81 years Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

On October 17, 1939, the Frank Capra's movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" premiered in the Constitution Hall of Washington, D.C., USA.

It seems to me that in our country this film should be loved most of all by those who, at a conscious age, have experienced the transition from the communist regime to what is today called a democratic, legal state. Those who at the turn of the 80s - 90s believed and hoped to establish the rule of democratic principles, such as the balance of the three branches of power. Those who believed and hoped that instead of noble milkmaids and "cooks who will rule the state", competent, and most importantly, honest professionals will come to the legislative bodies. Those who were discouraged when they saw the seats in the parliament occupied by athletes, artists and other so-called "media people". In short, film should be loved most of all by idealistic romantics.

That kind of romantic who believes in democratic values, convinced that the Senator chair will allow him to implement a publicly useful project, is the main character of Frank Kapra's movie - Jefferson Smith. As a result, this decent ordinary person who received the mandate of Senator is not entirely of his own free will, but as a supposed marionette - on the initiative of politically dishonest businessmen, he is surrounded by a corrupt, petty and gangster group of crooks. Everybody in the film - with the exception of Jefferson Smith himself and his boys, to whom he devoted his life - either cogs of a soulless and ruthless political machine, or corrupt officials, or just silently and indifferently watch how innocent people, including children, are subjected to abuse and intimidation, how all possible declared rights are violated.

Even before starting work on the film, in January 1938, representatives of the film companies Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures presented an unpublished story by Lewis Foster, on the basis of which it was supposed to write the script, to the Hays Office, in fact - the censorship committee. Hays Office rejected, officially motivated by the fact that the proposed project is “the generally unflattering portrayal of our system of Government, which might well lead to such a picture being considered, both here, and more particularly abroad, as a covert attack on the Democratic form of government”.

Together with the refusal, the censorship committee recommended that the future "film should make clear that "the Senate is made up of a group of fine, upstanding citizens, who labor long and tirelessly for the best interests of the nation ...".

Apparently, the management of film companies heeded the recommendations of the Hays Office and serious amendments were made to the draft script. At least, apparently, the realistic ending to the picture was replaced by a traditional American happy-end. As a result, a practically opposite verdict was passed on the re-submitted draft script for consideration: "It is a grand yarn that will do a great deal of good for all those who see it and, in my judgment, it is particularly fortunate that this kind of story is to be made at this time. Out of all Senator Jeff's difficulties there has been evolved the importance of a democracy and there is splendidly emphasized the rich and glorious heritage which is ours and which comes when you have a government 'of the people, by the people, and for the people". Such a verdict allowed the filming to begin, which lasted from April 3 to July 7, 1939.

Well, on October 17, 1939, as indicated above, in Washington, in the concert hall called the Constitution Hall, in the presence of 4,000 spectators, among whom were 45 senators and 250 congressmen, the film premiered. The premiere, it can be said, ended in scandal. Several senators left the hall while watching, many of the congressmen shouted and expressed their indignation in various ways. The reason for this resentment was later formulated by the leader of the democratic majority in the Senate, Alben W. Barkley. called the film "silly and stupid", and said it "makes the Senate look like a bunch of crooks".[16] He also remarked that the film was "a grotesque distortion" of the Senate, "as grotesque as anything ever seen! Imagine the Vice President of the United States winking at a pretty girl in the gallery in order to encourage a filibuster!" Barkley thought the film "showed the Senate as the biggest aggregation of nincompoops on record!"

But, despite the indignation of the parliamentarians, just a day later, a film demonstration began throughout America, and two months later in Europe. And everywhere, the audience took the film with a bang. The film was banned only in a few countries, namely: in Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Franco's Spain. And - yes - this movie was not shown in the Soviet Union. So what? Decent company.

The film was also warmly received by film critics. Even The New York Times, which usually expresses the views of the US Democratic Party, in this case expressed an opinion different from that of the Democratic majority in the Senate. In a review written by Frank Nugent, it was noted that Capra released the film on screens only thanks to the protection provided by the Bill of Rights. At the same time, the film itself in the review is named "stirring and even inspiring testament to liberty and freedom, to simplicity and honesty and to the innate dignity of just the average man". (Frank Capra's 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' at the Music Hall Sets a Seasonal High in Comedy By Frank S. Nugent. The New York Times, Oct. 20, 1939)

Again, contrary to the opinion of American congressmen, Capra's movie was nominated for an Oscar in 11 nominations. And this cannot but do the honor of the American Film Academy! True, in the end, the film received only one Oscar - for Best Writing, Original Story. But in the most important nominations, the film gave way not to anyone, but to another movie masterpiece - the film "Gone with the Wind."

At the very beginning of this article, the assumption was made that the film should be liked most by romantic idealists. Judging by the vote of users of IMDB and Kinopoisk, such - the majority. Since 71% of IMDB and Kinopoisk users around the world gave this film a rating of 8 or higher.

Based on the above achievements, according to FilmGourmand, the film has a rating of 8.088 and takes 599th place in the Golden Thousand.