Review of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) by Geoff C — 15 Jul 2009
It is truly a wonderful experience watching this film. It is the classic David and Goliath story, both on screen and behind the camera. In the film, Senator Jefferson Smith battles a large corrupt political machine by reading the constitution (as a filibuster) In real life, this film was panned by Politicians (Including Alben Barkley, Joseph Kennedy said the film would damage America's reputation in europe, and in a private letter to his wife Senator Harry S. Truman indicated that he resented the blanket portrayal of the senate as corrupt minded menaces.) The Washington Press Corps hated the way they were portrayed in the film.
As indignant as the powers that be were, this wasn't an expose on American politics, so much as it was the classic "David and Goliath" story.
Although I think politics played only a minor role as the backdrop of the story, there is alot of it in the film, so naturally it must be addressed. Samuel Johnson once said that patriotism was the "last refuge for a scoundrel". I think this film is the definitive refutation to that claim. The patriotism of the protagonist almost literally drips though the screen like melted cheese, but he is not a scoundrel. Certainly he is more patriotic than his senate colleagues, (Who are argueably scoundrels) but he fights their graft. Sometimes a love for country is what propels humans to do extraordinary things against overwhelming odds. For someone to do what is right with the entire world against them, it requires a higher level of patriotism.
I give this movie an A+.
This review of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) was written by Geoff C on 15 Jul 2009.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has generally received very positive reviews.
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