Frank Capra always claimed that It's a Wonderful Life (1946) was the favorite of his movies; it's mine, too. But according to Joseph McBride, one of Capra's biographers, Capra eventually acknowledged that Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) is a better movie, saying, "It's a stronger story and a story about our government, a lot of the internal workings of our government are revealed. I suppose that's why I like it better than the other ones—it's big."

             

That's such an appropriate word for Mr. Smith, since so much of the movie deals with size and scale: from the towering, yet slender Jeff Smith (James Stewart), who stands tall against corruption and graft in Washington, to the elaborate recreations of the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Senate chamber; and from those to the figurative bigness of the movie's themes, like knowledge vs. ignorance, the definitions of masculinity and a great American, and the change that one person can inspire.

Mr. Smith is a tightly made, well-wrought movie, one that proves rich from a number of perspectives, like as an allegory against the rise of Fascism in Europe, much like The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) or Stagecoach (1939), or as a Christ narrative, with Paine, Smith's Judas, attempting suicide after betraying his friend, and the way that Smith's carried from the Senate floor like Christ (who defied his government) from the crucifix. (There's a great artistry to Capra's direction and storytelling, artistry's that's often overlooked. In fact, Matt Singer recently wrote an exemplary essay on Capra's mise-en-scène in Mr. Smith.)

other senator, Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), and their corrupt political boss, Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), must appoint a new senator to both satisfy public demand and comply with the corrupt scheming of Taylor's political machine. Their solution: Jeff Smith, the naïve head of the Boy Rangers and all-around, old-fashioned patriot.

           

But when Smith realizes himself to be superfluous and without a political agenda, Paine suggests that Smith propose a bill, which Smith does, for a national boys camp. The bill, however, interferes with an about-to-pass deficiency bill, one full of graft. (In short, the government will build a dam on land owned by Taylor and his cohorts. Smith's camp will be located on that same land.) 

 

When Smith finds out and threatens to expose the Taylor machine, Smith's framed and accused of corruption. The Senate turns their collective back on Smith, leading him to filibuster and stall the deficiency bill until the truth's revealed. (This final act of the movie—Smith's filibuster—is crucial to the movie's defining bigness: the moment that Jeff Smith stands tall and Jimmy Stewart became a star.)