “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, a hit that won him a second Best Director Oscar. “Lost Horizon” and “You Can’t Take It with You” (which garnered him a third Best Director Oscar) followed.
Capra planned on directing a bio pic about composer Frédéric Chopin and worked on the screenplay with screenwriter Sidney Buchman. But Columbia nixed the project, feeling it was too expensive. A story treatment titled "The Gentleman from Montana” by Lewis R. Foster was presented to Capra, who loved it, feeling it would made a great sequel to "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”. He renamed the project "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington" and while working on the script with Buchman, realized the protagonist should be younger than “Deeds” and more of a country boy. Only one actor sprang to mind to play him - James Stewart. Capra signed Stewart and changed the title to “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”.
In 1938, Capra went to Washington, DC with Buchman, Stewart, and cinematographer Joseph Walker to shoot backgrounds. The wonder of seeing Washington’s monuments was filtered into the script, as was a touching moment when Capra saw a very young boy reading The Gettysburg Address out loud to his grandfather. Buchman earned a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination for “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, and Foster took home the film’s only Oscar win for Best Original Story (a category that no longer exists).
Capra was the most influential and famous Hollywood movie director of the 1930s and early 1940s, and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is considered one of his greatest films. It was also his final at Columbia, and he followed it with another “little guy” versus corruption film, 1941’s “Meet John Doe”, made at Warner Brothers. His feel-good, often sentimental films go straight to the heart in their underlying belief that an ordinary person with integrity and goodness can conquer all. Though they are light comedies, they all contain dark, difficult, and familiar human struggles, and these films hold a beacon of light that the best of humanity will triumph over the worst. You can read more about the great Frank Capra in my previous posts on "It Happened One Night", "It's a Wonderful Life", "You Can't Take It with You", and "Arsenic and Old Lace”. Just click on the film titles to open the posts.
Helping Capra bring to life "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", was cinematographer Joseph Walker. Walker’s exquisite framing (like the shots of “Smith" speaking in the corner of the Senate Chamber), beautiful lighting (as with “Smith” and “Saunders” at the Lincoln Memorial), and crisp contrast (“Saunders” in her black dress with “Diz”, crying in the bright hallway) make one fully appreciate the gorgeous nature and artistry of black and white photography. An important cinematographer who shot a multitude of great films and classics, Walker was Capra’s cinematographer of choice.
Colorado-born Joseph Walker began as an electrical engineer and inventor (helping build the first wireless transmitter). His movie career fittingly began in film laboratories and he invented many vital pieces of production equipment, including zoom lenses, the Variable Diffusion Device, the spot meter, lightweight camera blimps, and more. After working as a freelance camera operator on newsreels and documentaries, he turned cinematographer with 1919's "Back to God's Country". In 1927, he started working at Columbia, where he remained until 1952. Walker shot over 140 features, including 18 directed by Capra, and earned three Best Cinematography Academy Award nominations (for "You Can't Take It with You", "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", and "The Jolson Story"). His other films include "His Girl Friday", "It's a Wonderful Life", "Born Yesterday", "It Happened One Night", "The Lady from Shanghai", "Only Angels Have Wings", and his final, "Affair in Trinidad”. He was also expert at making actresses look glamorous. In 1981, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him the Gordon E. Sawyer Award in recognition of his technological contributions to the film industry. He was married twice, and in 1984, published his autobiography, "The Light on Her Face", about his life in the movies. Joseph Walker died in 1985 at the age of 92.
Starring in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is Jean Arthur as “Clarissa Saunders”, “Mr. Smith’s” secretary. Arthur brilliantly portrays “Saunders” as a sharp, cynical, savvy political secretary disillusioned with the corrupt world of Washington politics. She even makes fun of “Smith” when he first arrives, calling him “The Boy Ranger”, “Daniel Boone”, and other names. But as she gets to know him, hears him talk about his dream of the boy’s camp, of seeing the wonder in the world, and he tries to guess her first name, we see her soften, become inspired, and begin to fall in love. She believes in “Smith”, and because we identity with her, so do we. It’s a tremendous performance filled with nuance, emotional complexities, and warm humor. As an actor, I learned that listening is key to a great actor, and no one listens better than Arthur. She listen to whomever is speaking and even listens when she’s speaking, digesting what others say and genuinely reacting. You can clearly witness it when she’s frustrated by “Smith” during their car ride, when she explains how to get a bill passed, or during her three-plus minute tour-de-force while drunk at the Press Club restaurant professing her love for “Smith” to “Diz” without saying it (done in one continuous shot). Arthur’s combination of quirkiness (including her famously wonderful voice), personality, and talent made her a true movie star, and if you watch her closely, you will see before you the fine art of acting at its best.
