Frank Capra Double Feature: Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

I've been meaning to see both of these films for quite a while, and it seemed appropriate to knock em both back in the same go. It was a nice way to spend the evening, but I admit I didn't enjoy either as much as I wanted to.

It started with Mr Smith Goes to Washington, based on the story "The Gentleman from Montana" by Lewis R Foster and originally conceived as a sequel to Mr Deeds Goes to Town, the film stars the incomparable James Stewart as Jefferson Smith, patriotic "Boy Ranger" (aka Boy Scout) leader and historical hobbyist. When a senator from his unnamed (but supposedly Midwestern) state passes away, it's up to Gov Hopper (Guy Kibbee) to assign a new one. What this really means is newspaper mogul Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) tells the governor whom he should appoint, in order to continue control over the intensely corrupt political machine of his state. Caught between his conscience and his debt to Taylor, Hopper selects Jefferson Smith: popular enough to appease the people, and naive and inexperienced enough to be easily duped by corrupt officials.

When Jefferson and his cynical but knowledgeable secretary, Saunders (Jean Arthur) speedily craft a bill for an all-boys summer camp, it clashes with a shady deal Taylor had worked out with the other Senator, Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) to build a dam in the area the camp would be, effectively stealing water from all surrounding farms. Paine works to discredit Smith in the Senate, and now it's one man against 99 in a surprisingly intense political standoff. Thankfully Saunders is there to help him out, since she actually knows a thing or two about government (Smith didn't even know how a bill becomes a law. Honestly).

I've been wanting to see this for like six years, and I have to say that while I liked it a lot, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. James Stewart is of course wonderful, and really helped keep me interested. He was the perfect combination of innocence, passion, and comedic timing. I think the description "aw-shucks" was invented for his portrayal of Jefferson Smith. He was silly, but I still took him seriously. The filibuster at the end is so intense and Stewart is just acting his heart out- it is wonderful. I liked Jean Arthur as well. I hadn't seen her in anything except for You Can't Take It With You, and she didn't really stick out to me there, but in Mr Smith she was spirited and intelligent, and played a very good drunk. Plus I like how her character had "come pretty far for a woman", was indeed quite smart (though of course not even her career girl know-how could stop her from falling in love with her boss, or quell her desire to get married and quit; ahhh the 30's).

Mr Smith was overlong, and didn't have very good pacing. A lot of scenes would be cut short too quickly, losing the flow of the story; a lot of scenes could have been cut out altogether. Conversations could have been shortened. It felt like the film didn't really get going in an enjoyable way. I don't mind long movies in general, but not enough was happening here to justify the 129-minute runtime. My other main problem is not actually the film's fault, but my own. I guess I have become a bit jaded in my young lifetime and having a father who works in politics (and hates it) hasn't helped me maintain my wonder and awe for American government. All of Smith's enthusiasm and unshakable belief in the system felt so removed from an actual person's mindset. I liked the character, but I couldn't wholly get behind him on his moral crusade because it didn't seem real. I know the film is a product of its time, just as I am, so there that is. Still an excellent film, though, especially for any Stewart fans.

4/5

Mr Deeds Goes to Town, which I guess I should have watched first, begins similarly to Mr Smith: with the death of an important person and a big change in a regular joe's life because of it. Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper), a small-town tuba player and greeting card poet, inherits his distant uncle's millions and is shuffled off to a mansion in New York City. He wants to give the money away, but his would-be attorneys keep him busy with fancy parties and the like, hoping to dupe him out of his fortune. Reporter Babe Bennett (Jean Arthur) poses as a working girl down on her luck, so she can get the scoop on his story.

She exaggerates his quirks and upbringing in her pen-named stories so he is publicly considered a fool with too much money, but quickly regrets it as she gets to know him better. They fall in love in a few days, blah blah blah. When Deeds decides to use his money to set up a large-scale aid project to benefit farmers all over the country, the lawyers seek to discredit him by claiming he is insane, and unfit to be in charge of the fortune. The ensuing trial is the most interesting part of the movie, recalling strange things Deeds had done and various insults to his character, while he sits sullen and silent, heartbroken after discovering Babe's true identity.

This movie has a lot of similarities to Mr Smith, but less heart. The story structure was a little off-kilter, making it drag at parts or just be a bit dull. The ideas are great, but the execution is a little lacking. I found the trial at the end to be the most interesting (similar to the filibuster in Mr Smith), and it might have been cool to make it more of a courtroom tale, mixing in earlier parts of the story as testimonials or something. The way it was organized it almost felt like two different movies spliced together.

I also have to admit I wasn't impressed with Gary Cooper's performance. I'd never seen him in anything so I didn't know what to expect, knowing only that Jean Arthur considered him "more manly" than James Stewart. That may be true, but his portrayal of Deeds was all over the place, and I just couldn't get a handle on the character. One moment he is childishly excited at the sight of fire trucks, the next he's unabashedly telling off "moochers" trying to trick him out of his money. He oscillates between silly and extremely level-headed. And sometimes he is just overly mean (especially to his servants). I understand he is supposed to be an idiosyncratic character but that doesn't mean you can just throw a barrage of quirks and seeming shifts of intelligence/awareness at the audience and expect them to fall for this concocted lovable oddball. Not sure if it's just me, or if I missed something, but it really took away from my enjoyment of the movie.

It's still pretty good though! Like any Capra film, it's got a lot of feeling and some great comedic moments. I liked the little musical part in which Babe and Longfellow are drumming and singing "Swanee River"; in fact this might have been better as a musical. The story is interesting and I can see why people like it, so maybe it just isn't for me. I'm glad Capra's often there to uphold the rights of people who aren't perceived as "normal", I'd just rather see him do that in You Can't Take It With You, which is to me a much more intriguing film with similar themes.

3.5/5