Review of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) by Jake C — 05 Dec 2018

The sort of vibrant, thoughtful film that I could (and that I want to) write about at length, praising Capra's steady direction and Stewart's subtle performance and Arthur's tremendous range; yet there is so much here to praise, I want to just focus on one thingâ"the film's poor response when it was released.

Recently, I had a student ask if a politician like Beto O'Rourke could be considered contrarian because he presented himself as an honest politician, when we all know that politicians are intrinsically dishonest. The reaction that M.SGtW garnered when it first was released betrays how times have changed and what makes that student's question so fascinating to me: In 1939, the idea that US Senators were so abysmally, irredeemably corrupt was so shocking as to draw condemnation across the country, with real senators walking out and production companies refusing funding. Not that anyone really disagreed, of course, but merely breaking protocols of civility seemed an anti-American threat to our institutions and standing in the world. There is no better time to criticize politicians then when criticizing politiciansâ"the very heart of the democratic spirit upon which this country was foundedâ"is called unpatriotic by those in power.

How especially telling, then, to compare this film, which has since its release enjoyed a century of parodies and nods and more image savvy politicians claiming as their own rallying cry, with another movie with a similar history: HIGH NOON, at first decried as unpatriotic, then celebrated as an archetype of American politics.