Jean Arthur became a major international movie star when Capra cast her as the female lead in 1936's "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town". More hits followed, such as "Easy Living" and Capra's "You Can't Take It with You” , and she was a top star (and Columbia’s biggest) from the mid-1930’s until her contract with Columbia ended in 1944 (after which she semi retired). Because of anxiety issues and severe shyness, she was known to be difficult on sets. As Stewart said in Michael Munn’s book “Jimmy Stewart”, “Jean was an insecure kind of girl. She was just a marvelous actress… but she didn’t seem to know it”. Capra added, “Jean was always brilliant, first class – when she was on the set. The problem was trying to get her to the set. She wouldn’t come out of the dressing room. She was convinced she could never somehow get out there and be any good. And yet she was good, day after day, scene after scene. I never saw her give a bad performance”. Arthur offered her own take on her lengthy dressing room stays in John Oller’s book, “Jean Arthur”: “Some people misinterpret my gong to my dressing room between scenes instead of staying on the set joking. I know many people can joke one minute and go into a crying scene the next. They can change character instantly. I can’t. I have to go into my dressing room after a scene, go over my lines, and build up the mood for the next scene”. One of the best and most underrated actresses and comediennes of the silver screen, you can read more about the life and career of Jean Arthur in my prior posts on “You Can’t Take It with You” and “Shane”.
Co-starring in what would become a signature role is James Stewart as “Jefferson Smith”, an idealistic country boy who wants to do good. With an appealing blend of innocence, earnestness, sincerity, and an underlying vulnerability, Stewart makes us feel for this man every step of the way. We’re instantly drawn to him at the banquet where we first encounter his naiveté, charm, and bumbling nature. And when he sightsees around Washington, his awe gives us a sense of the greatness of America. Then there’s his final scene in the Senate where he faces disillusionment, exhaustion, and evil head-on, and does so with powerful, raw emotion. It's a performance for the ages, and AFI named the character of “Jefferson Smith” the 11th Greatest Movie Hero of all-time. Stewart’s “everyman” quality is so strong, when he hopes and dreams, we hope and dream. When he is cornered and forced to summon strength and courage, we know we can muster the same if pushed to the brink. If he can do it, we can do it. It’s the rare power of a believable actor and true movie star. Stewart fit so perfectly into this role and played it so well that he forever became thought of as an awkward, heroic, idealistic, sensitive, regular guy. This defining performance earned him his first Best Actor Academy Award nomination, and made him a top international movie star for the rest of his life.
Everyone thought James Stewart would win the Oscar for “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, but he lost to Robert Donat in “Goodbye, Mr. Chips”. Stewart won the following year for “The Philadelphia Story”, and many thought that was a consolation prize for not winning for“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, (including Stewart, who said in Munn’s book, “The funny thing is I never thought my performance in [‘The Philadelphia Story’] was all that good. I knew my performance in ‘Mr. Smith’ was better”). Capra was pivotal in Stewart’s career, casting him in 1938’s “You Can’t Take It with You”, which made him a star, and then "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", which turned him into a top star and respected actor. This film also solidified a friendship between the two that lasted the rest of their lives. They worked together one more time on what is largely considered Stewart’s (and Capra's) most beloved film, 1946’s "It's a Wonderful Life" (Stewart’s favorite of his own films). Stewart had a long and illustrious career, never losing his immense relatability and sympathetic nature, and AFI voted him the 3rd Greatest Male American Screen Legend of All-Time. He’s appeared in many classics, and you can read more about the life and career of the legendary James Stewart in six previous posts, "The Philadelphia Story", "It's a Wonderful Life", "You Can't Take It with You", "The Shop Around the Corner", "Anatomy of a Murder", and “Vertigo". Be sure to check them out.
The phenomenal casting in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” didn’t stop with Arthur and Stewart, for there are 186 speaking roles (it would be a fortune to pay that many actors today, but back then, nearly all were paid weekly salaries under studio contract) and Capra was meticulous in choosing everyone, from the leads and major supporting actors to those with one or no lines. His son, Frank Capra Jr. said his father would say “No matter how long an actor’s on the screen, thirty seconds or two hours, they’re still the star of that time”. As a result, everyone is excellent, helping add color and make the film vividly come to life. Capra’s characters are all likable, so we care about them (even the villains), which is a large reason his films are so enjoyable.
If you’re watching the movies on this blog (or even if you just watch a lot of classic movies), you'll notice that “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” contains a veritable who’s who of Hollywood’s best character actors. There are so many, I can’t possibly cover them all, but will do my best to point out those in important roles.
