Mr. Smith Goes to Washington by Frank Capra

When a U.S. senator dies, the governor of the state needs to choose someone to replace him. However, Jim Taylor, a corrupt newspaper owner, is bribing and manipulating him to choose who he wants. The governor explains his troubles to his family and all of his children want Jefferson Smith, the head of the Boy Rangers, to be appointed senator. Trying to pick between the two, he flips a coin and it lands on the edge. He later convinces Jim Taylor that Smith will be easy to manipulate for political power. Senator Joseph Paine was Jefferson Smith’s father’s best friend and he is secretly corrupted, doing whatever Jim Taylor wants. When Smith meets Paine’s daughter, he immediately has a crush on her. Smith thinks Washington D.C. is astonishing due to his childhood in the suburbs. His new assistant is Clarissa Saunders, a hardworking woman who is on the brink of quitting her job. Washington press takes false pictures of Smith and exploits him as a useless senator who has no political knowledge, which is true. To keep him busy, Paine suggests that he should write a bill and present it to the Senate. With Saunders, he writes a bill proposing a national boys’ camp to make kids enjoy the outdoors. The public adores Smith and donations from children are sent to his office. The land that Smith wants for the camp is accidentally the land that Paine bought to sell to the government for self-profit. However, Paine is not willing to hurt Smith for his corruption. Taylor reminds him that he is in complete power and Paine could be taken off the Senate. In the Senate, Paine accuses Smith for the corruption that he is doing. To convince the public that he is guilty, Jim Taylor distributes newspapers to diffuse the fact that Senator Smith is unwanted. Clarissa Saunders falls in love with Smith and decides to help him overthrow Jim Taylor and Senator Paine. Finally realizing that he needs to stop the corruption in Washington, Smith delivers a filibuster and speaks for almost 24 hours in order to postpone the bill. The Boy Rangers help make newspapers that are on Smith’s side. When Paine brings in letters from citizens to demand the expulsion of Smith, Smith walks up to Paine and tells him that he is going to persevere until he is heard. Suddenly, Smith drops to the ground with exhaustion. Full of guilt, Senator Paine runs out of the Senate chamber to kill himself with a gun but fails and runs in to confess.

James Stewart as Jeff Smith

Jefferson Smith looks for the good in people and never takes anything for granted. Born in the country, he is astonished at the sight of Washington when first visiting. Completely innocent, Smith does not believe that his father’s best friend is corrupt. He never realizes that Clarissa Saunders loves him because he is unaware of what is going on around him. As the movie progresses, Smith gets educated about politics and is eager to learn.

Claude Rains as Senator Joseph Paine

Senator Joseph Paine was best friends with Jefferson Smith’s father, who recently passed away. He has been corrupted by Jim Taylor ever since and follows his orders in fear of being thrown out of the Senate. Deep inside, Senator Paine has good morals. When Smith drops to the ground of the Senate chamber, his guilt overcomes him, and he confesses to his corruption. He is a nice person who has been exposed to excessive amounts of money and power because of Jim Taylor.