Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

In one of his best performances, Jimmy Stewart is an idealistic, naive boy's troop leader named Jefferson Smith. The starry eyed Smith, trusts that our nation is founded on some very noble principles that should be fought for tirelessly in government and in society. Above all he is a likable fellow who earnestly believes in the merits of this country and he is beloved by boys all across the state. Now this all sounds fine and dandy, but it would never have come across on the screen if it had not been for Stewart. He emanates this awkward and innocent energy that puts life into the idealistic creation of Jefferson Smith. 

When the film opens, everything is in turmoil when a senator suddenly dies and a replacement is needed fast. Believing Smith will be a pawn, a powerful man named Taylor (Ed Arnold) gets Smith a seat in the nation's Senate. There he joins the respected Senator and old family acquaintance, Joe Paine (Claude Reins), who is also a cog in Taylor's machine. However, although he is out of place in Washington, the patriotic Smith does his best to be worthy of his position. He realizes that the press will not give him a break and the other Senators do not take him seriously. So on the urging of Paine he decides to come up with a bill for a boys camp back in his home state. He requires the help of the world weary secretary Saunders (Jean Arthur) to get his bill done. Initially she is disgusted by his naivete, but as she grows to know him she realizes he is only going to get himself hurt. His action to propose a bill soon find him face to face with the political machine that elected him. Taylor also has stakes on the piece of land where the boy's camp would be and he wants it for a dam. 

Smith finds himself being accused of using his position for his personal gain and he finds himself before a committee with false evidence piling up against him. With all odds and seemingly everyone  against him as well, Smith makes one last monumental effort. With the help and guidance of Saunders, Smith fights to plead his case through a filibuster. Fatigued by many hours of giving impassioned speeches and reciting the Constitution, Smith finally collapses but not before effectively succeeding at his task. I doubt this would every happen in real life, but in the film it is fantastic watching the Senate break out into complete and utter mayhem. Ultimately, a young man with "a little bit of plain, ordinary, everyday kindness and a little looking out for the other fella," was able to win. True, it may be overly sentimental, but it is a wonderful piece of sentiment all the same.

5/5 Stars

Honestly, I had never really noticed it before, but while he filibusters in the senate, Jefferson Smith's impassioned entreaty is backed by scripture several times. He looks at the many men around him seemingly much greater than himself and he recites the "simple rule: Love thy neighbor" which was part of the great commandment that Christ gave his disciples in the Gospels. Smith goes up to the one man who is in a sense his Judas, the man who betrayed his trust and he says,

"a man who knows that one rule has a great trust. You know that rule, Mr. Paine, and I loved you for it, just as my father did. And you know that you fight for the lost causes harder than for any others. Yes, you even die for them, like a man we both knew, Mr. Paine."

Now right here Smith is obviously talking about his father from the film, but still this is a wonderful picture  of what Christ did. He fought for the lost cause which was you and me and he died for that cause so it could be won over.

Between reading historic documents such as the Constitution, Smith can also be heard reading a short passage from the King James version of 1 Corinthians 13:13 which reads, "charity wanteth not itself. Is not propped up and now, abideth faith. Hope, charity, these three, the greatest of these is charity."

In the more modern NIV the translation is, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." This is the passage where Paul talks about love and so the charity that is mentioned in the film is love. More exactly it is loving thy neighbor which is a form of charity.

So despite the obvious themes of Mr. Smith, patriotic and otherwise, there is also a less obvious theme that is biblically based. Yet another reason to enjoy this film.