the m0vie blog

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, an Independence Day treat. Frank Capra’s Mister Smith Goes to Washington.

Local activist and unlikely politician Jefferson Smith finds himself appointed to represent his great state in the United States Senate. However, while trying to ensure a fair deal for his constituents, Smith soon finds his faith in democracy threatened as he figures out how the institutions actually work.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 147th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Show notes:

• Recorded 13th May 2018.
• Correction: When Andrew states “it is the right of the people to abolish…”, he is quoting the Declaration of Independence.
• Mister Smith Goes to Washington at The Internet Movie Database.
• The IMDB 250 as it appeared at time of recording.
• The Simpsons homage Mister Smith Goes to Washington in Beyond Blunderdome, September 1999.
• The Simpsons homage Mister Smith Goes to Washington in Mister Lisa Goes to Washington, September 1991.
• Contemporary reviews of Mister Smith Goes to Washington, May 1939.
• The team at The Dissolve discuss the politics and legacy of Mister Smith Goes to Washington, May 2014.
• Christopher Orr at The Atlantic on how Mister Smith Goes to Washington shaped American perspectives of politics, March 2015.
• Scott Meslow at The Atlantic on the timelessness of Hollywood’s treatment of politics, August 2012.
• Ari Malber at The Atlantic on how most political movies actually avoid politics, February 2013.
• Megan Garber at The Atlantic on how most political movies deny experience as a necessary attribute for politicians, November 2016.
• Mark Lawson at The Guardian on Hollywood’s fascination with political outsiders, August 2016.
• Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels explain to Vox how voters do not act rationally, June 2017.
• Kurt A. Gardinier at The Huffington Post on the importance voters place on wanting to have a beer with a politician, October 2012.
• Joe Humphreys at The Irish Times on the court battle between Ireland and David Norris, December 2014.
• Henry McDonald at The Guardian covers the controversy around David Norris’ remarks on paedophilia, May 2011.
• Aziz Ansari discusses R. Kelly with Jimmy Kimmel, January 2010.
• Nathan Rabin at The Dissolve on Frank Capra’s cynicism, May 2014.
• John Paterson at The Guardian on how Frank Capra paved the way for the Tea Party, October 2010.
• Barry Gewen at The New York Times on Frank Capra’s disdain for The New Deal, May 1992.
• Michael P. Rogin and Kathleen Moran in Representations on Frank Capra’s skepticism about The New Deal, Autumn 2003.
• John Joseph Wallis, Price Fishback and Shawn Kantor in Corruption and Reform on corruption and The New Deal, March 2006.
• Jonathan Alter at The New York Times on Franklin Roosevelt’s tenuous relationship with democracy, May 2006.
• David Dunlap at The New York Times looks back on Franklin Roosevelt’s temultuous first ten days in office, February 2017.
• James A. Dueholm at the University of Michigan on Lincoln’s suspension of habeus corpus, Summer 2008.
• Jennifer L. Weber at The New York Times on the complicated legacy of Lincoln’s decisions during the Civil War, March 2013.
• Matt Singer at The Dissolve on the canny use of Jimmy Stewart’s physicality in Mister Smith Goes to Washington, May 2014.
• Victor Mallet at The Financial Times on democracy in Malaysia, May 2018.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: america, decency, democracy, experience, Frank Capra, honest, Independence Day, jimmy stewart, mister smith goes to washington, politics, The 250, the simpsons, trump, United States |