What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is on the following AFI lists:
The Original Top 100 (#29)
100 Years...100 Heroes and Villans (Jefferson Smith is the #11 hero)
100 Most Inspiring Movies (#5)
The Revised Top 100 (#26)
Once upon a time, I wanted to be in politics. I majored in political science and had every intention of one day transferring my life to Washington DC. I might not have been a Congresswoman, but I would have been happy to work for a lobbying organization or a think tank or something that put me in close proximity to the machinations of our American democracy. Once upon a time, I was a modern-day, female version of Jefferson Smith (James Stewart).
When I first saw this film, my interest in politics had begun to wane, a downward slide that has continued and completed by now. I no longer want to be in politics. The idea of transferring to Washington DC no longer excites me. I've been there about five times, and I'm kind of over it. I realized that the machinations of our government are interesting to me, sure, but not something I want to continually expose myself to because I knew I would burn out quickly and lose some of that high-minded idealism. Yet, I still watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which I own (test thusly passes), and those old feelings get roused in me again. That sense of patriotism and duty and reverance for the way our country works begins to stir right about the time wide-eyed Mr. Smith happens onto a nearby tour bus, heading toward the Capitol dome. And since it happens every time I watch this film, I would venture to say that Mr. Smith Goes to Washington truly is a great American film about, of all things, America. It's inspiring, but it also has a darkness, a cynicism, that director Frank Capra delicately balances.
As the film begins, a flood of phone calls from reporters announce the death of a Senator Foley from some unknown state. Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), the senior senator of the state, calls upon Governor Happy Hopper (Guy Kibbee) to appoint a replacement. Hopper then calls media magnate and political machinist in the grand tradition of Tammany Hall, Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), to seek his opinion. Taylor wants to appoint a person who will follow his orders, but Hopper, concerned about his own political career, which Taylor essentially manipulated into existence, knows that Taylor's choice will alienate the people of his state. Hopper has his own idea, but Taylor wants someone who will tow the line, and more or less threatens Hopper into compliance. Concerned about his predicament at dinner with his family, his children, who seem smarter than him, suggest small-town hero and leader of the state's chapter of the Boy Rangers, Jefferson Smith, as the appointment of choice. Hopper decides that Smith is a brilliant idea, as a naive man-child never before exposed to the workings of politics, and convinces Taylor and Paine that he's the man for the job. Smith apprehensively accepts the appointment, reassured by the encouragement of Paine, who was his deceased father's best friend and idol. Importantly, Jeff's dad was murdered, after he used his small-town rag of a newspaper to try to fight for the rights of an independent miner against a larger mining conglomerate. When Mr. Smith arrives in Washington, he is smitten by his surroundings, except that he is crucified by a story-hungry tabloid press looking for an angle. Plus, he has the help of his cynical secretary, Clarissa Saunders (Jean Arthur), who, initially, can't believe the boy scout's sincere wish to make a difference. Jeff is ready to quit, but Paine encourages him to draft a bill creating a national boys' camp in their home state. So, Saunders and Smith burn the midnight oil and craft legislation together, warming her first impression in the process. The only problem is that Jeff wants to establish the camp on land surrounding Willets Creek, which also happens to be land on which Taylor and Paine have illegally purchased and grafted into a deficiency bill that has been circulating in the Senate for months. The film then becomes one of one man's fight against a powerful group of men determined to squash him at every turn.
I can't extol this film enough. First of all, this is one of the most perfect bits of storytelling ever to be captured on film, so it's no wonder it won an Oscar for screenplay. I actually like this movie a little better than It's a Wonderful Life, Capra's previous AFI entry - only a little - because it centers on something quite real, something that actually happened and still happens but in a subtler way (as opposed to the fanciful intervention of angels - but I still love that movie too!). Jefferson Smith is, of course, the everyman, and one might be tempted to paint his ideals as hokey, but the fact of the matter is, I think anyone who considers themselves a patriot starts off with that same sense of wide-eyed idealism. Though the film paints the portrait of some of the most corrupt and vile abusers of the American political system, which apparently upset a lot of political folks at the time it was made, the kinds of porkbarrel spending and behind-closed-doors wheels and deals still exist. The screenwriter simply took realities and presented a story where one man's idealism clashes significantly with those realities, and he must struggle to hang on to that idealism and make that his reality in the face of impossible odds. The story is complex, multi-layered, and mesmerizingly considerate of how government works. Just look at how long that plot summary was, and I think I only covered the first third of the movie! The characters are perfectly flushed out, and the story's center is never at question.
