Mr. Smith Goes to Washington poster

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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939 · Movie · 129 min
A

MEANRANK

83/100

Averaged across 12 ratings · 263.5K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 30 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

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71–97 out of 100

Mostly agreed

Lowest is Criticker on 71, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 97.

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A naive and idealistic young man is unexpectedly appointed to the United States Senate. His earnest desire to serve the public good and create a boys' camp puts him on a collision course with the state's corrupt political machine. He soon finds himself utterly alone in Washington, fighting a powerful establishment that uses every underhanded tactic to discredit him and crush his spirit.

Details

Director
Frank Capra
Released
19 October 1939
Country
United States
Language
English
Runtime
129 min
Rated
NR
Budget
$1.5M
Box office
$9.6M
Awards
1 win, 10 nominations

This title elsewhere

James Stewart

James Stewart

Jefferson Smith

Jean Arthur

Jean Arthur

Clarissa Saunders

Claude Rains

Claude Rains

Joseph Paine

Edward Arnold

Edward Arnold

Jim Taylor

Guy Kibbee

Guy Kibbee

Governor Hopper

Thomas Mitchell

Thomas Mitchell

Diz Moore

Eugene Pallette

Eugene Pallette

Chick McGann

Beulah Bondi

Beulah Bondi

Ma Smith

Awards & nominations

See all 11 →

1 win from 11 nominations across 10 ceremonies

Best Actor 1939 Best Actor James Stewart Nominee
Best Art Direction 1939 Best Art Direction Lionel Banks Nominee
Best Director 1939 Best Director Frank Capra Nominee
Best Film Editing 1939 Best Film Editing Gene Havlick and Al Clark Nominee
Best Music, Scoring 1939 Best Music, Scoring Dimitri Tiomkin Nominee
Best Sound Recording 1939 Best Sound Recording John P. Livadary Nominee
Best Supporting Actor 1939 Best Supporting Actor Claude Rains Nominee
Best Supporting Actor 1939 Best Supporting Actor Harry Carey Nominee
Show all 11 awards across 10 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.