Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 film which tells the story of an idealistic young man, chosen to fill the unexpired term of a dead Senator, who becomes disillusioned by the corruption he sees in Washington. It stars Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee and Thomas Mitchell.
The film was written by Lewis R. Foster and Sidney Buchman, and directed by Frank Capra.
The movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It won for Best Writing, Original Story. It has also been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
The film premiered in Washington, DC on October 17, 1939.