One character actor who was also a movie star is the incomparable Claude Rains who plays "Senator Joseph Paine”, a man gone morally astray in his quest for power. With his own mix of charm and authority, Rains gives "Paine" confidence and sophistication, making us buy "Paine's" reputation as a seasoned and well-respected politician. Yet he keeps him terribly human as "Paine" grapples with his conscience. I particularly love his changing expressions at the banquet when realizing "Smith" is the son of his former friend. He's flooded with delicate feelings of surprise, shock, recognition, reflection, joy, and even trepidation. It’s beautiful to watch. And Rains is probably the only actor who could pull off the ending – but you'll have to watch the film to see that. Rains was given white hair for the role to make him look old enough to play "Smith's" father, and his stunning work earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination (his first of four). Though he was a versatile actor who played many varied types, he could portray cultured, suave villains like nobody else, as in this film. He’s appeared in many, many classics, and you can read more about the life and career of Claude Rains (one of my favorites) in five previous posts, "Casablanca", "Notorious", "The Adventures of Robin Hood", "Now, Voyager”, and "Lawrence of Arabia”.
Another talented character actor who was also a star is Edward Arnold, who plays “Jim Taylor”, the powerful and ruthless man behind the corruption. Arnold's tremendous confidence and imposing presence are a force to be reckoned with, letting us know and see that this calculating, unyielding man will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Arnold never overdoes it, adding nuances to make us believe this man actually exists. He excelled at playing jolly-type villains, and Capra cast him accordingly in three films (the others are "You Can't Take It with You" and "Meet John Doe”). After beginning on stage and in silent films, Arnold's steady film career started in 1932, with stardom coming playing the title role in 1935’s “Diamond Jim”. After starring in about a dozen more films, in 1938 he was labelled box-office poison (along with the likes of Greta Garbo, Mae West, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, and others), after which, he became a very popular character actor. He appeared in over 130 films, including two previously on this blog, "You Can't Take It with You", and "I'm No Angel”, where you can read more about the wonderful Edward Arnold.
Guy Kibbee plays “Governor ‘Happy’ Hopper”, the man who choses “Smith” for the Senate seat. Nervous, indecisive, easily manipulated, but well-meaning, he's just a pawn in the political game. Kibbee does his best to live up to his nickname “Happy”, trying to keep a smile on his face while under extreme pressure, and adds a lot of humor to the film, including his amusing scene at dinner with his wife and their many kids who get him to consider “Smith” for the Senate. And the way he finally chooses “Smith” is fabulously fun. Kibbee was a staple in Hollywood movies during the 1930s and early 1940s, often portraying a variation of this type of jovial man. He appeared in an average of six to eight films a year (seventeen in 1932 and twelve in 1933), and starred as "Scattergood Baines” in six films from 1941 to 1943. He also appeared in Capra’s “Lady for a Day". You can read more about Guy Kibbee in my post on “42nd Street”.
1939 is considered the greatest year in movies, when more lasting classics were made than in any other year in history. One actor was lucky enough to appear in five of them, and that’s Thomas Mitchell, who appeared in "Gone with the Wind”, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Only Angels Have Wings”, “Stagecoach" (for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award), and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, in which he plays “Diz Moore”, a sharp-witted, often inebriated man of the press, and “Saunders’” sidekick. Mitchell is always truthful, whether playing sober or drunk, injecting a winning personality with wonderfully dry humor. I especially love the scene when he casually asks "Saunders" to marry him. His physicality and line delivery are so delightful, as is the moment when he fixes his hair thinking that will make her say yes. When she responds "No, I don't think even that would do it”, the way he reclines on the sofa and says "No point in combing my hair for nothing” is comical bliss, and is indicative of his entirely effortless, enjoyable, and convincing performance. Mitchell worked with Capra four times, starting with 1927's "Lost Horizon" (Mitchell's breakthrough), this film, "It's a Wonderful Life”, and the final for them both, 1961's "Pocketful of Miracles". You can read more about Thomas Mitchell in my post on “Stagecoach”, and briefly in "High Noon", "Gone with the Wind", and "It's a Wonderful Life”.
Yet another of my favorites who gives a standout performance whenever he appears is Eugene Pallette who plays “Chick McGann”, “Taylor's” right hand man. A familiar face to audiences then and now, Pallette was a big guy with a famous gravely voice who was extremely gifted at both comedy and drama. In this film he creates laughs just about every time he appears, be it his deadpan delivery giving many of the film’s best quips, spitting out his water at the banquet when “Happy” describes “Smith” as “a nugget”, struggling to get out of a tiny phone booth, or stumbling on the stairs in the Senate when in a panic. These are all small moments, but Pallette’s so believable he makes them incredibly funny. Of his 240 plus films, ”Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was his only with Capra. He appeared in many other classics, including three on this blog, "The Adventures of Robin Hood", "My Man Godfrey" and "Shanghai Express”, where you can read more about the life and career of the marvelous Eugene Pallette.
Harry Carey plays the President of the Senate. He doesn't speak very often but his presence is mighty, as Capra often cuts to close-ups of his reactions. Carey more than delivers as his expressively warm and kind face shows him listening, thinking, amused, and filled with admiration. This role earned Carey a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination. He was Capra's second choice for the part, after character actor Edward Ellis turned it down because it had so few lines (which Ellis regretted after seeing the film). Carey was a former major Western star and Capra loved his face. One can see why when watching this film.
