“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is a film by Frank Capra and was made in 1939 starring Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith. Claude Rains portrayed Senator Joe Paine and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. This film was released during the fragile restoration period following the Great Depression and just months before World War II began. Although a bit contentious for its time, it was a box office smash. It begins with Mr. Smith, an innocent yet sincere young man from a small rustic town who is surreptitiously appointed to a vacant senate seat by his corrupt governor and the political machine backing him. They felt Mr. Smith would be easily bend to their wishes due to his naiveté, however they were quickly dismayed. In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Frank Capra uses a common theme, right down to his leading man's name which was that greatness is found within even the most ordinary of men that while in the face of adversity greatness can overcome. During the time in which this film was produced, Hollywood was in the eye of the political storm. Communism was afoot and due to the controversial nature of this film for the times, both MGM and Paramount Pictures refused to invest in it. Fortunately Columbia Pictures ran with it and, much to the chagrin of the sitting Congress, it was…show more content… Smith Goes to Washington centers mostly around Washington D.C. during 1930’s America. Although a skewed view, the film interprets how a nefarious state can mercilessly vilify a truly honest senator by any means necessary. From the very beginning of this film, the very basic of film themes emerged, commonly known as the black and white, good and evil, David and Goliath. With that, Capra took this very basic theme and created one of America’s classic film favorites. This film made instant stars of Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur who continued to film together on other projects. Jimmy won two Academy Awards and Jean Arthur was nominated for