--- title: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" year: 1939 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/mr-smith-goes-to-washington" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-16T11:48:04.958048+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T11:48:05.374188+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Directed by Frank Capra · 2h 10m · MPA NR · Comedy, Drama **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 85 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* James Stewart brings honesty to Washington, which seems to regard it as a clerical error > Frank Capra makes political innocence funny and unexpectedly moving, with James Stewart and Jean Arthur keeping the sentiment lively. Its faith in personal decency asks for indulgence, but the comedy earns it. ## Synopsis As an idealistic senator, Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) comes to Washington expecting honesty to count in public life. He encounters Clarissa Saunders (Jean Arthur), Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) and Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) as his good intentions meet the practical business of politics. Smith wants to serve without abandoning his principles, but corruption makes that difficult. He must also reckon with the power of those who decide what the public gets to hear. The capital gives an inexperienced man a political education among people who have already learnt how to get their way. ## Review Frank Capra asks us to believe that an honest person can matter in a political system practised at ignoring honesty. *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington* makes that belief surprisingly persuasive, chiefly because its comedy gives the sceptics plenty to say. It is funny, affecting and acted with a precision that prevents most of its patriotic feeling from becoming a lecture. Its weakness is the ease with which it asks personal decency to solve problems it has shown to be organised and entrenched. James Stewart plays Jefferson Smith as an idealistic senator whose earnestness can be awkward to sit through, as it should be. There is a risk with a character like this: the more often we are asked to admire him, the less convincing everyone around him can become. The performance avoids that trap by letting Smith seem inexperienced without making him stupid. We were moved by his sincerity: Smith believes in honest government so completely that his exposure to corruption feels painful. Jean Arthur is essential as Clarissa Saunders, giving Sidney Buchman’s dialogue the speed and bite that keep the film from becoming too solemn. The difference in tempo between the two leading performers gives their exchanges life, and her briskness is a pleasure. Claude Rains, as Joseph Paine, lends the political company enough composure to make Smith’s innocence look like a practical disadvantage. There is something persuasive about people who know how things work, and these performances let us feel it. Joseph Walker’s cinematography is most effective when it lets the performances hold our attention, a useful discipline in a film so keen to persuade. The editing by Gene Havlick and Al Clark gives the fast dialogue room to land without losing its pace. Dimitri Tiomkin’s music makes the patriotic feeling harder to resist, although we sometimes wanted less encouragement. At 130 minutes, the film has ample space to press its case, and some of the earnest passages would benefit from being shorter. Sidney Buchman’s screenplay has a useful understanding of how corruption protects itself. Control of information matters here: the public’s judgement depends on what it is allowed to hear, and the people managing that process understand its value. That is a substantial obstacle for a hero whose chief resource is telling the truth. Dishonesty looks comfortable here, and the film is properly angry about how easily it becomes accepted practice among people who ought to know better. The difficulty comes when Frank Capra puts so much trust in the moral force of one decent man. The people controlling public information seem too well established to be troubled much by an appeal to conscience, however eloquent. That is the film’s fairytale streak, and it will trouble anyone hoping for a practical account of how power might be checked. Even so, the humour is sufficiently sharp, and the actors sufficiently convincing, to keep us willing to believe in Smith. Political comedies are often content to let us enjoy our own disillusionment. Frank Capra risks seeming foolish because he still wants us to care, and the confidence of the performances makes that risk worth taking. The sentiment needs some tolerance, but the laughter is quicker and less dutiful than the premise might suggest. Watch it when a political comedy with some hope left in it sounds like a relief. *Fi1m score 84, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The consensus is firmly positive, with all nine reviews praising the film and James Stewart’s sincerity as the idealistic senator drawing repeated approval. Critics also value Capra’s handling of sentiment and humour, finding that the performances and comic pace give conviction to the patriotic feeling. Praise extends to Jean Arthur and the supporting cast, while Sidney Buchman’s dialogue earns attention for its snap. Several reviews stress how the treatment of political corruption remains relevant. The differences are chiefly about how readily critics accept the optimism, rather than whether the film works. Time Out acknowledges the cornball idealism but finds the fast-talking comedy more than compensates. Paste offers the strongest reservation, questioning the potentially harmful implications of its lone-man-against-the-system story for modern conspiracy thinking, while still finding it good-hearted and enjoyable. Scores occupy a fairly narrow positive range; there is no outright dissent. ### Reviews we read (9) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, THR Staff (90/100, inferred): The film is another smash hit and an outstanding achievement for Capra and his team. It praises James Stewart's finest performance as the idealistic senator and highlights the strong supporting cast and technical contributions. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mr-smith-goes-to-washington-1939-review-1235003057/) - **The New Yorker**, John C. Mosher (90/100, inferred): The review highlights Capra's superior showmanship in balancing sentiment and humor through detailed performances and incidents, noting the film's popular appeal, patriotic enthusiasm, and the effective filibuster climax that reestablishes faith in government. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1939/10/21/1939-10-21-089-tny-cards-000055041) - **The New York Times**, Frank S. Nugent (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it one of the best shows of the year and praises Capra's direction, the cogent script, and especially James Stewart's joyful performance as the idealistic senator, along with strong supporting turns from the cast. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1939/10/20/archives/the-screen-in-review-frank-capras-mr-smith-goes-to-washington-at.html) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (90/100, inferred): The review deems it typically Capra—punchy, human, and absorbing—with timely patriotic flavor and dramatic impact, predicting strong box office and praising Stewart's sincerity, Arthur's performance, the script, direction, and production values. [Read](https://variety.com/1939/film/reviews/mr-smith-goes-to-washington-frank-capra-1200412404/) - **Empire**, David Parkinson (85/100, inferred): The critic calls this a prescient political classic whose relevance has only grown. They praise James Stewart's deeply moving performance as the naive senator who exposes corruption. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mr-smith-goes-washington-review/) - **Time Out** (80/100, inferred): The film is quintessential Capra, with popular wish-fulfilment delivered through fast-talking comic panache that overrides any quibbles about its cornball idealism. Scriptwriter Sidney Buchman’s crackling dialogue gains sharp conviction from the supporting cast including Claude Rains, Jean Arthur and Harry Carey. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mr-smith-goes-to-washington) - **Collider**, Thomas Butt (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's prescient critique of government corruption and its optimistic yet cynical view of one man's fight against the system, highlighting Stewart's performance and Capra's direction. [Read](https://collider.com/mr-smith-goes-to-washington-85th-anniversary/) - **/Film**, Jessica Mason (80/100, inferred): The critic sees the film as a powerful, damning statement about political corruption that still resonates today, while remaining hopeful at its core about human decency and the impact of truth. She singles out the film's exploration of media control, information power, and the possibility that one person's sincere appeal can change another's mind. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/568253/mr-smith-goes-to-washington-revisited/) - **Paste**, Kenneth Lowe (75/100, inferred): The critic calls the film fun and darling despite noting a potentially harmful modern narrative around conspiracy claims, emphasizing its good-hearted intent and love for the story of one man against cynical forces. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/mr-smith-goes-to-washington-is-a-fun-darling-movie) ## Details - **Director:** Frank Capra - **Director:** Frank Capra - **Screenplay:** Sidney Buchman - **Story:** Lewis R. Foster - **Cinematography:** Joseph Walker - **Editor:** Gene Havlick, Al Clark - **Music:** Dimitri Tiomkin - **Costume design:** Robert Kalloch - **Cast:** James Stewart as Jefferson Smith; Jean Arthur as Clarissa Saunders; Claude Rains as Joseph Paine; Edward Arnold as Jim Taylor; Guy Kibbee as Governor Hopper; Thomas Mitchell as Diz Moore; Eugene Pallette as Chick McGann; Beulah Bondi as Ma Smith - **Runtime:** 2h 10m - **Certificate (MPA):** NR - **Release (the US):** 19 October 1939 - **Genres:** Comedy, Drama - **Budget:** $2 million - **Box office:** $10 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXoF7w6IWAc ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AT, BE, BG, DE, ES, FR, GB, IE, JP, LT, PT, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1940: Best Actor (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment (nominated); Best Sound (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated); Best Story (won) ## If you liked this - *The Great McGinty* (1940): A political comedy with a firmer suspicion of anyone claiming clean hands. - *Ikiru* (1952), Fi1m 92: A quieter, sadder look at public service and the effort decency requires. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ikiru.md) - *The Candidate* (1972): Political idealism faces a less comforting test, with room for awkward laughter. - *Local Hero* (1983), Fi1m 86: Another outsider finds that good intentions offer limited preparation for other people. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/local-hero.md) - *The Death of Stalin* (2017): For sharper laughter at political operators, with much less faith in human nature. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/mr-smith-goes-to-washington