The story in Mr. Smith... also evokes every emotion. There is brilliant comedy from Jean Arthur and Thomas Mitchell, who plays Diz, a roving reporter friend of Saunders'. There is tear-causing drama when Jefferson undertakes a filibuster, of all things, as his weapon to fight back (if only filibusters were actually used today). There is anger and indignation when the Taylor machine starts hurting the young boys eager to come to Jeff's aid and spread his word through their start-up newspaper. None of it feels manipulative, either, because each time the heroes try to gain in the battle against the machine, the machine knocks them back. The ending scene is, therefore, believable, even if predictable (though the execution of it is not at all predictable).
This was also Jimmy Stewarts's star-making performance and one that got him a bit typecast (though I'm not sure he minded actually). He is also the very first example of someone who critics and the masses alike felt was largely robbed for the Oscar for which he was nominated, culminating in an apology Oscar for The Philadelphia Story one year later (for lead actor when he was kind of more of a supporting one). He was great in The Philadelphia Story, and I haven't seen Goodbye, Mr. Chips (or Robert Donat's winning performance), but this performance was stunning. There was something natural and charismatic about Mr. Stewart that almost always made him believable, but those qualities seemed to shine in Mr. Smith. The climactic scenes in the Senate, during the filibuster, are the evidence of how great this performance was.
Yet, the whole ensembe was simply great too. From Claude Rains' stoic but smirking Mr. Paine to Jean Arthur's hilariously sarcastic Saunders (what a great part for a woman in that day and time!), to the whole cast of characters, it was just a magical assembly of actors during the Golden Year in Hollywood.
The filmmaking aspects are also superb. Capra was really wonderful at using lighting to enhance mood or tone and punctuate the scene in question. One scene I remember where this was apparent was the scene in which Saunders, semi-intoxicated, tearfully tells Jeff she's quitting and marrying Diz, and then runs out into a barely lit office hallway. The shadows are long, one side of her face is algow, and then she breaks into tears and turns away as Diz, resigned, tries to comfort her. I thought it was a poignant moment, made moreso by those long shadows. The pacing is consistent, and the whole vision was directed with grace and balance.
I had to look up the movie to see whether it was filmed on location or not. The whole Senate floor and all of the locations were a painstakingly recreated studio set! That's some fantastic art direction! I've been inside most of the places depicted in the film, including the Capitol. The replicas are impressive. This film was up against Gone with the Wind for some of these Oscars, though, because 1939 was just that good (hence its nickname).
The only thing that I don't like as much about the film is the abrupt ending. The climactic final scene plays out, but there is no real denouement to allow that scene to settle in that way that leaves you feeling satisfied, like after eating a good meal. Instead, it almost feels like one ate too quickly, just to get the meal over and done with. That's a small concern, not even a complaint really, but it's one of the things that makes the viewing experience of Mr. Smith to be slightly less-than-perfect for me.
I really love this film, however, simply because it's a nigh-perfect film that resonates with me and continues to do so no matter how many times I watch it. I think it's a high point in American cinema, and I think it should be ranked higher than some of these other AFI films I've watched along the way. Ultimately, on my personal ratings scale, I rate it a 9.5 for being an almost masterpiece (in lieu of the ending). I know there are probably tons of cynical people who wouldn't think they could stomach this film, but I'm earnestly telling you to reconsider and give it a chance. Not only is it an entertaining and artistic triumph, but it has some magical movie ingredients that I think would melt the iciest, most non-patriotic of hearts.