Posted on Tuesday, 24 May 2011

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (Capra, 1939) - I know, for someone who thought YANKEE DOODLE DANDY was a bit too patriotic, this would seem like a strange follow-up. I liked most of it though: the exultation of democracy is a bit much at times, but it’s part of the plot, and James Stewart is so adorable when he gets enthusiastic - his hair gets all floppy and his eyes wide and he’s completely irresistible. He’s naïve, but so charming it’s hard to stay cynical as a watcher. It also helps that, while Stewart’s adversaries are mostly just evil, Claude Rains never lets you give up hope that his senator Joe Paine will see the light. The scene stealer, though, is Jean Arthur: there’s a scene in which she gets drunk and goes wildly from one mood to another, and she plays it beautifully.

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (Capra, 1939) - I know, for someone who thought YANKEE DOODLE DANDY was a bit too patriotic, this would seem like a strange follow-up. I liked most of it though: the exultation of democracy is a bit much at times, but it’s part of the plot, and James Stewart is so adorable when he gets enthusiastic - his hair gets all floppy and his eyes wide and he’s completely irresistible. He’s naïve, but so charming it’s hard to stay cynical as a watcher. It also helps that, while Stewart’s adversaries are mostly just evil, Claude Rains never lets you give up hope that his senator Joe Paine will see the light. The scene stealer, though, is Jean Arthur: there’s a scene in which she gets drunk and goes wildly from one mood to another, and she plays it beautifully.

3 notes

  1. notesonfilms posted this