The son of a New York Supreme Court judge, Bronx-born Harry Carey was set for a law career when he suffered a bout of pneumonia and his father sent him to Montana to recover. While there, he wrote a play based on what he saw, and starred and toured in that hit play ("Montana", about the Western frontier) for several years. He wrote another play, which flopped, but he was soon introduced to film director D.W. Griffith, who cast him in his 1910 Western short film "Bill Sharkey's Last Game". A law career was no more, Carey was now an actor. He appeared in dozens of films, mostly Westerns, before becoming a leading man with 1914's "The Master Cracksman", which he also wrote and directed. By 1915, his intense gaze, distinct mannerisms, and forceful presence made him one of cinema's first superstars. In 1916, he played good-natured outlaw "Cheyenne Harry" in "A Knight of the Range", a character he reprised in more films over the next two decades. As Cary aged, he began starring in B Westerns and worked less with the coming of sound in 1927. After starring in the 1929 hit "Trader Horn", he became a supporting player. Following "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", Carey appeared in small parts in A-list films, such as "Red River", "They Knew What They Wanted”, and "Duel in the Sun". He appeared in about 260 films between 1909 and 1948, such as "Blind Husbands", "Straight Shooting", "Kid Galahad", "McVeagh of the South Seas", and "Just Jim". He was married three times, including his final to actress Olive Carey. His son was actor Harry Carey Jr. (who you can read about in my posts on “The Searchers” and “Red River”). Harry Carey died in 1947 at the age of 69.
There are four more actors I’ve previously written about who each appear very briefly in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington": Beulah Bondi as “Smith’s” mother (you can read about her in my post on “It’s a Wonderful Life”); H. B. Warner as the “Senate Majority Leader" (who you can read a bit about in my post on “Sunset Boulevard”); William Demarest as “Bill Griffith" (who you can read about in "The Palm Beach Story" and briefly in "Sullivan's Travels”); and Jack Carson as newspaper man “Sweeney Farrell” (Carson became a movie star and you can read about him in "Mildred Pierce", and briefly in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and "Stage Door”).
An enormous hit in the US and overseas, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was the second highest grossing film of the year (behind "Gone with the Wind”), which is saying a lot considering it was 1939, and third highest grossing of the 1930s (behind “Gone with the Wind” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”). But not everyone loved this film. The Washington DC press, political insiders, and Senators hated it (Capra said many walked out during its Washington DC premiere), fearing it made them look corrupt. The film was made into a 1962 TV series, the 1977 film "Billy Jack Goes to Washington”, and inspired the 1992 film "The Distinguished Gentlemen”.
In addition to its win for Best Original Story and nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, and two for Best Supporting Actor (Rains and Carey), “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” also received Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction (Lionel Banks), Best Sound (John P. Livadary), Best Film Editing (Gene Havlick, Al Clark), and Best Musical Score (Dimitri Tiomkin, who you can read about in my post on “High Noon”).
This week’s film is a reminder of the importance of freedom, the power of hope and kindness, and that any and all of us can make a difference. It also takes viewers on a highly entertaining and emotional ride – a perfect movie experience. Enjoy one of the greats. Enjoy “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”!
This blog is a weekly series (currently biweekly) on all types of classic films from the silent era through the 1970s. It is designed to entertain and inform through watching a recommended classic film a week. The intent is that a love and deepened knowledge of cinema will evolve, along with a familiarity of important stars, directors, writers, the studio system, and more. I highly recommend visiting (or revisiting) the HOME page, which explains it all and provides a place where you can subscribe and get email notifications of every new post. Visit THE MOVIES page to see a list of all films currently on this site. Please leave comments, share this blog with family, friends, and on social media, and subscribe so you don’t miss a post. Thanks so much for reading!
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TO READ AFTER VIEWING (contains spoilers):
In addition to how it's directed and its stunning Senate Chambers set, the magnificence of “Smith’s” filibuster sequence (which has become iconic) is due to James Stewart’s powerhouse performance. While mustering the strength to keep fighting, his voice and body weaken, and to give Stewart a hoarse voice, a doctor periodically brushed his throat with mercuric chloride to temporarily make his vocal cords swell.
I had seen this movie ~25/27 years ago but decided to watch it again after seeing your blog. Pretty much forgot everything about it so it was like seeing it for the first time. Really enjoyed seeing it again. Great movie with great actors. It's a timeless movie with our form of government. Thanks for your blog.
Una gran película. Emocionante y ejemplarizante. Aquí en España se tituló "Caballero sin espada". Felicidades Jay, gran trabajo. El otro día vi una maravilla "La extraña pasajera" con la inconmensurable Bette Davis.